[SOLVED] Connecting Fans to a Gigabyte B360M H Motherboard

[chillyb7]

I could do with some help about how to attach some fans to a Gigabyte B360M H Micro ATX Motherboard please.

I've bought a cheap pc off eBay that I'm intending to transplant to a bigger better case than the one its in currently. The guy who built this pc said it was a project he never fully completed and so it has no fans whatsoever inside. It also has a i5 8500 cpu with a 750w power supply. The case I'm putting it into is a Corsair 110Q Midi-Tower. It's quite a large case for this size of motherboard, but least it gives me expansion options for the future if upgrade to a larger motherboard. I'll also be fitting a GTX 1060 gpu into it.

The case came with a Corsair 120mm rear 3pin fan and I'll ether put 2x 140mm PWM fans or 3x 120mm PWM fans in the front, I haven't decided yet and I'm not sure which is the best option to be honest. This is the first PC I've put together (although its mostly pretty much built apart from no fans) so I have no idea what is best way to attach the fans. The motherboard has a 4pin 'CPU-Fan' Header which is obviously occupied by the CPU cooler and it also has one other spare 4pin fan header called 'SYS_Fan'.

From what research I've done I believe its best to have PWM fans in the machine so the pc can alter the speed accordingly to the systems temperature. So what is the best way for me to attach either two or three 4pin PWM front fans plus a 3pin rear fan to the motherboard when I only have one 4pin 'SYS_Fan' header left?

I've looked on amazon and seen different fan splitter cables and hubs, but I'm not sure which ones to get and what to plug in where. Also can you mix 3pin and 4pin pwn fans and is there a cost if you do? Should I replace the rear fan with a PWM fan so they are all the same?

Essentially, I just need advise and a guide of what fans/fan splitters/hubs to buy and which headers to attach them to please.

Many Thanks!
Ken

 

[Paperdoc]

What I recommend is a specific Fan Hub - the Phanteks Universal Fan Controller model PH-PWHUB02

https://www.newegg.com/phanteks-ph-pwhub-02-black/p/N82E16811984030?Description=phanteks universal fan controller&cm_re=phanteks_universal fan controller--11-984-030--Product

A fan HUB gets all power for its fans directly from the PSU via a cable that plugs into a SATA power output from there, and gets the required PWM control signal from a mobo SYS_FAN header that is configured to use that Mode of control. The problem with most Hubs is that they can control the speeds ONLY of 4-pin fans. That's because of design differences between those motor types. This particular Hub is different - it "translates" from the PWM signal set it gets into the older Voltage Control Mode for operation of its three 3-pin output ports. It also has four 4-pin true PWM fan ports, so it can handle BOTH types of fans in one Hub.

Get that Hub. Plug in its power supply line. Connect your case ventilation fans into the appropriate output ports. This does NOT involve any of your CPU cooling system. Ensure one of your front 4-pin fans is plugged into Port #1 - it is the only one that can report its fan's speed back to the mobo header. Connect the Hub's fan signal input cable to your mobo SYS_FAN header. In BIOS Setup (see mobo manual p. 25), go to that SYS_FAN header. Configure as:
Fan Speed Control Normal
Fan Control Use Temperature Input as Motherboard, not CPU
Fan Control Mode to PWM
Fan Stop Disabled
Temperature Warning Control 70C (for now)
Fan Fail Warning Enabled
When all are set, use Esc back to MIT Menu (p.20) then click on Save and Exit at upper right. At that Menu (p.36) select Save & Exit Setup.

This will ensure that the SYS_FAN header uses it normal automatic fan speed control system to adjust the case fans according to the actual temperature measured by a mobo sensor, sending out a PWM signal the Hub can use to make the fans follow those instructions. It will never try to stop the fans. It will monitor the speed of the one fan plugged into the Hub's port #1, and show you an alarm if ever that fan stalls or fails.

The Temperature Warning Control setting is a limit that will cause you to receive an on-screen warning if the temperature measured at the motherboard sensor exceeds 70 C, which I think it will never do. IF you get such a warning and you are convinced there actually is no problem of overheating in your case, you can change to a different warning threshold.