Best way to connect all these fans?- Asus Maximus VI Hero

[keithtastic13]

I have a quick question on fan support for my build.

 

I am using a Phantom 410 case, a Maximus VI Hero Mobo, and and H100i CPU Cooler

 

I am also planning on OverClocking (This is My Second Build-First Attempt at OC)

 

I hear that Corsair Link is problematic, and I would prefer to use the Motherboard Fan Controls and more specifically, AISuite III and the Four Way Optimization/Fan Xpert (as it's my first OC)- Which I hear works as long as you don't install any other software related to hardware controls and monitoring.

 

The problem I have is that my motherboard supports 5 total fan connections. I am planning on running a total of 7 fans in the  configuration pic below. (Green: Intake; Red: Exhaust; Blue: Size in mm).

 

The top exhaust fans will be in push config with the H100i Rad on top of the case. All fans are NZXT other than the corsairs up top. The rear & bottom 120's came with the case, as did the 140 near the graphics card. The Front intake, and side intake 140's are a slightly higher quality model from NZXT.

 

 

The H100i will use the CPU Fan and CPU OPT on the Mobo- so I have 3 connections still available. ( I assume- see #4 below)

 

Questions

1) Can I use the Y adapters on two pairs of fans to reduce the connections down to 5 total?

2) What are the rules for using Y adapters other than voltage? (all fan connectors on the board are 4 pin and support 1 Amp- so I should be fine there)

3) Should I wire two of the 140's and two of the 120's together? I think it would work fine for the 140's as the additional ones are same Make & Model. Same for the 120's other than one is bottom intake, the other is rear exhaust.

4) Can I wire the two corsair PWM fans together with a 4 pin y adapter?

5) Are there any advantages/ disadvantages to questions 2,3, and 4?

 

I also attached some quick math and I will be running about 30 CRM of negative pressure on full blast if my math is right. The 410 has a removable drive cage but I need that and so that's why I went with two 140's in sequence in front and why I felt I might need a side/ bottom intake as well.

 

Sorry for writing a novel here and thanks for any advice or suggestions you guys could provide.

 

Keith

[Hyydrah]

What are your thoughts on this?

 

 

1) Can I use the Y adapters on two pairs of fans to reduce the connections down to 5 total?

 

Yes, and they will run at the same speed.

 

3) Should I wire two of the 140's and two of the 120's together? I think it would work fine for the 140's as the additional ones are same Make & Model. Same for the 120's other than one is bottom intake, the other is rear exhaust.

 

My best advice would be to try it out yourself. If you're satisfied with the noise/performance, I don't see why not.

 

4) Can I wire the two corsair PWM fans together with a 4 pin y adapter?

 

That should work, yes.

 

5) Are there any advantages/ disadvantages to questions 2,3, and 4?

 

Since 120mm and 140mm fans generally run at quite different speeds, you may experience one fan running faster than you'd like it to when a 120mm and 140mm fan is attached to the same Y-splitter. As I said above, it's best to try it out yourself though since you already own the fans.

[airdeano]

can run the fans in "zones" rather than individually.

 

zone 1 rad

zone 2 front case

zone 3 interior

zone 4 exhaust

zone 5 *optional*

 

using PWM splitters for multiple fan on one channel. don't go overboard with 6

fans on a channel. another is sheer looks as you'll have more wiring to manage

and hook-up to the motherboard, so keep it tidy and shave your mobo..

 

airdeano

[Emperor_Piehead]

I would try to get as many fans as possible connected to the motherboard to use the fan curve software in AI suite. Do you really need that many fans though? I have a phantom 410 and have 2 120 intake fans then my rad as exhaust.

[Shyxlol]

Ask Asus how many you can connect. They told me my p8z77 v pro supports up to 4 amps (8 safety shutdown) PER fan header and that I could connect up to 9-10 fans on one. Right now I'm running 6 SP120 on one without a problem. I can easily control them via ai suite II and they all start properly.

Pwm y-cables are exactly for what you want to use them.

You can wire 120s and 140s together but you have to make sure they run. Splitter cables only give "feedback" from one fan. That means if the 120s have a lower starting voltage than the 140s and you run them at exactly that you might damage them. Just make sure they all run and it is ok, they'll all get the same voltage but they might run on slightly different rpm.

[keithtastic13]

Thanks for all the answers everyone.

 

Marto- I will get a 4 pin Y Splitter for the rad. Also, I will wire the two 140's (same make & model) I bought with a 3 pin splitter.

 

Dave- I will mount the PSU as you suggested I agree it does look cleaner, but I want to keep a 120mm in the rear I think. The reason I went with two 140's in sequence in the front was because as Linus said on his 410 review- the HDD cage is really restrictive. I have to use the HDD cage, so I could go with two 120mm there and then a 140 next to the GPU, but i would have to buy some new fans. I'm certainly not opposed to that- but my thought in going with the 140 was less rpm for same flow rate as a 120- so less noise? Do you think the flow would be better enough to warrant the additional expense ($ and db) of those changes?

 

Airdeano- I will be using a max of 2 fans on 2 of the mobo connectors. The zoning I don't know much about, and I would have different sizes in the zones so I would get fan speed mismatch I think. Does that sound right?

 

Emporer Pinhead- Awesome Name- Do I need that many fans...probably not - I only build 1 PC every 5 years or so, so I tend to hoard fans just to get my nerd on. If I can use a 4 pin splitter and another 3 pin splitter- I think that gets me down from 7 fans to the 5 mobo connectors.

 

Shyxlol-My board supports 1 Amp (12 W) per fan connector. As you are using ai suite with splitters I'm going to ask if the suite recognizes I have more than one fan connected? Based on what you said about feedback- I'm guessing no. The two splitters will each be going to two identical fans (1 pair is corsair rad fans, 1 pair is NZXT 140mm's front intake)- so they should use the same voltages across the range I should think.

 

Thanks again for your help guys.

 

Keith

 

 

 

 

 

 

[notenoughtv]

Get splitters and use your motherboards Fan Expert software

[Shyxlol]

Thanks for all the answers everyone.

 

[...]

 

Shyxlol-My board supports 1 Amp (12 W) per fan connector. As you are using ai suite with splitters I'm going to ask if the suite recognizes I have more than one fan connected? Based on what you said about feedback- I'm guessing no. The two splitters will each be going to two identical fans (1 pair is corsair rad fans, 1 pair is NZXT 140mm's front intake)- so they should use the same voltages across the range I should think.

 

Thanks again for your help guys.

 

Keith

 

Those splitters are actually made that all but one connectors only have 2 wires (ground+voltage) and >only< one connector has the third wire (blue one) which "gives feedback" to the motherboard. So you basically only control one fan and the other fans just get the exact same voltage as that one. If they are identical they'll run at the same RPM in that case.