3 case fans 2 fan headers on motherboard

[Jack888 Trading]

I have NZXT Source 220 ATX Mid Tower Case
and Gigabyte GA-H170M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
only 2 fan headers and 3 case fans :( hELP ME

[[☥] - CJ -]

You can find a fan splitter cable, practically at any website carrying such things.
Or you could use a 4pin molex to 3pin adapter

[Tywin]

You could also splice 2 of them together if you know how.

[dom]

A lot of fans come with an attachment that you can plug the fan into and you can run it using power directly from the psu instead of running through the Mobo first

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Originally posted by Spongeman:

A lot of fans come with an attachment that you can plug the fan into and you can run it using power directly from the psu instead of running through the Mobo first

Thats if you buy extra case fans; most shipped with a Case generally will not come with any adapters; they usually will just come with 3-pin on them.

Please do not use 3-pin Splitters that allow more than one 3-pin fan to plug into a single header on your Motherboard. Most motherboards have quite a low limit on how much power each 3pin (the non-CPU one) can actually pull. So what you'll want to do is use a 3pin-to-4pin Molex adapter; such as these:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MYA3A4C
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EURESG6


If you ever see these kind: http://www.dalco.com/images/Product/medium/63121.jpg
be very careful with them and use common sense. Reason is because of the 3-pin side having exposed pins, now that may not seem like a big deal, but if you ever have the molex side plugged in and your PSU is not completely off or disconnected, even with the stand-by power these adapter can pose a hazard if the exposed 3pin side touches anything metal especially something like your case or psu housing; as all that metal is your motherboard and psu ground. So i would just avoid them. If u really must use them, then always plug the fan side into the 3pin first, then plug the molex into the PSU side. When removing, do this in reverse, again just to avoid those exposed pins ever touching anything. They are common though; typically found shipped with 3pin fans, in case you run out of 3pin fan headers.

[tiger305]

thanks bad motha that bottom one is exactly what I
need for the 212 cooler

[[☥] - CJ -]

Thats what i suggested
a 4pin Molex to 3pin fan connector

[Bad 💀 Motha]

You should try to not use splitters on a CPU header if there is only one available (some boards do have more)

I would connect the CPU fan (in this case the Hyper 212) directly to the CPU header; if other fans need splitting off, or direct PSU power, so be it. Motherboard BIOS does not like it (and will throw an error each bootup) if the CPU header does not get a good, solid read-out from a connected fan of at least 500-600 RPMs


Many have asked me also; "What if using a liquid cooler, then how to connect them up"
In this case, the main Pump (what physically would install onto the CPU on an AIO liquid cooler) this has an internal mechanism (the pump internal flow control) and this is what should be connected to CPU Header #1; the rest of the Fans (such as ones on the Rad) can be connected by other means; either via other Motherboard 3-pin DC or 4-pin PWM connections; or via adapters to the PSU; whichever is best. Just being mindful of what is best to connect directly and solely to the CPU header. If you have more fans than fan headers, then I would suggest a fan controller be added to the system if you are running alot of radiator and/or case fans. Like say once you exceed 4-6 Fans in total.

[tiger305]

well, I only have 1 cpu fan header.... so only one fan on 212 cooler...
All the fan headers are taken up - I have 4 of them including the cpu
I have the gigabyte z97m-d3h mb... So, you say split one of the other
fan headers for the 2nd cpu fan , right ??
thanks