Case fan adapters

[GemStark]

I want to buy new case fans for my PC. My current ones use 4-pin Molex connectors and that is it.

The fans I want to buy have either 3 pin or 4 pin connectors. I want to adapt those to a 4-pin Molex connector, which will lead to the PSU.

Someone please tell me the difference between the following pictures.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812423171&cm_re=3_pin_fan_connector_to_4_pin_molex-_-12-423-171-_-Product

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIACJF5497317&cm_re=3_pin_fan_connector_to_4_pin_molex-_-9SIACJF5497317-_-Product

Which is it?! The fans I want have a female 3 or 4 pin connection, but when I read the product description, it sounds right but does not look right.

What do I use to make a case fan go from a 3 or 4 pin to a 4-pin Molex to connect to the PSU?
Thank you in advance.

 

[Aeacus]

1st link: cable with four 2-pin fan connectors for 3-pin fans. With this cable, you can power 4 fans off from single molex connector. Two fans will receive full 12V (black and yellow cables) and spin 100% while the other two will receive 5V (black and red cables) and spin about 50% of full rated speed.

2nd link: cable with molex passthrough and 1x 3-pin cable to connect one fan. With this, you don't loose molex connector while connecting one fan to the PSU power while fan gets full 12V and spins 100% all the time.

If you want to control the speeds of fans and when you have one external 5.25" bay then i suggest you get a fan controller.
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/6qDwrH,fJsKHx,dQ8Zxr,XnnG3C/

In my Skylake build (full specs with pics in my sig), i have Thermaltake Commander F6 RGB fan controller. It has 6 channels, RGB LED display and knobs for each fan. Oh, temp sensor for each channel too and LED strip support on channels #5 and #6.
With this, i can control all connected 3-pin or 4-pin fans as i please while RPM value is also shown. And all of it is powered by 1x molex connector.

 

[GemStark]

https://c1.neweggimages.com/productimagecompressall800/35-185-060-04.jpg

https://c1.neweggimages.com/productimagecompressall800/35-132-023-05.jpg

Which male 3-pin male connector connects to these case fans? I'm confused about the difference between the two aforementioned links and the exhibited 3-pin male connectors.
Are they the same? Which is it? Where did the four 2-pin connectors come from according to the first link?

 

[Aeacus]

Both linked fan images have 3-pin female fan connector and you can plug them in into both adapters you linked above.

The difference between the adapters is as i described; first one has room for 4 fans while 2nd one has room for 1 fan.
As far as the 1st adapter goes, you can plug 3-pin female fan connector to the 2-pin male connector and fan works as it should be. Only thing is that the 3rd wire fan has (for RPM signal) will be unused.

Here's fan pinout:
1st pin: ground
2nd pin: power +12V
3rd pin: RPM signal (missing from 2-pin fans)
4th pin: PWM signal (missing from 2-pin and 3-pin fans)

For fan to work, it only needs 2 pins: 1st and 2nd.

Here's also an image to show compatibility between 4-pin male and 3-pin fan. Same applies if you have 2-pin male and 3-pin fan connector.

 

[GemStark]

I think the main confusion here is why the first female adaptor is hooded; the second picture shows a completely different looking female adaptor.

 

[Aeacus]

It's manufacturer's choice which kind of fan header to use.
There is a difference between the fan headers. The enclosed fan header only allows to insert 2-pin or 3-pin fans. 4-pin fan connector won't fit into it. While the open fan header doesn't restrict which fan you plug into it. You can plug any fan into it (including 4-pin) since it uses the same design as fan headers found on MoBo.
Since you are planning to use 3-pin fans, that difference doesn't concern you.