1.2 amps to a (possible) 1 amp header?

[Deleted member 1940107]

Okay so I recently bought 6 fans to go with my PC (Corsair AF120 LED Quiet edition), but my mother board only has 2 3 pin connectors, so I bought 2 4 way splitters (each splitter has an unused plug)
My concern is I just barely realized that each fan draws 0.4 amps each, totaling a 1.2 amp draw from each header. I found out that Gigabyte's motherboards are normally only rated for 1 amp per header.
Do you guys think I would be okay, or would I need to buy some 3 pin to 4 pin converters (assuming they're a thing, im not entirely sure)?

Fans: AF120 LED Quiet Edition
Motherboard: Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 Ultra
Splitters: "Circotech 3-Pin Female to 4 x 3-Pin Male Computer Case Fan Splitter"

 

[velocityg4]

Get a powered splitter. It gets whatever speed settings from the motherboard header. It gets power from Molex/SATA.

 

[Paperdoc]

There really is only one solution for your dilemma. You have chosen to buy a lot of fans of the "LED Fan" type, which means that power must be supplied to each for BOTH the motor and the LED light, and that's why they can consume up to 0.4 A each. Then you are limited by your mobo's headers, and even more limited than you think. Of its four fan headers, the CPU_FAN one is dedicated to managing cooling of the CPU chip based on a temperature sensor inside that chip. The SYS_FAN1 header has four pins, BUT its pinout labels on p. 14 of the manual indicate that it really is only using the older Voltage Control Mode. That mode is just what your fans need, BUT it is limited to 1.0 A max load. The SYS_FAN2 and PWR_FAN header labels indicate clearly that they do NOT exercise ANY control over their fan's speeds - they only supply a fixed 12 VDC to the fan for full speed operation. So those two header can NOT control any of your fans.

velocity4 is headed in the right direction, but it's not so simple and does not work at he / she suggest. However, there IS one way to do this. You need to buy a device called the Phanteks PWM Hub. Like most Hubs it gets power for all its fans directly from the PSU via a cable connected to a SATA power output of the PSU. It gets the fan speed control signal from a mobo header that actually IS using the new PWM Mode to control its fans, and you have only ONE such header - the CPU_FAN header. Now, almost all Hubs can only work with 4-pin fans (yours are not) but the Phanteks unit is different. It uses that PWM signal to create its own group of six three-pin fan ports each controlled in the old Voltage Control Mode that your fans need. So this Hub CAN control your fans' speeds if you set it up right, as follows.

1. Mount the Phanteks PWM Hub in your case. Disconnect the fan on your CPU from the CPU_FAN header, then plug the fan cable from the Hub into that CPU_FAN header. Plug the power cable from the Hub into a SATA power output connector from the PSU.
2. Now plug the cooling fan for the CPU specifically into the white Port #1 of the Hub. This is the ONLY port that will return its fan's speed signal to the mobo header, and that CPU_FAN header REALLY needs to be able to monitor the actual CPU cooling unit for possible failure.
3. Now you have six Corsair fans and five unused ports. But the Hub comes with two small Splitters; each will allow you to connect two fans to a single port, and you can do that twice. On the Hub, EACH port can support up to 1.0 A, so two of your fans on one port is OK.
4. When you start up, go immediately into BIOS Setup and go to where you configure the fan headers - see manual p. 23. Make sure that CPU Fan Control Mode is set to PWM and not to Voltage. Set CPU Fan Speed Control to Normal. Remember to SAVE and EXIT.

This will get power AND speed control to all of your fans. There's one small item that's not "perfect", but really is OK. This way puts all of the case ventilation fans controlled according to the temperature sensor inside the CPU chip, instead of the other sensor on the mobo. But there is a very good correlation between heat generation inside the CPU chip due to workload, and heat generation everywhere else on the mobo. So this method of control is quite acceptable, and it DOES do automatic control as your workload changes.

