Question Daisy Chained Chassis Fans

[Kinvarder]

I'm gonna keep this short and simple, I have 4 fans plugged into a fan hub, and the hub plugged into my CHA2 MB port, it is not showing monitored speed. I attempted to change it to CHA1 and still nothing, is it possible me having the fans plugged into a hub, then the MB is preventing the MB from monitoring my fans speeds? Thanks!

 

[Ralston18]

More information needed.

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information.

Make and model fans? 3 pin, 4 pin, RGB, etc.? Fan hub - make and model?

How are the fan speeds being monitored?

 

[Kinvarder]

More information needed.

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information.

Make and model fans? 3 pin, 4 pin, RGB, etc.? Fan hub - make and model?

How are the fan speeds being monitored?

MOTHERBOARD: ASUS PRIME B550M-A M-ATX W/ WIFI, RGB 1 PCIE X16 2PCIE X1 2 M.2 4 SATA 6GB/S
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6GHz [4.4GHz Turbo] 8 Cores/ 16 Threads 36MB Cache 65W Processor
FANS: Deepcool 120mm 4pin RBG, fan hub was included from deepcool

Motherboard BIOS, and the ASUS AI Suite 3 says N/A for CHA1 and CHA2 Fans, but has no issues showing fan speed on my liquid cooling system that is plugged into the CPU Fan 3 pin port

 

[Kinvarder]

yes @Ralston18 .

@Kinvarder , maybe your fan does not support to monitor the fan speed.none the less even i have N/A in bios for 2 whole fans (if the fans are spinning there is nothing you need to worry about )

Directly from where I bought them on Amazon:

• Fan speed can be intelligently controlled by motherboard in accordance with temperature

I appreciate the input, they are spinning, so I guess I should just let it go, but it drives me insane, lol 😀

 

[Paperdoc]

A couple of misunderstandings here.

Most RGB fans (including these, I believe) have TWO cables from them. One ends in a small (about 3/8" wide) fan connector with 4 holes, and two ridges running down one side. This plugs into a mobo fan header usually, and it provides power and speed control the the fan MOTOR only. The second cable ends in a different wider connector with 4 holes that normally would plug into a mobo 4-pin plain RGB lighting header. This is power and control of the LIGHTS only.

OP, what I found on the web page for your fans is that they all have those two cables each. BUT for the MOTOR cables, there is only one connector on the cable and that must go to a fan header somewhere. For the LIGHTING cables, they each have TWO connectors on them - one male, one female - and these DO connect to each other in a daisy chain manner so that all fans' lights can be controlled from ONE mobo RGB header. Note that, since these lighting cables are involved only with lights, their connections have NO influence on fan motor control and speeds.

Now, the set of fans comes with a fan SPLITTER from Deepcool (their Model FH-04 4-port unit, looks like a small triangular box with ports recessed inside) used to allow you to connect up to four fan MOTORS to a single mobo CHA_FAN header. Any fan header can deal with the speed signal sent back to it from ONE fan only - more speed signals than one causes enormous confusion and misreadings and errors - so the Splitter unit only sends back to its mobo host header the speed of ONE of its fans. You will never "see" the other fans' speeds anywhere. On that Splitter, likely only its output port #1 sends back its' fans speed signal, so you MUST have one fan plugged in there. You have four fans plugged into that Splitter box, and that then is connected to a mobo CHA_FAN header. What you SHOULD see then is that header shows you the speed of ONE fan (not none). Yet you say it showed no speeds at all. Are you sure? If so, try to change WHICH fan is plugged into Port #1 - maybe one fan has a poor speed signal connection.

If you still get NO speed shown by the mobo header, check how that header is configured - particularly its setting for Profile. You should have it set to use the automatic default control system. IF it is set NOT to use QFAN control, it also will NOT look for and display the fan speed. If that is set properly and you still get NO fan speed shown, no matter which mobo fan header you plug the Splitter box into, then you have a faulty Splitter unit and should contact Deepcool Tech Support.

