Would a constantly switching fan voltage do harm to the fans?

[lafrente]

Fans are 3 pin, and I connected them to the mobo.

 

I configured the fan voltage to change based on temps (duh).

 

When its cool, voltage drops to a point where fans stop but RGB stays on, if it gets cooler, RGB turns off. I can even see RGB going dim step by step as mobo reduces the power to it.

 

Would this constant change harm the fans in any way?

 

Constantly switching power, and also sometimes it gets enough power to light the RGB, but not enough to turn the fans on.  

[Aaron_T]

1 minute ago, lafrente said:

Would this constant change harm the fans in any way?

By constantly you mean the fans responding to higher temps and spinning up, then spinning down/slower when the system temps are reduced? IE normal PC operations?

[flibberdipper]

Not likely, fans have operated on wildly differing voltages for decades just fine. Hell, with a surprising amount of them you can shove 18 volts into 'em and they'll be fine.

 

EDIT: To add onto this, I have an Antec Tri-Cool fan that's realistically older than a shocking number of members on this forum. If you blow on it hard enough the LEDs kick on. Still works fine about 23 years later.

[MadAnt250]

3 minutes ago, lafrente said:

Fans are 3 pin, and I connected them to the mobo.

 

I configured the fan voltage to change based on temps (duh).

 

When its cool, voltage drops to a point where fans stop but RGB stays on, if it gets cooler, RGB turns off. I can even see RGB going dim step by step as mobo reduces the power to it.

 

Would this constant change harm the fans in any way?

 

Constantly switching power, and also sometimes it gets enough power to light the RGB, but not enough to turn the fans on.  

I think it should be fine.

[lafrente]

3 minutes ago, Aaron_T said:

By constantly you mean the fans responding to higher temps and spinning up, then spinning down/slower when the system temps are reduced? IE normal PC operations?

Yes but more frequently.

 

And as I said sometimes it will get more than enough power for RGB, and not enough to spin the fans. Which would cause some heat maybe? Because that power has to go somewhere.

[Electronics Wizardy]

This depends on how the fan is setup, but I'd be worried if the rgb is on but the fan isn't spinning. If the fan has the motor running but not spinning, this can cause the motor to burn out. I'd try to keep the fans spinning if they have power. Probably won't cook them too fast as there low power motors, and you need a pretty low voltage for a fan not to spin normally.

[Aaron_T]

2 minutes ago, lafrente said:

Yes but more frequently.

 

And as I said sometimes it will get more than enough power for RGB, and not enough to spin the fans. Which would cause some heat maybe? Because that power has to go somewhere.

As other's have said, you're going to be fine.

If the fans spin up then down on repeat constantly 24/7, IE thousands of voltage changes a day, I'd say something is wrong. But if by more frequently you mean "occasionally even when you're not putting the system under load" then it's nothing to worry about.

Also RGB LEDs are designed to vary intensity based on voltage. They can be over power, but not really under powered, so that's not an issue. 

[lafrente]

3 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

This depends on how the fan is setup, but I'd be worried if the rgb is on but the fan isn't spinning. If the fan has the motor running but not spinning, this can cause the motor to burn out. I'd try to keep the fans spinning if they have power. Probably won't cook them too fast as there low power motors, and you need a pretty low voltage for a fan not to spin normally.

 

Then I will adjust the lowest voltage high enough to still be able to spin the fans even if at very low RPM.