[SOLVED] Advice needed on NZXT H440 Fan Hub connection

[dhmolson]

I have an NZXT H440 case with a built-in PWM Fan Hub. My motherboard is an Asus Prime B-550 Plus. My CPU cooler is a Corsair H110i GTX Liquid CPU Cooler.

I am trying to figure out how to configure both my CPU cooler and my case fans. Currently I have everything plugged into the PWM Fan Hub that is built into my case, and I have the PWM Fan Hub connected to my CPU_FAN header, but I wonder if this is the best way to configure it. The CPU Cooler is plugged into the white slot of the PWM Fan Hub. Nothing is plugged into the AIO Pump header or the CHA_FAN headers on my motherboard.

Here are photos of the diagram depicting the PWM Fan Hub in my case's manual and my current fan settings in the BIOS:
Fan Settings and PWM Hub Diagram

 

[Paperdoc]

What you have done will work, but not quite ideal. The "not quite" part is that all guidance for ALL of your fans is coming from the temperature sensor inside the CPU chip. Ideally, the CASE fans should be guided instead by a sensor on the mobo. That is how the mobo CHA_FAN headers are guided.

As a side note to this, recognize that the Corsair H100i GTX system is guided by the CPU internal sensor no matter how you do this, as ling as you follow its instructions. It is manged by the iCUE software utility, which communicates with the H100i system via the USB2 cable it includes. iCUE automatically gets the CPU's temp sensor reading from the mobo. It manages the rad fan speeds itself, using that link USB to the pump module and the fan sockets on the pump side. The ONLY function for the H110i system that uses the CPU_FAN header is that cable from the pump to that header, and all that does is send to the header the PUMP speed to be monitored for possible failure. That is IMPORTANT, so that cable should feed to that header somehow. Currently you are doing that via the connection to the Hub's white Port #1 and the Hub's cable to CPU_FAN. Rad fan speeds are shown to you only through iCUE.

To optimize the case fans, we need to know just what those are. Tell us how many, and what maker and model number if you can. With that we can look up details like 3-pin or 4-pin, max amps used, etc. The options available are to use the Hub, or to ignore it and use simpler Splitters with the three CHA_FAN headers your mobo has.

 

[dhmolson]

What you have done will work, but not quite ideal. The "not quite" part is that all guidance for ALL of your fans is coming from the temperature sensor inside the CPU chip. Ideally, the CASE fans should be guided instead by a sensor on the mobo. That is how the mobo CHA_FAN headers are guided.

As a side note to this, recognize that the Corsair H100i GTX system is guided by the CPU internal sensor no matter how you do this, as ling as you follow its instructions. It is manged by the iCUE software utility, which communicates with the H100i system via the USB2 cable it includes. iCUE automatically gets the CPU's temp sensor reading from the mobo. It manages the rad fan speeds itself, using that link USB to the pump module and the fan sockets on the pump side. The ONLY function for the H110i system that uses the CPU_FAN header is that cable from the pump to that header, and all that does is send to the header the PUMP speed to be monitored for possible failure. That is IMPORTANT, so that cable should feed to that header somehow. Currently you are doing that via the connection to the Hub's white Port #1 and the Hub's cable to CPU_FAN. Rad fan speeds are shown to you only through iCUE.

To optimize the case fans, we need to know just what those are. Tell us how many, and what maker and model number if you can. With that we can look up details like 3-pin or 4-pin, max amps used, etc. The options available are to use the Hub, or to ignore it and use simpler Splitters with the three CHA_FAN headers your mobo has.

The case fans are the fans that came installed in the case; I have not installed any aftermarket case fans. So should I plug the CPU cooler's power cable straight into the CPU_FAN header on my mobo and then plug the Case Fan Hub into one of the CHA_FAN headers? This will leave the hub's white port #1 with nothing plugged into it.

 

[Paperdoc]

What you suggest may work. Certainly I recommend you disconnect the case-supplied Hub and connect the speed signal cable from the PUMP unit of the H199i system to your CPU_FAN header.

How to connect the four fans supplied with the case is a bit different. The case web page says it includes four NZXT FN V2 fans, which are 3-pin design and require Voltage Control Mode (aka DC Mode) to control their speed. The Hub you have does that on all outputs except the white Port #1, so at first glance that seems good. Now, to do that, you would plug its input cable into one of the CHA_FAN headers on your mobo and make a few configuration settings (see below), then plug your four fans into Hub ports OTHER THAN Port #1. (If you plug one of those fans into Port #1, it can only run full speed all the time.) However, the problem becomes that the Hub reports back to the mobo header the speed of the fan on Port #1 only. If there is no fan there, the mobo header will detect no fan and may issue constant warnings that the fan on that header has FAILED. There should be a way to deal with that in header configuration.

