Fans and connectors problem, please help.

rbmcgee · Post by **rbmcgee** » Sun Mar 02, 2003 9:54 am

Hi all.

I'm about to pull the trigger on the CoolerMaster 201 case and the Intel D845PEBT2 motherboard. Here's what I think:

- The CM201 comes with 4 case fans all with 4-pin connectors
- The Intel board comes with 2 3-pin fan control connectors

It seems my best bet would be to convert all 4 fans from 4-pin to 3-pin and then use a 3-pin Y-splitter to combine 2 fans into 1 and then hook them into the mobo. Is my thinking correct? I find 3-pin to 4-pin adapters on Directron but no 4-pin to 3-pin adapter. Can these adapters be used for either purpose?

My other option would be to use some sort of fan controllers (fan mate) but they all seem to be 3-pin as well.

Bottom line, I can't figure out the best way to control/silence the 4 fans that come with the CM201 case and what additional connections/adapters I need.

TIA.

fancontrol · Post by **fancontrol** » Mon Mar 03, 2003 5:49 am

your goal is to have some kind of speed control on the fans, right?

since the case fans probably don't have tach wires it won't do you much good to move them to the motherboard connectors. i think speedfan, etc all require a tach input. plus, they may draw more current (particularly when you put 2 on each header) than the mobo drivers can handle.

the easy solution is probably the thermaltake switch or some rheostat. you may also consider wiring fans in series to reduce the voltage.

but, then, i'm not about the easy solution...