Should I Use Motherboard Connector for Extra 3 Fans?

[denixius]

Hello,

I have a Thermaltake Versa T27 TG 750W case, and I bought an extra three 1200RPM fans to place on the top of the case. I screwed these fans to the top inside the case, and to run these fans, I also purchased a splitter. Then I plugged the cables of the three extra fans into the 3-pin inputs of the splitter. And then used the extra SATA of the PSU for the fans to work.

There is also a cable for an extra motherboard input on the splitter. However, I haven't used this and I only put PSU SATA in use for their power. I checked the fans, and they were working, I couldn't hear noise coming from these fans, at least, they were running, but not noisy.

Now, will it cause any problems if I use the only PSU's SATA cable? Or do I need to connect it to the motherboard? I have added the information on the relevant hardware below. I know if I use a motherboard connection, too, it will help me to check if they are running or not and change their RPMs.

And I don't think I have an extra pin on the motherboard for this splitter.

Case: Thermaltake Versa T27 TG 750W
Motherboard: MSI H510M-A PRO
Fans: 3x 1200RPM Case Fan
Fan Dimensions: 120 x 120 x 25 mm
Fan Speed: 1200RPM
Fan Airflow: 38.4 CFM
Fan Structure: Sleeve Bearing (don't know what it is, I just translated it from the website I purchased)
Fan Connector Type: 3-pin RPM Sensor Connection
Voltage: 12V
Noise Level: 17.5 dBA

I kindly request your assistance on this matter.

Bests,

 

[Bobaganoosh]

I don't think it'll hurt anything, you just won't be able to control them. They'll run at full speed all the time. 17.5dBA is pretty quiet, but it's up to you if you're happy with that.

 

[maxfly]

Agreed, if you're comfortable with the current situation in regards to noise and flow, your gtg. Nothing to worry about

 

[denixius]

Hi,

Thank you for your quick replies! Now, I'm relieved. By the way, after sharing this post with you, I realized that I had the fans installed incorrectly. I installed it where the exhaust is looking down. The direction the arrow points is where the air goes from inside to outside, right? I fixed that one, too. Because I installed the fans at the top of the case. However, everything is normal now. I don't have a problem with its sound, frankly, it doesn't make much noise. Pretty odd.

When I played Victoria 3 on Ultra settings, my CPU was rising to 60 degrees, but now it shows between 55-57 degrees. I didn't think it would make that much difference.

Thank you!

 

[maxfly]

Hi,

Thank you for your quick replies! Now, I'm relieved. By the way, after sharing this post with you, I realized that I had the fans installed incorrectly. I installed it where the exhaust is looking down. The direction the arrow points is where the air goes from inside to outside, right? I fixed that one, too. Because I installed the fans at the top of the case. However, everything is normal now. I don't have a problem with its sound, frankly, it doesn't make much noise. Pretty odd.

When I played Victoria 3 on Ultra settings, my CPU was rising to 60 degrees, but now it shows between 55-57 degrees. I didn't think it would make that much difference.

Thank you!

Glad to help
Yep the arrow should be the outlet. Or another way to be sure your outlet is facing the right way is most every fan manufacturer puts their snazzy brand sticker on the outlet side.

 

[denixius]

Hello again,

I also need a suggestion for the airflow in my computer case. I shared a draft image below, and this draft image shows the fans I'm using. Now, as you may see, Blue 1, Blue 2, and Blue 3 carry cold air into the case. Red 1, Red 2, and Red 3 are exhaust to take the hot air inside out.

Now, my question is this: I experienced that when I put my hand over Red 1 and Red 2, hot air flowed outside. Which is good, I think. However, when I put my hand over the Red 3 fan, I felt a cold air flowing outside. Which is bad, right? Because, when Blue 1, Blue 2, and Blue 3 carry the cold air inside, some of the air exhausts outside by the Red 3 fan. So, in this case, should I change Red 3 to make it carry cold air from outside to inside, is that the right way to keep airflow clean and cold inside?

Now, is it good to keep Red 1 and Red 2 as exhaust, and Red 3 as intake?

Thanks,

 

[mama]

I would go with the first option for better flow.

 

[denixius]

I would go with the first option for better flow.

So, is it normal to take cold air from inside to outside? Because, as I said, when I put my hands on the third fan spot on the top (Red 3), I feel cold air.

 

[Bobaganoosh]

You're just exhausting some of the cool air before it heats up much. Probably not hurting anything, but if you put that top fan as intake, it might pull some of the hot air coming from the neighboring fan and pull it back in, which would be bad. Alternatively, do you have a spot in the bottom of the case to bring in more cool air from underneath? I tend to prefer positive pressure anyway (more intake from filtered fans than exhaust), which forces air to come in through dust filters, but leave anywhere it can, including exhaust fans.

 

[Eskimonster]

Yea take option 1

 

[maxfly]

What you're seeing is red 3 exhausting blue 1s cool air in essentially a wasted cycle. If you were running an AIO or a custom wcing loop with a 360 rad in the front of your case that cycle (for lack of a better term) would be ideal. As it would be exhausting the heated radiator air immediately from your case. In an air cooled rig, it's not doing anything effective. If your running an air cooled rig (I assume you are)pulling red 3 altogether and allowing blue 1s cool air to reach your GPU, MB CPU area by increasing it's rpms would likely be your best option.