 

[Kinvarder]

A couple of misunderstandings here.

Most RGB fans (including these, I believe) have TWO cables from them. One ends in a small (about 3/8" wide) fan connector with 4 holes, and two ridges running down one side. This plugs into a mobo fan header usually, and it provides power and speed control the the fan MOTOR only. The second cable ends in a different wider connector with 4 holes that normally would plug into a mobo 4-pin plain RGB lighting header. This is power and control of the LIGHTS only.

OP, what I found on the web page for your fans is that they all have those two cables each. BUT for the MOTOR cables, there is only one connector on the cable and that must go to a fan header somewhere. For the LIGHTING cables, they each have TWO connectors on them - one male, one female - and these DO connect to each other in a daisy chain manner so that all fans' lights can be controlled from ONE mobo RGB header. Note that, since these lighting cables are involved only with lights, their connections have NO influence on fan motor control and speeds.

Now, the set of fans comes with a fan SPLITTER from Deepcool (their Model FH-04 4-port unit, looks like a small triangular box with ports recessed inside) used to allow you to connect up to four fan MOTORS to a single mobo CHA_FAN header. Any fan header can deal with the speed signal sent back to it from ONE fan only - more speed signals than one causes enormous confusion and misreadings and errors - so the Splitter unit only sends back to its mobo host header the speed of ONE of its fans. You will never "see" the other fans' speeds anywhere. On that Splitter, likely only its output port #1 sends back its' fans speed signal, so you MUST have one fan plugged in there. You have four fans plugged into that Splitter box, and that then is connected to a mobo CHA_FAN header. What you SHOULD see then is that header shows you the speed of ONE fan (not none). Yet you say it showed no speeds at all. Are you sure? If so, try to change WHICH fan is plugged into Port #1 - maybe one fan has a poor speed signal connection.

If you still get NO speed shown by the mobo header, check how that header is configured - particularly its setting for Profile. You should have it set to use the automatic default control system. IF it is set NOT to use QFAN control, it also will NOT look for and display the fan speed. If that is set properly and you still get NO fan speed shown, no matter which mobo fan header you plug the Splitter box into, then you have a faulty Splitter unit and should contact Deepcool Tech Support.

After reading your post, I opened up the back side of my computer to double check which ports the fans were plugged into on the 4 port hub, and as you stated they were plugged into 3 and 4, not 1 and 2, thus giving off the N/A error. After correcting this, they are in fact appearing on my CHA_2. Now I'm looking into how it is that I have 6 fans total, and only 2 plugged into the hub... 🤔 and why it is registering a CPU Fan speed, even though it is not a fan at all, it is liquid cooled...

Thank you for the help!!

 

[Paperdoc]

Ah, better info. So you have six fans total, of which two are plugged into the Deepcool splitter box.

Let's re-classify those six fans. You have a liquid cooler system for your CPU with fans. I'll get to that in a moment. But for now, how many fans are ONLY for case ventilation? THOSE fans are the ones that ought to be connected to the Splitter box (and thence to one mobo CHA_FAN header) for that purpose.

Your liquid cooling system may be an AIO - that is, an All-In-One set consisting of a pump on the CPU, a radiator mounted on a grille in the case front or top, and fans mounted on that rad. The FANS on this system should NOT be connected to the Deepcool Splitter box, but should be connected in some way to the PUMP unit OR to the mobo CPU_FAN or CPU_OPT header, depending on what its instructions say. To help us get that really clear, post back here the maker and exact model number of that AIO system so we can check its manuals.

The several fan headers on your mobo should be regarded as two groups. The CPU_FAN and CPU_OPT headers both are intended solely for use in cooling the CPU chip, and they are guided by the temperature sensor inside the CPU chip. Normally they both do exactly the same thing. The four CHA_FAN headers all are intended for use with the case ventilation fans. Normally they are guided by a different temperature sensor on the mobo, but your mobo also allows that to be changed. The mobo's BIOS manual says each of those headers can be configured to use for guidance either the CPU's internal sensor (for odd applications of a fan) or the normal mobo temp sensor or some automatic selection among several sensors. Generally you should set this option for EACH of these four headers to use the normal mobo sensor. One of these headers is where the Splitter box is to be connected.