 

[Deleted member 1940107]

There really is only one solution for your dilemma. You have chosen to buy a lot of fans of the "LED Fan" type, which means that power must be supplied to each for BOTH the motor and the LED light, and that's why they can consume up to 0.4 A each. Then you are limited by your mobo's headers, and even more limited than you think. Of its four fan headers, the CPU_FAN one is dedicated to managing cooling of the CPU chip based on a temperature sensor inside that chip. The SYS_FAN1 header has four pins, BUT its pinout labels on p. 14 of the manual indicate that it really is only using the older Voltage Control Mode. That mode is just what your fans need, BUT it is limited to 1.0 A max load. The SYS_FAN2 and PWR_FAN header labels indicate clearly that they do NOT exercise ANY control over their fan's speeds - they only supply a fixed 12 VDC to the fan for full speed operation. So those two header can NOT control any of your fans.

velocity4 is headed in the right direction, but it's not so simple and does not work at he / she suggest. However, there IS one way to do this. You need to buy a device called the Phanteks PWM Hub. Like most Hubs it gets power for all its fans directly from the PSU via a cable connected to a SATA power output of the PSU. It gets the fan speed control signal from a mobo header that actually IS using the new PWM Mode to control its fans, and you have only ONE such header - the CPU_FAN header. Now, almost all Hubs can only work with 4-pin fans (yours are not) but the Phanteks unit is different. It uses that PWM signal to create its own group of six three-pin fan ports each controlled in the old Voltage Control Mode that your fans need. So this Hub CAN control your fans' speeds if you set it up right, as follows.

1. Mount the Phanteks PWM Hub in your case. Disconnect the fan on your CPU from the CPU_FAN header, then plug the fan cable from the Hub into that CPU_FAN header. Plug the power cable from the Hub into a SATA power output connector from the PSU.
2. Now plug the cooling fan for the CPU specifically into the white Port #1 of the Hub. This is the ONLY port that will return its fan's speed signal to the mobo header, and that CPU_FAN header REALLY needs to be able to monitor the actual CPU cooling unit for possible failure.
3. Now you have six Corsair fans and five unused ports. But the Hub comes with two small Splitters; each will allow you to connect two fans to a single port, and you can do that twice. On the Hub, EACH port can support up to 1.0 A, so two of your fans on one port is OK.
4. When you start up, go immediately into BIOS Setup and go to where you configure the fan headers - see manual p. 23. Make sure that CPU Fan Control Mode is set to PWM and not to Voltage. Set CPU Fan Speed Control to Normal. Remember to SAVE and EXIT.

This will get power AND speed control to all of your fans. There's one small item that's not "perfect", but really is OK. This way puts all of the case ventilation fans controlled according to the temperature sensor inside the CPU chip, instead of the other sensor on the mobo. But there is a very good correlation between heat generation inside the CPU chip due to workload, and heat generation everywhere else on the mobo. So this method of control is quite acceptable, and it DOES do automatic control as your workload changes.

Thank you so much for this, I honestly really appreciate it. One question though, You said to plug the CPU fan into the white fan port #1 on the hub, but from pictures I am looking at, that port is only 3-pin, while my CPU fan is 4-pin. Couldn't I just plug it into the "4-pin (CPU-Fan)" header on the hub?
EDIT: Okay sorry I was confusing myself, So scratch all my writing above this. So from my current understanding, the hub needs the "4-pin (CPU_Fan) header connected to the CPU_Fan header on the motherboard? If that is the case, how am I supposed to power my 4-pin CPU fan? Sorry, I am probably being dumb haha

 

[Paperdoc]

You're not being dumb, and you have reminded me of a hint you need. First, the connector designs and wiring of 3- and 4-pin fans is deliberately so you CAN plug any 3- OR 4-pin connector into any 3- or 4-pin header, and it will fit and work, with a few limitations on performance. BUT the Phanteks Hub has a small problem there. The size of the hole in the outer shroud of the Hub at each 3-pin male port is too small to allow a 4-pin female connector to plug in! The solution is easy if you happen to think of it. The Hub comes with TWO small Splitters to allow connecting two fans to one port each. In your case you actually need only one of those. Plug the other one into that white Port #1, and then plug the 4-pin CPU cooler fan into one output arm of that Splitter. That Splitter connector does not have any shroud around it so this will work. The makers recommend that you do not connect two fans to that particular port, so leave the other output arm of this Splitter unused. Maybe even put tape around it so that the exposed pins will not short out against something.

A further small point FYI. Any fan header can handle receiving only ONE fan speed signal coming back from the fan, so this Hub like all others simply will not send back any fan's speed other than the one on Port #1. Thus you will never be able to "see" the speeds of any of your case fans. This has NO impact on ability to control those fans' speeds. However, it does mean that your mobo cannot monitor those fans' speed signals for failure. So it is up to you from time to time to check that all your fans are still working.

Thanks for Best Solution.