Best connector for case fan (3-pin/4-pin)?

[rrude]

Please excuse my ignorance... I'm about to get a Panaflo FBA08A12L case fan from Directron and I don't know if I should get a 3-pin or 4-pin connector. Is it better to attach case fans to the mobo or PSU? What do most silent enthusiasts do? Thanks.

[lenny]

Please excuse my ignorance... I'm about to get a Panaflo FBA08A12L case fan from Directron and I don't know if I should get a 3-pin or 4-pin connector. Is it better to attach case fans to the mobo or PSU? What do most silent enthusiasts do? Thanks.

For the 80L, it doesn't matter either way (low current draw, no RPM monitoring). It depends more on what's available - do you have free 4 pin molex or motherboard headers?

If you plan on using the fanmate, get the 3 pin. If you plan to run it at 5V, use the molex. Incidentally, some 80L may not start reliably at 5V.

[gmontem]

Use the 4-pin if you plan to undervolt the fan yourself from 12V down to 7V or 5V.

[Ralf Hutter]

I almost always get and use the 4-pin Molexes, unless I have a deliberate reason to use the 3-pin connectors (like connecting the fans to the mobo or using a Zalman Fanmate). I like to have the ability to run the fans at 5V , (the illicit)7V or at 12V depending on my needs.

[cpemma]

Only time you must use a 4-pin is if the motherboard header can't deliver the fan current safely. RTBM, RTBFL