For CPU cooling by an AIO system there are two similar but different common designs. Both of these start by connecting the PUMP mounted on the CPU chip to the CPU_FAN header. This is important because of a secondary function of all fan headers - monitoring the speed of the connected "fan" for FAILURE, and sending you a warning if that happens (also possibly taking rapid action to prevent overheating damage.) On an AIO system, the component MOST important to monitor for failure is the PUMP - if it fails, there is NO cooling of the CPU. So that's how the components are connected, but the CPU_FAN header does not "know" that the item connected to it is the pump. So in BIOS Setup you will be told the speed of the FAN on the CPU_FAN header, when it really is the speed off the PUMP plugged in there. The fans on the radiator then may be plugged into a set of sockets on the pump body with some means of controlling their speed, but those speeds can NOT be reported through the CPU_FAN header because it already is showing you the PUMP speed. Alternatively, the rad fans MAY be connected to the CPU_OPT header to allow that to control their speeds AND to report from the header the speed of ONE rad fan. Which way it is done in your system depends on which company made the AIO system. In almost all of these AIO system, though, the fundamental design is the the pump should always run full speed, and all control of CPU cooling is done by altering the speed the the Rad Fans only.

 

[Kinvarder]

Ah, better info. So you have six fans total, of which two are plugged into the Deepcool splitter box.

Let's re-classify those six fans. You have a liquid cooler system for your CPU with fans. I'll get to that in a moment. But for now, how many fans are ONLY for case ventilation? THOSE fans are the ones that ought to be connected to the Splitter box (and thence to one mobo CHA_FAN header) for that purpose.

Your liquid cooling system may be an AIO - that is, an All-In-One set consisting of a pump on the CPU, a radiator mounted on a grille in the case front or top, and fans mounted on that rad. The FANS on this system should NOT be connected to the Deepcool Splitter box, but should be connected in some way to the PUMP unit OR to the mobo CPU_FAN or CPU_OPT header, depending on what its instructions say. To help us get that really clear, post back here the maker and exact model number of that AIO system so we can check its manuals.

The several fan headers on your mobo should be regarded as two groups. The CPU_FAN and CPU_OPT headers both are intended solely for use in cooling the CPU chip, and they are guided by the temperature sensor inside the CPU chip. Normally they both do exactly the same thing. The four CHA_FAN headers all are intended for use with the case ventilation fans. Normally they are guided by a different temperature sensor on the mobo, but your mobo also allows that to be changed. The mobo's BIOS manual says each of those headers can be configured to use for guidance either the CPU's internal sensor (for odd applications of a fan) or the normal mobo temp sensor or some automatic selection among several sensors. Generally you should set this option for EACH of these four headers to use the normal mobo sensor. One of these headers is where the Splitter box is to be connected.

For CPU cooling by an AIO system there are two similar but different common designs. Both of these start by connecting the PUMP mounted on the CPU chip to the CPU_FAN header. This is important because of a secondary function of all fan headers - monitoring the speed of the connected "fan" for FAILURE, and sending you a warning if that happens (also possibly taking rapid action to prevent overheating damage.) On an AIO system, the component MOST important to monitor for failure is the PUMP - if it fails, there is NO cooling of the CPU. So that's how the components are connected, but the CPU_FAN header does not "know" that the item connected to it is the pump. So in BIOS Setup you will be told the speed of the FAN on the CPU_FAN header, when it really is the speed off the PUMP plugged in there. The fans on the radiator then may be plugged into a set of sockets on the pump body with some means of controlling their speed, but those speeds can NOT be reported through the CPU_FAN header because it already is showing you the PUMP speed. Alternatively, the rad fans MAY be connected to the CPU_OPT header to allow that to control their speeds AND to report from the header the speed of ONE rad fan. Which way it is done in your system depends on which company made the AIO system. In almost all of these AIO system, though, the fundamental design is the the pump should always run full speed, and all control of CPU cooling is done by altering the speed the the Rad Fans only.

