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Questions about case fan installation

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Hey guys

I bought 2x Corsair ML140 case fans hoping to cool down my system further, both of these fans are using 4 pin PWM connectors and is connected to my motherboard via a Y cable from Noctua:
https://noctua.at/en/na-syc1

However there’s a warning message on there saying the following:
Common mainboard fan headers support up to 9.6 or 12W (check your mainboard manual for detailed information). Please thus make sure that the combined power draw of the fans connected to one fan header using NA-YC1 adaptors does not exceed this value!

Although when reading through the manual of my motherboard (ASRock Z97 Extreme6), there isn’t any mention of how many Watts the fan header supports.
http://asrock.pc.cdn.bitgravity.com/Manual/Z97 Extreme6.pdf


What I’m wondering is, will my motherboard have sufficient capacity to handle all the fans I’m using?

I currently have 2x Noctua NF-A15 140mm fans cooling my CPU and connected to the two Mobo CPU Fan Connectors. Along with 2x Corsair ML140 cooling the system which are connected to the one Mobo Chassis Fan Connectors via a Y-cable.

(I also have 2x Fractal Design fans connected to my case’s fan controller directly but don’t think this will have an effect.)

Anyway appreciate any help that can be given on this matter!

P.S. The ML140 fans I installed are REALLY loud, more than 3 times the amount of noise of my original fans. Is this an indication something might be wrong as these are supposed to be quiet fans? Sorry about this, I am really new about all these.
 
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Corsair ML140 Power Draw - 0.202 A

That means two fans on a Y connector will be perfectly fine plugged into a 1 amp fan header. AIO pump headers are typically 3 amp and fan headers 1 amp (For future reference and calculations).

These specs and warnings exist so people don't gang 10 fans together and exceed the draw it is capable of. Which is primarily a concern at startup when it peaks.

Rated at 0.202 A (2.4 W on the 12 VDC rail) for the non LED and 0.276 A (3.3 W), these should be handled appropriately when it comes to powering multiple such fans. In practice, these fans drew an average operation current draw of 0.122 A (1.46 W) for the non LED and 0.188 A (2.26 W) for the LED fans, and a single 1 A motherboard fan header will be able to power them easily- 2 or 3 even (or more as long as it can handle the peak power draw at start up)

From this review on ThermalBench
 
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Hey nomdeplume,

Thank you so much for your replies, this really helped clearing up my questions, sincerely appreciate the help!

Although something important I noticed just now, my motherboard only have 2 x CPU Fan Connectors (1 x 4-pin, 1 x 3-pin). However both of my CPU cooler fans are 4-pin and are connected to these two connectors.

My question is, what’s the difference and is there any disadvantage that one of the 4-pin PWM fan is connected to a 3-pin Connector on the Motherboard?

Cheers
 

Ebo

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not really execpt that your fan will run with out PWM, meaning it wont run slow.
 
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Although something important I noticed just now, my motherboard only have 2 x CPU Fan Connectors (1 x 4-pin, 1 x 3-pin). However both of my CPU cooler fans are 4-pin and are connected to these two connectors.

My question is, what’s the difference and is there any disadvantage that one of the 4-pin PWM fan is connected to a 3-pin Connector on the Motherboard?

You appear to have edited your first post and then replied as above.

What I would do is use the Noctua Y connector with your two Noctua cpu fans and the 4 pin cpu fan header. Half PWM and half DC regulated would have been the first thing I told you to fix.

I see a number of 3 pin fan headers around the board and a single 4 pin, CHA_FAN1, located for intake fan usage. If the ML 140 are running full speed all the time they will be considerably noisier than operating in their ideal range at lower rpm.


We need to determine which fans need to be on the case fan controller and how many separate profiles it can handle.
We need to know where the ML 140 + Fractal fans are located in the case.
We need to know what case you are using.
 
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The ML140 fans I installed are REALLY loud
Look in your motherboard manual and figure out how to use its fan controller to slow them down. 140 mm fans at 2,00 rpm would be rather loud.
 
