Connect pwm to motherboard

[Echavarriaj]

Hi. I have a enthoo pro tower and asus maximus viii motherboard. I have connected the pwm 4 pin cable to the cpu_fan slot in the motherboard. However, I dont know where to connect the cpu cooler in top of the motherboard. Do I connect it to the optional fan slot in the motherboard?

U can tell it's my1st build

 

[Luminary]

The fan on the CPU heatsink plugs into the CPU_FAN header. All other fans can plug into the red fan headers in the pic below:

 

[Paperdoc]

I'm not sure what you mean by "I have connected the PWM 4 pin cable to the cpu_fan slot in the motherboard." I note that this case comes with the Phanteks PWM Fan Hub. Maybe you mean that the 4-pin fan cable from this Hub has been plugged into your mobo's CPU_FAN port.

You have not specified which mobo completely, so I'm going to use the manual for the ASUS Maximus VIII Hero model. (I've added notes for the ASUS Maximus Extreme model.)

The PWM Hub in the case is designed to do this: it takes the PWM signal from one mobo fan port and it takes power from a PSU SATA power supply connector, and it uses those to create six 3-pin fan ports for you to connect fans to. This hub is unusual in this: it does not simply create many 4-pin (PWM Mode) ports. It creates 3-pin (Voltage Control Mode) ports from the PWM signal. Now, 4-pin fans can actually run under Voltage Control Mode (and they CAN plug into a 3-pin port) so in this way the Hub provides control of BOTH 3-pin and 4-pin fans plugged into it. Its best use is to use one mobo CHA_FAN port to control all your case ventilation fans IF you don't want to use the individual mobo CHA_FAN ports OR IF your mobo does not have enough of those fan ports for all your fans. So let's go through the setup.

First, the CPU cooler system. I am not clear what you mean by saying "the cpu cooler in top of the motherboard". Do you have a CPU cooler system that is a finned heatsink and fan mounted on the CPU? Or, do you have a liquid-cooling system with a pump on the CPU and tubing running to a separate radiator mounted in the top of the case, with its own fans there? In either case, your best choice is to have the mobo perform automatic control of the CPU cooling by connecting the cooler system to the CPU_FAN mobo port. This system uses a temperature sensor built into the CPU chip by its maker, and changes the CPU cooler system speed to keep the chip's internal temperature under control. To configure this system, see the mobo manual Section 3.7 on p. 3-38 (Extreme model on p. 3-36). The CPU Q-Fan Control can be left on the default Auto setting, or changed to PWM Mode if you are using a 4-pin cooling fan or PWM cooling system. Leave the CPU Fan Profile at the default Standard setting to allow it to do automatic control. If you have a liquid cooling system, follow its maker's installation instructions. I expect they will require that you connect something to the CPU_FAN port and configure it for automatic control as above.

Now to case ventilation. You have a decision. Your mobo has four CHA_FAN ports and each can be configured for automatic control of either 4-pin (PWM Mode) fans or 3-pin (Voltage Control Mode) fans. Now, your case came with 2 fans Pin counts unknown). Even if you install one or two more, you have enough mobo fan ports to control them all WITHOUT using the PWM Hub that came with your case. So, let's cover that situation first: you will ignore the Hub and just use mobo CHA_FAN ports for each fan. Plug each case fan into one mobo CHA_FAN port. (Do NOT use the special Extension Fan mobo port.) For each port you use, configure them according to manual pages 3-39 and 3-40 (extreme model p. 3-37 and 3-38). Under Chassis Fan 1-4 Q-Fan Control, you can Disable any mobo CHA_FAN port you are NOT using. For ones you use, set this according to the fan wiring: set to DC Mode if you have a 3-pin fan, or to PWM Mode for a 4-pin fan.Under Chassis Fan 1-4 Q-Fan Source, your best choice is usually Motherboard. (This item chooses which sensor to use to measure the actual temperature of what you are trying to cool with this fan, so the general built-in Motherboard sensor is usually best for case cooling.) The next few items probably should be left in their default settings for now. Ensure the Chassis Fan 1-4 Profile is set to Standard to allow automatic control. If you connect your fans this way, each of them will be separately controlled by its respective port (although likely they will all run at very similar speeds) and each fan's speed will be available for you to see in the fan control screens.

Alternative situation is if you decide to use the PWM Hub that came with the case and control all your case ventilation fans through it, using the PWM signal from only ONE of the mob's CHA_FAN ports. The case manual suggests that the Hub 4-pin cable be plugged into the mobo's CPU_FAN 4-pin port. This is a precaution because, as they point out in the fine details, some mobos have 4-pin CHA_FAN ports but do not actually do proper PWM Mode control. In those cases the Hub cannot get a PWM signal to use. But your mobo does do this properly (in fact, you will set it that way) on its CHA_FAN ports, so you should NOT plug the Hub into the CPU_FAN port - leave that port solely for the CPU cooling system. Plug the 4-pin connector from the Hub into one of the mobo's CHA_FAN ports. Plug the hub's power input connector into a SATA Power output connector directly from the PSU. Plug your case ventilation fans into the Hub, making sure that one is plugged into Hub Port #1 (with a different color). Now go into the BIOS Setup system for Section 3.7 fan configuration on p. 3-39 (as above) (Extreme model p. 3-37) and make sure the one port you have plugged the Hub into is set this way: Q-Fan Control on PWM Mode, Q-Fan Source on Motherboard, Chassis Fan Profile on Standard. If you connect your case ventilation fans this way, all of them will run at very similar speeds but you will only be able to see the speed of the one that is plugged into Hub Port #1.

