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Fans with 4 pins

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The 4 pin headers are for PWM(Pulse Width modulation). Fans with 4 pins automatically adjust to the system needs.
 
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The 4 pin headers are for PWM(Pulse Width modulation). Fans with 4 pins automatically adjust to the system needs.

The fans don't do anything.

You make it sound like just plugging in a 4-pin fan will instantly provide the amount of cooling the system needs, like the fan it intelligent enough to do that.

The fans are dumb, the motherboard has to control them, it is the motherboard that adjust the fans to it's needs.

And most of the time, except for the CPU fan connector, you have to go into the BIOS and tell the motherboard to control the speed of the fans before it will use PWM.
 
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The fans don't do anything.

You make it sound like just plugging in a 4-pin fan will instantly provide the amount of cooling the system needs, like the fan it intelligent enough to do that.

The fans are dumb, the motherboard has to control them, it is the motherboard that adjust the fans to it's needs.

And most of the time, except for the CPU fan connector, you have to go into the BIOS and tell the motherboard to control the speed of the fans before it will use PWM.

Do you make a living trying to prove people wrong? 4 pin fan must plug into 4 pin header Cartman and most of us know PWM is a function of the board but thanks for your utmost knowledge.

this is getting a bit off subject, the guy wanted to know if he could run a 3pin on a 4pin.

my understanding is most boards and newer boards are backwards compatible allowing voltage control changes through 4pin header to 3pin fans, whereas pwm adjusts fan speed without changing volts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse-width_modulation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_control

Sorry d1nky off topic but 3 pin fans can plug into 4 pin headers but no pulse width modulation but they can be controlled through the bios.
 
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Do you make a living trying to prove people wrong? 4 pin fan must plug into 4 pin header Cartman and most of us know PWM is a function of the board but thanks for your utmost knowledge.

Here we go again.

You post incorrect information, then argue and insult anyone that corrects you.

Is this how you pay your bills?
 
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Here we go again.

You post incorrect information, then argue and insult anyone that corrects you.

Is this how you pay your bills?

It is not incorrect forum mascot
 

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speedfan is an epic fail on most new motherboards.


Most manufacturers will bundle their H/W monitoring software with it.
ASRock provides a really good one.


http://img.techpowerup.org/130518/axtu.png
i can control all the fans on my motherboard.

Best part of the ASRock software is that you set them at max in bios and you can turn the temps controlled ones right down and if the min temp is reached it will automatically speed the fans up.
 
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Best part of the ASRock software is that you set them at max in bios and you can turn the temps controlled ones right down and if the min temp is reached it will automatically speed the fans up.

Yes, ASRock's software rocks, I believe with Asus Q-fan does the same thing
 

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Yes, ASRock's software rocks, I believe with Asus Q-fan does the same thing

I've been fairly happy with what ASUS has to offer as far as fan control.
fanxpert.PNG
 
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It is not incorrect forum mascot

Yes it is incorrect, it is wrong to say that you just plug in the fan and it automatically adjusts to the systems needs.

A lot of motherboard require you change BIOS settings.
 
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FWIW , On Asus Z77 it only supports 3wire in the chassis headers where you can adjust in bios or 3rd party app . If you put 3 wire in the 4wire PWM CPU headers you get 100% fan speed, no adjustment .

The other chassis heads do support voltage and PWM fan types which can be adjusted in bios , fan expert or 3rd party apps .
 
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Yes it is incorrect, it is wrong to say that you just plug in the fan and it automatically adjusts to the systems needs.

A lot of motherboard require you change BIOS settings.

The 4 pin headers are for PWM(Pulse Width modulation). Fans with 4 pins automatically adjust to the system needs.



Does this say to plug them into 3 pin header? No. As the first sentence says, 4 pin headers are PWM. Pulse Width Modulation automaticlly adjusts to the systems needs...... I think your not understanding the thought........Guess your trying to stir the kettle as usual. Maybe the statement was vague and like I mentioned, thank you for your untmost intelligence. It is much appreciated(not that it takes a rocket scientist to figure the statement out).
 
