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Can i connect 3 pin fan to 4 pin header?

Chucky-007
Just now, Chucky-007 said:

Can i connect 3 pin fan to 4 pin header?

Yes.

You can only plug in the fan one way, because of the plastic guards on the fan header + fan connector.

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Okey, but I'm buying the Cooler Master td500 mesh and it comes with three ARGB fans and i dont know if they're 3 or 4 pin 

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2 minutes ago, Chucky-007 said:

Okey, but I'm buying the Cooler Master td500 mesh and it comes with three ARGB fans and i dont know if they're 3 or 4 pin 

My previous post has been made in the assumption you were talking about fan headers, not (A)RGB headers.

What I said about 3 pin and 4 pin just working, only applies to fan headers, not (A)RGB headers, which are a much more complicated subject. 

"We're all in this together, might as well be friends" Tom, Toonami.

 

mini eLiXiVy: my open source 65% mechanical PCB, a build log, PCB anatomy and discussing open source licenses: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1366493-elixivy-a-65-mechanical-keyboard-build-log-pcb-anatomy-and-how-i-open-sourced-this-project/

 

mini_cardboard: a 4% keyboard build log and how keyboards workhttps://linustechtips.com/topic/1328547-mini_cardboard-a-4-keyboard-build-log-and-how-keyboards-work/

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4 minutes ago, minibois said:

My previous post has been made in the assumption you were talking about fan headers, not (A)RGB headers.

What I said about 3 pin and 4 pin just working, only applies to fan headers, not (A)RGB headers, which are a much more complicated subject. 

Okey. So I know that the ARGB cables are 5V 3 pins but I'm just wondering if I can plug 3 pin FANS into a 4 pin FAN header. So not the ARGB.

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2 minutes ago, Chucky-007 said:

Okey. So I know that the ARGB cables are 5V 3 pins but I'm just wondering if I can plug 3 pin FANS into a 4 pin FAN header. So not the ARGB.

A 3 pin fan connector can fit into a 4 pin (PWM) fan header on your motherboard.

Three pin fan onto four pin header

"We're all in this together, might as well be friends" Tom, Toonami.

 

mini eLiXiVy: my open source 65% mechanical PCB, a build log, PCB anatomy and discussing open source licenses: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1366493-elixivy-a-65-mechanical-keyboard-build-log-pcb-anatomy-and-how-i-open-sourced-this-project/

 

mini_cardboard: a 4% keyboard build log and how keyboards workhttps://linustechtips.com/topic/1328547-mini_cardboard-a-4-keyboard-build-log-and-how-keyboards-work/

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Just now, minibois said:

A 3 pin fan connector can fit into a 4 pin (PWM) fan header on your motherboard.

Three pin fan onto four pin header

Ohh okey. Thanks so much for your help, I'm building my first pc so it really helps :D

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Just now, OVER10RD said:

you can connect. but you won't have pwm

Can u explain what PWM is? :) 

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1 minute ago, OVER10RD said:

you can connect. but you won't have pwm

which doesn't really matter since DC can also control fan speeds? 

 

Tbh I never really understood the difference, pwm has just more fine grained control to my understanding? 

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The 3 fans is used as intake fans in the front btw. But will the fans run at full RPM if i plug a 3 pin into a 4 pin fan header?

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11 minutes ago, Chucky-007 said:

Can u explain what PWM is? :) 

pulse width modulation. basically a method to control the fan rpm. it changes the fan speed according to your cpu or gpu usage

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14 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

which doesn't really matter since DC can also control fan speeds? 

 

Tbh I never really understood the difference, pwm has just more fine grained control to my understanding? 

im not sure whether u can get DC control through a 3 pin header either.

and yeah pwm is supposed to be more silent and efficient

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1 minute ago, OVER10RD said:

im not sure whether u can get DC control through a 3 pin header either.

and yeah pwm is supposed to be more silent and efficient

Depends on the motherboard. On my current one I can choose DC/PWM for all the fan headers in BIOS. On my previous board I got DC control as well as PWM but minimum speed was 40% for the case fan headers regardless of DC/PWM. Both boards reports fan speed for both 3 and 4-pin fans but my old board was dodgy at that for 3-pin fans. Some boards I've heard doesn't support 3-pin at all and runs them at full speed like Molex powered fans.

20 minutes ago, Chucky-007 said:

The 3 fans is used as intake fans in the front btw. But will the fans run at full RPM if i plug a 3 pin into a 4 pin fan header?

Depends on the motherboard, see what I wrote between the quotes.

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29 minutes ago, aDoomGuy said:

Some boards I've heard doesn't support 3-pin at all and runs them at full speed like Molex powered fans.

this is true. my old G31 board had 4 pin headers but ran 3 pin fans at full rpm with no control options

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@aDoomGuy  @OVER10RD yeap that's what I thought... my msi board has all pwm/dc headers where you can control the fan speeds regardless of 3 or 4 pins, except one header that's only pwm so I cannot control a 3pin fan over it (iirc) it's a mess!

 

thankfully I don't really need it (got some noctua fan splitters that helps also) 

The direction tells you... the direction

-Scott Manley, 2021

 

Softwares used:

Corsair Link (Anime Edition) 

MSI Afterburner 

OpenRGB

Lively Wallpaper 

OBS Studio

Shutter Encoder

Avidemux

FSResizer

Audacity 

VLC

WMP

GIMP

HWiNFO64

Paint

3D Paint

GitHub Desktop 

Superposition 

Prime95

Aida64

GPUZ

CPUZ

Generic Logviewer

 

 

 

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4 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

which doesn't really matter since DC can also control fan speeds? 

 

Tbh I never really understood the difference, pwm has just more fine grained control to my understanding? 

pwm uses less electricity instead of being on 100% its on for a second and off for another. so its like 50% less  electricity

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-> Moved to Cooling

***

 

15 hours ago, Chucky-007 said:

Okey, but I'm buying the Cooler Master td500 mesh and it comes with three ARGB fans and i dont know if they're 3 or 4 pin 

ARGB is 3pin. ARGB and RGB are not cross-compatible. Your mobo needs to support either or both.

 

15 hours ago, yaboistar said:

RGB control =/= Fan control. If they’re just case fans they’re more than likely 3-pin fans

I've yet to see 3pin A/RGB fan. Even the cheapest ones are PWM, or use propitiatory connectors.

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