So, if you proceed that way, here are configuration details. If you don;t yet have it, download your mobo's BIOS manual called PRIME TUF GAMING B550 Series BIOS EM WEB EN from its website here

https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/misc/Manual/PRIME_TUF_GAMING_B550_Series_BIOS_EM_WEB_EN.pdf

Start on p.5. To get into BIOS Setup you must press the "Del" key immediately after starting up. I always Press and HOLD that key to be sure the system "sees" your action, until the opening screen of Setup appears (manual p.6). Look at bottom right, and press F7 to get to Advanced Mode (p.7). At the top click on Monitor to get to the Monitor Menu (p.37). Clock on the particular Chassis Fan header you want to configure, and then see p. 39 for details. Set options as:
Q-Fan Control to PWM Mode so the Hub receives the PWM signal it needs
Chassis Fan Source to Motherboard so it uses that temp sensor
Chassis Fan Speed Low Limit to Ignore so it does NOT worry about no speed signal coming back from the Hub
Chassis Fan Profile to Standard to use the automatic default fan speed control plan based on temperature at the selected sensor

When you have those set, use Esc to get back to the Monitor Menu. There click on Exit at upper right to reach the Exit Menu (p. 49). Choose Save Changes and Reset to save your new settings and reboot.

This should allow you to use the Hub you have to power and control the speed of all four of the 3-pin case ventilation fans you have, based on the temperature sensor on the mobo. The mobo should NOT give you any hassle about not having a fan working on the CHA_FANn header that the Hub is plugged into. However, with this arrangement, that header can NOT monitor the speed of ANY of those case fans for possible failure. So from time to time, YOU should just check that they all are working.

Meanwhile, your H100i system will manage cooling of the CPU, with its pump speed reported properly to the CPU_FAN header. A small note: you can rely on the speed and temperature info shown to you in the Corsair iCUE utility. IF you use BIOS Setup to look for the speed of your CPU cooling system, it will label the speed it has on the CPU_FAN header as the FAN speed, because it does not know that you really have a PUMP connected there. Do not worry about that.

 

[dhmolson]

What you suggest may work. Certainly I recommend you disconnect the case-supplied Hub and connect the speed signal cable from the PUMP unit of the H199i system to your CPU_FAN header.

How to connect the four fans supplied with the case is a bit different. The case web page says it includes four NZXT FN V2 fans, which are 3-pin design and require Voltage Control Mode (aka DC Mode) to control their speed. The Hub you have does that on all outputs except the white Port #1, so at first glance that seems good. Now, to do that, you would plug its input cable into one of the CHA_FAN headers on your mobo and make a few configuration settings (see below), then plug your four fans into Hub ports OTHER THAN Port #1. (If you plug one of those fans into Port #1, it can only run full speed all the time.) However, the problem becomes that the Hub reports back to the mobo header the speed of the fan on Port #1 only. If there is no fan there, the mobo header will detect no fan and may issue constant warnings that the fan on that header has FAILED. There should be a way to deal with that in header configuration.

So, if you proceed that way, here are configuration details. If you don;t yet have it, download your mobo's BIOS manual called PRIME TUF GAMING B550 Series BIOS EM WEB EN from its website here

https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/misc/Manual/PRIME_TUF_GAMING_B550_Series_BIOS_EM_WEB_EN.pdf

Start on p.5. To get into BIOS Setup you must press the "Del" key immediately after starting up. I always Press and HOLD that key to be sure the system "sees" your action, until the opening screen of Setup appears (manual p.6). Look at bottom right, and press F7 to get to Advanced Mode (p.7). At the top click on Monitor to get to the Monitor Menu (p.37). Clock on the particular Chassis Fan header you want to configure, and then see p. 39 for details. Set options as:
Q-Fan Control to PWM Mode so the Hub receives the PWM signal it needs
Chassis Fan Source to Motherboard so it uses that temp sensor
Chassis Fan Speed Low Limit to Ignore so it does NOT worry about no speed signal coming back from the Hub
Chassis Fan Profile to Standard to use the automatic default fan speed control plan based on temperature at the selected sensor

When you have those set, use Esc to get back to the Monitor Menu. There click on Exit at upper right to reach the Exit Menu (p. 49). Choose Save Changes and Reset to save your new settings and reboot.

This should allow you to use the Hub you have to power and control the speed of all four of the 3-pin case ventilation fans you have, based on the temperature sensor on the mobo. The mobo should NOT give you any hassle about not having a fan working on the CHA_FANn header that the Hub is plugged into. However, with this arrangement, that header can NOT monitor the speed of ANY of those case fans for possible failure. So from time to time, YOU should just check that they all are working.

Meanwhile, your H100i system will manage cooling of the CPU, with its pump speed reported properly to the CPU_FAN header. A small note: you can rely on the speed and temperature info shown to you in the Corsair iCUE utility. IF you use BIOS Setup to look for the speed of your CPU cooling system, it will label the speed it has on the CPU_FAN header as the FAN speed, because it does not know that you really have a PUMP connected there. Do not worry about that.

Thank you so much! You are awesome!!!

 

[Paperdoc]

You're welcome, and thanks for Best Solution.