 

[Gti-Guy]

I have the Asus rog maximus viii hero as well. If I have three fans connected to the hub and the hubs 4 pin connected to chan fan header. It would be OK? 3 fans on one header? Or is that why the sata cable is there? In my case, do I need a y cable or no?

 

[Paperdoc]

I presume you mean the Hub's PWM cable is connected to one of the mobo's CHA_FAN headers, that is a good way to do it. But YES, you do need to connect the Hub's SATA Power connector to a SATA power output from the PSU. The all the power for the fans will come from the PSU, and there is no risk of overloading the mobo header.

By the way, Phanteks' manual for its PWM Hub recommends that it be plugged into the mobo CPU_FAN header. You do NOT need to do that because your CHA_FAN headers CAN operate in PWM Mode as required. BUT you will need to change a setting in BIOS Setup Advanced Mode to do this. See manual p. 3-39 at the bottom. It says the default configuration for these CHA_FAN headers is to use "DC Mode", and you should change that to "PWM Mode" to ensure it puts out the PWM signal on Pin #4. That signal is REQUIRED by the Hub to do its work. Once that is set up, this Hub can control any mix of 3- and 4-pin fans.

 

[Gti-Guy]

Wow, so simple and I couldn't thank you enough for taking the time to explain/help! You have taught me more knowledge to pass onto others possibly someday.. One last question though since you are very PC savvy. I have purchased windows 10 as a CD version, but my case doesn't have a for an optical drive. In that case, I went and bought an external drive with 2.0 USB but this external drive comes with a software CD to download . I've already bought the CD version of windows so it would be a hassle to return and request the USB version. Anyways, my front USB's are 3.0 and MoBo usb's 3.1! Like I said before, my external op drive is a 2.0 and comes with a CD to download some software for the external drive. So, would having a 2.0 in a 3.0 be OK? Or do I need to change things in bios? Like setting and saving the external optical drive to boot first over the hdd? Would I change it back to normal after I have windows 10 installed though? Any solutions/suggestions?

 

[Paperdoc]

Using a USB2 device (like your external optical drive) with a USB3 computer port is just fine. It will work well. The only difference is that the data transfer rate with that will be the older slower rate for the USB2 system, not the much faster rate for USB3 devices. Especially for what you are doing, that is no real problem. It appears you plan not to be using an optical drive often, so you should be quite satisfied with the USB2 data transfer rate for the few times you use it.

I expect that the CD contains mainly utilities and application software that might help doing certain jobs with that optical drive. For purposes of loading the Win 10 OS, that does not matter at all. As long as your mobo is able to boot from a USB device, that should work just fine. AFTER you have Windows installed and running, you can examine whether that CD of software has useful stuff or not.

I would recommend that you set your BIOS's Boot Priority Sequence to use that USB drive as its first choice, and your hard drive (or SSD, if that is where Win 10 will be installed) as the second choice. AFTER Win 10 is installed and working, you will disconnect the external drive, and at that time you also should re-set BIOS Setup to use only your internal drive to boot from.

Here's an important hint when installing. When you start your installation of Win10, first make sure that there is only ONE storage device installed in your machine (HDD or SSD, or whatever). This will ensure that all of the Win 10 install process is put on that one storage device. If you have another device (for example, a system with one SSD to hold the OS, and a HDD for apps and data), then AFTER Win 10 is installed on that first device, shut down and install the other device. Windows will recognize it, but you may will have to use Windows' Disk Management utility to Create a New Simple Volume on it so it can be used.

The reason for this tip is as follows. Win 10 and some previous versions have a process designed to help you that actually causes problems for some. If there is a second storage device present at installation time, the Install process will place on that second unit in a semi-hidden volume some copies of important system files. The intent is that, at some time in the future if ever your main boot unit's files are corrupted, the boot process will go looking for those backups and restore good copies to your boot device, then boot up cleanly. Solves a big problem for you with no effort! But what this actually means is that on every boot occasion, Windows will look for those files to be sure they are available, and if they are NOT, it will not boot up. So, if ever your second unit is faulty or missing, you can't boot even though the actual boot device is OK! But if you do your original install as I suggest with NO second device available, the Install process will place all those backup files ON your actual boot drive, and they can always be found unless that drive fails. So doing it his way PARTLY defeats this precaution system. It puts the backups on the SAME drive as your boot files, rather than on a different one which is theoretically a little safer, but it allows you to remove that second drive without causing you a problem.

 

[Gti-Guy]

So don't plug in my hdd until I installed 10 onto my dad? Other thank that, this was very helpful

 

[Paperdoc]

That's right. Install Win 10 onto your SSD with only it in the machine. After win 10 is working, install the HDD.

Any hard drive needs to be prepared for use with a small process. When you install Windows on a drive, the Install process actually does this job for you on the particular storage device you are putting Windows on, so many people are unaware that the step is needed. But any additional storage device like a second HDD will need this. The handy utility to do this, Disk Manager, is built into Windows. After the HDD is installed, you start up Disk Management, find that HDD in its lower right pane, RIGHT-click on it, and choose Create a New Simple Volume. One option you might want to adjust in this is that the HDD does NOT need to be bootable since you already are using an SSD to boot from.

Another hint I just remembered. Until recently, Windows had some difficulty with HDD units over 2 TB. Now those can be dealt with well, but only if done right. The issue is that, to use a HDD over 2 TB, you MUST use the new GUI Partitioning system, and not the older MBR system used for smaller HDD's. BUT Windows itself only has the required device driver for GUI-Partitioned drives in its 64-bit version. SO, IF your HDD is over 2 TB, make sure to install on your SSD a 64-bit version of Win 10, not the 32-bit version. Then when you do the Create the New Simple Volume step, you MAY have to to tell it to use the GUI system, not MBR.