 

[denixius]

You're just exhausting some of the cool air before it heats up much. Probably not hurting anything, but if you put that top fan as intake, it might pull some of the hot air coming from the neighboring fan and pull it back in, which would be bad. Alternatively, do you have a spot in the bottom of the case to bring in more cool air from underneath? I tend to prefer positive pressure anyway (more intake from filtered fans than exhaust), which forces air to come in through dust filters, but leave anywhere it can, including exhaust fans.

Yes, it seems like the current installation is exhausting some of the cool air coming from the front because of the Red 3. No, I guess, I don't have a spare spot, underneath. So, then, is that fine to change Red 3 to intake?

What you're seeing is red 3 exhausting blue 1s cool air in essentially a wasted cycle. If you were running an AIO or a custom wcing loop with a 360 rad in the front of your case that cycle (for lack of a better term) would be ideal. As it would be exhausting the heated radiator air immediately from your case. In an air cooled rig, it's not doing anything effective. If your running an air cooled rig (I assume you are)pulling red 3 altogether and allowing blue 1s cool air to reach your GPU, MB CPU area by increasing it's rpms would likely be your best option.

I actually, don't understand some of your words, because the terms are too technical. But I can assure you that I'm not running All-in-One Computer (I guess, AIO means All-in-One). So, you are saying that I should remove Red 3, and let Blue 1, Blue 2, and Blue 3 give more cool air towards both CPU and GPU, right?

 

[AusWolf]

If you want to control them individually, plug them into the motherboard. If not, the splitter will do fine.

 

[maxfly]

Yes, it seems like the current installation is exhausting some of the cool air coming from the front because of the Red 3. No, I guess, I don't have a spare spot, underneath. So, then, is that fine to change Red 3 to intake?

I actually, don't understand some of your words, because the terms are too technical. But I can assure you that I'm not running All-in-One Computer (I guess, AIO means All-in-One). So, you are saying that I should remove Red 3, and let Blue 1, Blue 2, and Blue 3 give more cool air towards both CPU and GPU, right?

Yep, you got it. Trying different configurations is always a good idea. You may be surprised what improvements you find while experimenting.

 

[denixius]

Yep, you got it. Trying different configurations is always a good idea. You may be surprised what improvements you find while experimenting.

Thank you, I will try that!

 

[iameatingjam]

Hello again,

I also need a suggestion for the airflow in my computer case. I shared a draft image below, and this draft image shows the fans I'm using. Now, as you may see, Blue 1, Blue 2, and Blue 3 carry cold air into the case. Red 1, Red 2, and Red 3 are exhaust to take the hot air inside out.

Now, my question is this: I experienced that when I put my hand over Red 1 and Red 2, hot air flowed outside. Which is good, I think. However, when I put my hand over the Red 3 fan, I felt a cold air flowing outside. Which is bad, right? Because, when Blue 1, Blue 2, and Blue 3 carry the cold air inside, some of the air exhausts outside by the Red 3 fan. So, in this case, should I change Red 3 to make it carry cold air from outside to inside, is that the right way to keep airflow clean and cold inside?

Now, is it good to keep Red 1 and Red 2 as exhaust, and Red 3 as intake?

Thanks,

View attachment 313697View attachment 313698

I usually recommend having more intakes than exhaust to keep positive pressure. This is important if you don't want dust building up in your case. BUT having intake and exhaust on the top doesn't really make sense. Perhaps you could go with option one, but using the fan controls you do have either turn the intake speed up or the exhaust speed down ( or both) until you reach a point of positive pressure. You can test this by lighting a match, blowing it out, and holding it up to one of the pcs holes not anywhere near a fan and see if the smoke blows in or out. If it blows out, then you have positive pressure.

 

[AusWolf]

I usually recommend having more intakes than exhaust to keep positive pressure. This is important if you don't want dust building up in your case. BUT having intake and exhaust on the top doesn't really make sense. Perhaps you could go with option one, but using the fan controls you do have either turn the intake speed up or the exhaust speed down ( or both) until you reach a point of positive pressure. You can test this by lighting a match, blowing it out, and holding it up to one of the pcs holes not anywhere near a fan and see if the smoke blows in or out. If it blows out, then you have positive pressure.

If you're working with the same fans, then it's enough to have more of them as intake, or use the intake ones at slightly higher RPM.

 

[Assimilator]

Hello again,

I also need a suggestion for the airflow in my computer case. I shared a draft image below, and this draft image shows the fans I'm using. Now, as you may see, Blue 1, Blue 2, and Blue 3 carry cold air into the case. Red 1, Red 2, and Red 3 are exhaust to take the hot air inside out.

Now, my question is this: I experienced that when I put my hand over Red 1 and Red 2, hot air flowed outside. Which is good, I think. However, when I put my hand over the Red 3 fan, I felt a cold air flowing outside. Which is bad, right? Because, when Blue 1, Blue 2, and Blue 3 carry the cold air inside, some of the air exhausts outside by the Red 3 fan. So, in this case, should I change Red 3 to make it carry cold air from outside to inside, is that the right way to keep airflow clean and cold inside?

Now, is it good to keep Red 1 and Red 2 as exhaust, and Red 3 as intake?

Thanks,

View attachment 313697View attachment 313698

Option 1, but change the rear fan to be an intake to ensure positive pressure.

An alternate way to achieve positive pressure would be to leave the rear fan as exhaust, and swap the 3x front fans for 140mm models of the same RPM.