Case Fan Questions!

[js5836]

Hey! I'm going to be building for the first time soon, and I had some questions about case fans. I am getting the Corsair 4000x RGB, which comes with 3 SP-120mm fans, and I will get one more SP-120mm fan for exhaust. My motherboard will be the MSI B550-A PRO ATX mobo, which has 6 4-pin system fan headers. I believe the Corsair fans have 3 pin headers, so can I still connect them to the 4 pin headers? If I can, what do I lose, if anything? I know the RGB will be managed through iCUE, since the case comes with an RGB hub that goes to a USB 2.0 port, but what about fan speed and things that like? Will I be able to control it with the MSI software?

Thanks in advance!

[minibois]

1 minute ago, js5836 said:

I believe the Corsair fans have 3 pin headers, so can I still connect them to the 4 pin headers? If I can, what do I lose, if anything?

Not sure if the fans have a 3 or 4 pin connector, but yes a 3 pin fan can connect into a 4 pin header.

You lose out on the 4th pin, which is PWM. That provides a more granular, a more precise fan control method. You can still control the fan via your BIOS, just less precise.

6 minutes ago, js5836 said:

I know the RGB will be managed through iCUE, since the case comes with an RGB hub that goes to a USB 2.0 port, but what about fan speed and things that like? Will I be able to control it with the MSI software?

Yes, you can control the speed of the fans via your MSI motherboard's BIOS.

There is a fan control section, where you can setup how fast the fans should move based on CPU temperatures.

[js5836]

1 minute ago, minibois said:

Not sure if the fans have a 3 or 4 pin connector, but yes a 3 pin fan can connect into a 4 pin header.

You lose out on the 4th pin, which is PWM. That provides a more granular, a more precise fan control method. You can still control the fan via your BIOS, just less precise.

They have a 3 pin 12 V connector. Could you quickly explain PWM to me, or just drop a link or something. I would really appreciate it!

[minibois]

1 minute ago, js5836 said:

They have a 3 pin 12 V connector. Could you quickly explain PWM to me, or just drop a link or something. I would really appreciate it!

The most important thing to know about PWM (4 pin) vs DC (3 pin) fan control, in the context of PC fans can be explained using these graphs:

 

DC fan control is more basic, it doesn't allow for nice fan curve, but rather fan steps. It also can't run a fan as slow as PWM can.

PWM in comparison can run fans slower and allows for a better fan curve to be set.

 

PWM is not nescecary, it is just extra luxury, compared to DC fans.

[js5836]

37 minutes ago, minibois said:

The most important thing to know about PWM (4 pin) vs DC (3 pin) fan control, in the context of PC fans can be explained using these graphs:

 

DC fan control is more basic, it doesn't allow for nice fan curve, but rather fan steps. It also can't run a fan as slow as PWM can.

PWM in comparison can run fans slower and allows for a better fan curve to be set.

 

PWM is not nescecary, it is just extra luxury, compared to DC fans.

Thanks so much!