3 pin vs 4 pin importance?

[Redliquid]

Hi guys, so i just bought a pair of http://www.corsair.com/se-fi/air-series-sp120-quiet-edition-high-static-pressure-120mm-fan-twin-pack 

and realised it was only powered by 4 pins, I'm kind of aiming a for a pretty quiet and i know that 4 pins may be requerd for fans to operate at lower rpm s wich would make it more  silent.

How important is this though?
Should i cancle that order and get http://www.corsair.com/se-fi/air-series-sp120-pwm-quiet-edition-high-static-pressure-fan-twin-pack instead?
How much more silent would it get in idle?


Thanks for your imput and sorry for my horrible English =)

[Rorgash]

your mobo cant controll 3 pin fans, you would need a fan controller, with 4 pins your mobo can control them, thats about it

[Redliquid]

your mobo cant controll 3 pin fans, you would need a fan controller, with 4 pins your mobo can control them, thats about it

Think they'll work with a Corsair Hydro H100i ?

[Rorgash]

sure, btw forgot to say that corsairs fans even the silent fans are not silent when compared to actually silent fans such as noctua or be quiet

[Altecice]

You can use voltage conveters... 12v>7v>5v if you need to control 3 pins.

[Redliquid]

You can use voltage conveters... 12v>7v>5v if you need to control 3 pins.

They're gonna be for my cpu cooler, Hydro H100i. Do you think i can get lower noise levels in idle if i buy 4 pin ones instead?

[Mojo-Jojo]

Some Mobos these days have internal DC fan controls so you can still control 3-pin fans directly from your mobo, but otherwise you'll need 4-pin fans.

[Shaqo_Wyn]

They're gonna be for my cpu cooler, Hydro H100i. Do you think i can get lower noise levels in idle if i buy 4 pin ones instead?

4-pin or 3-pin doesn't have anything to do with lower noise levels. 4-pin PWM fans just provides smoother and more precise fan control. If you want quieter fans you should buy ones that are inherently quieter (Noiseblocker, Noctua), Corsair fans aren't that quiet. Both 3-pin and 4-pin fans will be quieter, the lower the rpm you run them at. If your motherboard can't control 3-pin fans, you have a few options.

1. run them on a fan controller

2. buy 4-pin fans and PWM control them from your motherboard (provided your motherboard has 4-pin headers)

3. buy low max rpm 3-pin fans and run them at full speed

4. use L.N.A cables to run them at 5 or 7 V instead of the full 12V