3 pin fan on a 4 pin motherboard?

[minato]

Hello everyone!

I was wondering if these Fans could be manually controlled via this Motherboard?

 

Every answer will be much appreciated.

 

[Mira Yurizaki]

Yes, but they'll be controlled by adjusting the voltage instead of using a PWM signal. This has the disadvantage of being unable to operate below a certain % because of a minimum amount of voltage needed to even turn the motor.

Edited November 27, 2018 by M.Yurizaki

[Jack Dvorak]

3 minutes ago, minato said:

Hello everyone!

I was wondering if these Fans could be manually controlled via this Motherboard?

 

Every answer will be much appreciated.

 

yeah they work, just make sure it is in the right way sometimes there is a little clip/latch

[gbergeron]

You will have to use DC voltage control instead of PWM like M.Yurizaki said.

 

3 pins fans = DC only

4 pins fans = DC or PWM

 

hope it helps

[minato]

3 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

Yes, but they'll be controlled by adjusting the voltage instead of using a PWM signal. This has the disadvantage of being unable to operate below a certain % because of a minimum amount of voltage needed to even turn the motor.

How would I control the voltage, via bios or? Complete noob for this stuf..

[minato]

4 minutes ago, Jack Dvorak said:

yeah they work, just make sure it is in the right way sometimes there is a little clip/latch

Thank you! But how would I control them?

[Mira Yurizaki]

Just now, minato said:

How would I control the voltage, via bios or? Complete noob for this stuf..

Usually through BIOS and it's given in a percentage. If you have a 5.25" bay you can also use something like a fan controller if you want to tweak it manually by hand.

[minato]

3 minutes ago, gbergeron said:

You will have to use DC voltage control instead of PWM like M.Yurizaki said.

 

3 pins fans = DC only

4 pins fans = DC or PWM

 

hope it helps

Is it much of a difference? Like how is controlling it via voltage different from PWM?

[minato]

Just now, M.Yurizaki said:

Usually through BIOS and it's given in a percentage. If you have a 5.25" bay you can also use something like a fan controller if you want to tweak it manually by hand.

Could I do any damage to them if I add to much voltage? How can I know the range of the safe zone for voltage?

[Mira Yurizaki]

Just now, minato said:

Could I do any damage to them if I add to much voltage? How can I know the range of the safe zone for voltage?

You can't add too much voltage. Fan controlling through BIOS is literally 0% - 100% speed. For 3-pin fans, you can't go below a certain %, which you have to find out through experimentation what that certain % is.

[minato]

2 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

You can't add too much voltage. Fan controlling through BIOS is literally 0% - 100% speed. For 3-pin fans, you can't go below a certain %, which you have to find out through experimentation what that certain % is.

Arigato!