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Where are you getting that I'm saying anything about plugging them in to 3-pin headers?

You know a lot of boards have 4-pin headers for things other than the CPU right?

I'm not saying anything about plugging them into 3-pin headers.

I'm saying that just plugging the fans in, into 4-pin headers, doesn't make the fans automatically adjust to the systems needs.

The fans aren't magical, they won't just sense the needs of the system and adjust themselves.

The motherboard has to control them.

And a lot of the time you have to go into the BIOS and adjust the settings for those headers to make them actually use PWM because by default they are set to run at full speeds.
 
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Where are you getting that I'm saying anything about plugging them in to 3-pin headers?

You know a lot of boards have 4-pin headers for things other than the CPU right?

I'm not saying anything about plugging them into 3-pin headers.

I'm saying that just plugging the fans in, into 4-pin headers, doesn't make the fans automatically adjust to the systems needs.
The fans aren't magical, they won't just sense the needs of the system and adjust themselves.

The motherboard has to control them.

And a lot of the time you have to go into the BIOS and adjust the settings for those


headers to make them actually use PWM because by default they are set to run at full speeds.

I think it is time to move on mascot.:slap:

You need to read up on motherboards with PWM son.

When the 4 pin fan was invented, it added the PWM logic signal. PWM travels
from the motherboard to the fan. It tells the fan how fast to run.(through the board)
http://www.formfactors.org/developer/specs/REV1_2_Public.pdf
 
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Sigh, see I was right, you post incorrect information then argue with and insult anyone that corrects you.

I'm not arguing how PWM works.

I'm saying that a lot of the time just plugging the fan in won't enable PWM support, you have to enable it in the BIOS before the motherboard will use PWM.

Your original statement makes it sound like you just plug the fan in and it magically adjusts itself to the system needs, that isn't the case a lot of the time, there are extra steps involved.
 

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Hey guys (drdeathx and Eric_Cartman), the constant arguing between you two is not needed in the forum or something anyone want's to see. if you two can't resolve your issues then we/moderators will put an end to it. ;)
 
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hey guys (drdeathx and eric_cartman), the constant arguing between you two is not needed in the forum or something anyone want's to see. If you two can't resolve your issues then we/moderators will put an end to it. ;)

ty
 

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Most motherboards support both PWM and DC voltage control on 4-pin headers. This is a non-issue imho. I would only say that PWM is the better option and will have better and more smoother changes in fan speed as opposed to DC control, but they both work.

I'm saying that just plugging the fans in, into 4-pin headers, doesn't make the fans automatically adjust to the systems needs.

Yes and no, modern motherboards can and will, my current motherboard varies DC fans based on system temp by default. My last motherboard let you pick one or the other, my P9X79 Deluxe auto detects. You don't need PWM to sense how fast the fan is moving, that's the third pin on a regular fan. PWM only controls the output, but you already know that.
 
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Most motherboards support both PWM and DC voltage control on 4-pin headers. This is a non-issue imho. I would only say that PWM is the better option and will have better and more smoother changes in fan speed as opposed to DC control, but they both work.



Yes and no, modern motherboards can and will, my current motherboard varies DC fans based on system temp by default. My last motherboard let you pick one or the other, my P9X79 Deluxe auto detects. You don't need PWM to sense how fast the fan is moving, that's the third pin on a regular fan. PWM only controls the output, but you already know that.

Your board seems to be same as my Asus boards, all headers are 4 pin headers but actually only cpu and cpu_opt fan headers output PWM signal, chassis fan headers support only voltage control even though they have 4-pin headers :

 
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Your board seems to be same as my Asus boards, all headers are 4 pin headers but actually only cpu and cpu_opt fan headers output PWM signal, chassis fan headers support only voltage control even though they have 4-pin headers :

[url]http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz182/mm_67/Capture-4_zps555c9ae9.png[/URL]

exactly , you "need" a PWM cpu fan if its HS and most bios have a standard profile for PWM that will ramp up speed with temps .
I would never buy HS w/0 PWM fan , but that is just me .
 
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