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PWM fan

nora.e

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trying to figure out what the deal is with them. how are they different from a "normal" fans and why 4 wires?
 

hat

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the 4th wire is a sensor that tells how fast the fan is to spin based on temps... that what PWM is
 
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I believe they allow for the motherboard to control the fan speed, increasing it as the temps get high, its for better power usage and noise control. A standard 3 wire fan only operates at one speed unless controlled by some sort of controller.

Edit: beaten by hat
 

JC316

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It can be disabled in the BIOS, but it's exactly what they said it is.
 

hat

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the 4th wire is a sensor that tells how fast the fan is to spin based on temps... that what PWM is

Just reposting this cause it says this thread has 0 replies... sorry if this is a duplicate post

wow something is messed up I couldn't see those two replies below mine...
 

smig

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I have funs with 3 wires only and it's possible to control the speed. :confused:
 

jbunch07

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i cant ever trust the sensors on pwm mode if i can i try to manually control the fan speed.
 

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I have funs with 3 wires only and it's possible to control the speed. :confused:

Yes with a fan controller it controls the voltage supplied to the fan and less voltage means the fan spins slower and vice versa me thinks :) my asus one just broke :laugh:
 

hat

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I run my PWM fan full blast anyway. I didn't buy it for PWM... it just happened to have it.
 
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