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Ahh thanks again for the replies, in this case I’ll just buy another 4-pin PWM splitter for the new case fans (ML140) and use the original Noctua Y splitter with the CPU fans. (The store set up my PC initially but don’t know why it wasn’t used in the first place)

Are there any good brands or models of PWM splitters to buy?

Also while browsing some threads, I see people comparing PWM splitters with hubs and also fan controllers. What are these other things and would it be advantageous to get those as well?
 

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Gelid or akasa do these pwm splitters that draw power from sata or molex connections. Im at work atm so can't link you but they are available on amazon and easily found if you search for them. They are quite cheap too and can control anywhere between 3-5 fans
 
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If the solution is as simple as buying one splitter you should do that. You can go for the fancier PWM+power mentioned above or just x-into-one PWM splitter for your two ML 140. Same functionality as the Noctua so they are interchangeable.

Best example of needing a hub is 3 front and one bottom intake fans that would overload a 1a header. RGB basically.

A full on front panel controller, or 3, only really becomes necessary when cooling and quantity of fans have reached a level of complication exceeding what mb control is capable of. They are not the same thing as a cheap controller packaged with a group of fans just to make them work on most machines out of the box.

This is an oversimplification but your needs don't appear to be too large.
 

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If you are concerned get a fan controller that provides power from the psu directly and a signal line that plugs into a fan header for temperature sensing/ auto adjust.
 
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I don't recommend Y type splitters...

1. I have had bad experiences with them, whether thru lack of quality control or damage in shipping and handling, more than half were faulty.

2. They tend to be fugly ... the Y always seems to be in a position where ya have difficulty hiding the cables.

Fan controllers have lost their "raison d'être" in that the functionality provided thereby already exists with the provided MoBo utilities with far less hassle, cost and usually more functionality.

When you want more fans, the most aesthetically pleasing option is the Fan PCB. Two options here:

A. PWM type pass through - Here the PWM signal from a MoBo header is input to a fan PCB which sends duplicate signals to up to 8 fans. When the number of fans is less than 1 amp, (theoretically) you don't need to use the provided power cable. Because of inrush current, I "de-rate" the header...

140mm 1200 rpm - 0.83 amps
140mm 1500 rpm - 0.75 amps
140mm 1800 rpm - 0.67 amps
140mm 2100 rpm - 0.58 amps
140mm 2400 rpm - 0.50 amps

Probably over compensating but why not ? As I recall, the provide dpower cable provides 30 watts.

https://www.swiftech.com/8-WayPWMsplitter-sata.aspx

B. PWM type conversion - In this type, the PWM cable is converted to DCV control of gfans. This has several advantages:

a) DCV fans are substantially cheaper
b) Combines the "best of both worlds" in that low speed PWM type control is maintained(25% of max speed), but low speed PWM fan hum and clicking is eliminated.
c) Works with both PWM and DCV headers tho in the latter case, ypou lose speed control if you use the power cable . Without, you are limited to 1 amp rule.

http://phanteks.com/PH-PWHUB.html

I use the Phanteks type...

Channel 0 - CPU and CPU-OPT Headers => twin water pumps
Channel 1 - CHA_1 Header => PCB1 =-> (6) fans on 420mm rad
Channel 2 - CHA_2 Header => PCB2 =-> (4) fans on 280mm rad
Channel 3 - CHA_3 Header => PCB3 =-> (6) case fans

Under gaming, the 1250 rpm fans always stay 400 - 600 rpm range, on stress tests will reach 800 - 850. Fans are set to taper speeds downward over 90 seconds after load is rmoved to remove latent heat from coolant. Fans are set to turn off when fan curve calls for < 400 rpm. Pump range is from 2250 => 4500

Again, the biggest reason for the PCB is being able to utilize the extra functionality of the MoBo utilities without overloading chassis headers. However, aesthetics is right up there as each wire can be hidden a lot easier w/o the Y split. Finally, can save up to 50% of the cost ny usimg DCV fans w/o the otherwise requisite loss of low speed control and while eliminating lowe speed hum / clicking, that some PWM fans exhibit.
 
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