Cooling gurus...I need some case fan advice

[donalgodon]

I have the Define Mini-C (Micro ATX) case and am using the AsRock AB350M Pro4 Micro ATX board which only has two chassis fan headers. I added an intake fan (Dynamic X2 GP-12, like the others) and used a noctua splitter on it, so my case now has three fans (1 out and 2 in).

 

I'd like to replace the three fans with Noctua case fans, so I'm looking at NF-A12, but I'd like to move the Dynamic X2 GP-12 to the top to help VRM cooling, but I'd quickly run out of headers.

Can you give me suggestions for a simple hub or controller that I can just plug the extra fans into and hide in the cable bay area of my case? I'm not looking for something fancy, but I don't care how much it costs. I want it to work simply.

Thanks for any advice/suggestions. I'm a Noob. This is the first custom PC I've owned since the Athlon X2 days.

[Dissitesuxba11s]

Something like this might work. If you have money to burn and have RGB fans, this will suit your needs.

[donalgodon]

5 minutes ago, Dissitesuxba11s said:

Something like this might work. If you have money to burn and have RGB fans, this will suit your needs.

That's a great price. What connections do I need on my board or PSU to use it? I don't have any RGB stuff, so the first options is better for me.

 

[intender]

I have a corsair commander mini that I use to control my fans, and it came with some rgb strips that it can also control.  it has to have an internal usb 2.0 header to work though.  It is a good product, but the software uses about 4% cpu all the time.  Luckily once it loads the profiles you can kill the software and it runs without it and you can launch it again if you need to change anything. 

 

nzxt also has the grid+ v2 which I think looks like a really decent product, and I use the CAM software for monitoring my gpu and cpu temps.  I have never used the nzxt product but its about $20 cheaper than the corsair one and would probably be my choice of the 2.  at the time I bought mine they were closer in price and the commander came with the rgb strips and 2 120AF fans which I needed for another computer so it made sense for me to spend the extra money on it, and I already had some corsair products that it could work with. 

[Dissitesuxba11s]

1 minute ago, donalgodon said:

That's a great price. What connections do I need on my board or PSU to use it?

You connect it to a fan header on your motherboard and power it with a SATA power connector from your PSU.

[donalgodon]

18 minutes ago, intender said:

I have a corsair commander mini that I use to control my fans, and it came with some rgb strips that it can also control.  it has to have an internal usb 2.0 header to work though.  It is a good product, but the software uses about 4% cpu all the time.  Luckily once it loads the profiles you can kill the software and it runs without it and you can launch it again if you need to change anything. 

 

nzxt also has the grid+ v2 which I think looks like a really decent product, and I use the CAM software for monitoring my gpu and cpu temps.  I have never used the nzxt product but its about $20 cheaper than the corsair one and would probably be my choice of the 2.  at the time I bought mine they were closer in price and the commander came with the rgb strips and 2 120AF fans which I needed for another computer so it made sense for me to spend the extra money on it, and I already had some corsair products that it could work with. 

What connections does the NZXT product require on the board or PSU to work properly?

[intender]

https://www.nzxt.com/products/grid-plus-v2

 

looks like a usb2 header and a sata power cable. 

[donalgodon]

If I use one of these devices, do I still need to connect my fans to the headers on my motherboard, or can I simply plug them directly into the device and ignore the headers on the motherboard?

[WoodenMarker]

2 hours ago, donalgodon said:

If I use one of these devices, do I still need to connect my fans to the headers on my motherboard, or can I simply plug them directly into the device and ignore the headers on the motherboard?

They all rely on headers from the motherboard. I'd suggest getting regular fan splitters instead if you want to control fans the same way you're currently.

[donalgodon]

7 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

They all rely on headers from the motherboard. I'd suggest getting regular fan splitters instead if you want to control fans the same way you're currently.

They all rely on the fan headers on the motherboard? I just have one area where I'd have to have three fans running from one fan header and I didn't want to overload it, so I thought a controller might be a better option.

I will try run 3 of these:
http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/casefans/dynamic-series/dynamic-x2-gp-12

It's .18 x 3, correct?

[WoodenMarker]

7 hours ago, donalgodon said:

They all rely on the fan headers on the motherboard? I just have one area where I'd have to have three fans running from one fan header and I didn't want to overload it, so I thought a controller might be a better option.
I will try run 3 of these:
http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/casefans/dynamic-series/dynamic-x2-gp-12
It's .18 x 3, correct?

Yes, that's correct.

Most fan headers can support up to 1A so you'll be fine. 

[donalgodon]

2 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

Yes, that's correct.

Most fan headers can support up to 1A so you'll be fine. 

Thanks. Can I daisychain fan splitters? I don't have any 3-way Splitters but I do have two two-way splitters.

[WoodenMarker]

9 hours ago, donalgodon said:

Thanks. Can I daisychain fan splitters? I don't have any 3-way Splitters but I do have two two-way splitters.

Yes, you can.

[donalgodon]

Can the Corsair Commander Pro control the speed of 3-Pin fans that aren't PWM?