DeepCool Castle 240 RGB V2 Cooling System Anti-Leak Radiator 240mm Liquid Heatsink RGB Rainbow Addressable 5V ADD RGB 3-Pin Compatible Intel 115X/2066 and AMD TR4/AM4
(Radiator and Fans are mounted to the top of the tower)

Is the cooler I have, and I would assume it is reading the pump then, as it is read as running over 2500 RPMs at all times, I didn't see any ports on the cooler for the fans, so the fans that are attached to the radiator I believe are daisy chained together with the other 3 fans on the front of the DeepCool Matrexx 55 Tower, and 1 exhaust fan mounted to the rear.

 

[Paperdoc]

Thanks for that detail. Now I think I can see what you are missing.

You have a total of six fans, all by Deepcool. You bought four of those to go with the Deepcool case - three in the front, one in the rear. You also got two more as part of the Deepcool Castle 240 RGB V2 cooling system. NONE of them has any daisy-chain features - that is, a cable from a fan with TWO connectors, one male and one female, so you can connect one fan to another directly. Your fans each have two cables, and each cable has only ONE connector on it. For each fan, one smaller connector with 4 holes and two ridges along one side is for the motor, and that goes to a fan header or fan Splitter. The other fan cable has a different locking connector and three wires into it for the lights, and that one goes to an ARGB Splitter that normally would plug into a mobo 3-pin ARGB header. On your mobo, this is labelled an AURA Addressable Gen2 header.

Now comes sources of confusion. You should have received with the AIO cooler system a 4-output Deepcool fan SPLITTER to be used with the TWO rad fans. This should be connected to the CPU_OPT header of your mobo so it can control those for CPU cooling. You MAY also have got a second Splitter for use with all four of your CASE Ventilation fans. Since your mobo has only two CHA_FAN headers, it seems, that makes connecting and controlling all four together from one header easy. BUT in your posts first you say you have FOUR fans on a Splitter connected to a mobo CHA_FAN header, but no matter which header you use that on it fails to show any fan speeds. THEN later you tell us that checking discloses that the TWO fans in the Splitter are in the wrong output sockets and you changed them to solve the problem.

So, do you REALLY have TWO very similar Splitter boxes? What you SHOULD have is ONE box with the two RAD FANS' motor cables plugged into its ports 1 and 2, and that Splitter plugged into the CPU_OPT mobo header. (The PUMP of the AIO cooler system, which will have a slightly smaller connector on its end with only three holes, should be in the CPU_FAN header.) Then the second Splitter box should be plugged into one of your mobo CHA_FAN headers, and should have plugged into it all four of the Case Ventilation fans' motor cables - the three front plus one rear.

All of this nothing to do with the LIGHTING cables for all those fans. But there MAY be a similar situation. The AIO system says it comes with an ARGB Splitter with 5 output sockets, even though it only has 2 fans. You MAY also have got or bought separately another ARGB Splitter to feed the lighting cables of your four case fans - you have not mentioned any of this above, maybe because you are not having any problems there. But I can foresee an issue for you. The mobo has ONE AURA Addressable Gen 2 header, and you have SIX lighted fans with a Splitter with FIVE outputs. Now, IF you actually have a second lighting Splitter, recognize that you CAN plug the second one into one of the outputs of the first to give you more outputs in total to handle all the fan lights.

FYI -and this is NOT a part of your problem, just info - you may wonder why the cable from the pump had only three holes in it but plugs into a 4-pin CPU_FAN header. The pump is wired just like an older 3-pin fan. Because of the different designs of 3- and 4-pin fan systems, when you plug an older 3-pin fan into a 4-pin header that really is using the new PWM mode of fan speed control, that fan's speed is NOT controlled, and the fan always runs full speed. That is exactly what the PUMP is designed to do - full speed all the time. So having that type of wiring connected in that way makes the pump perform as designed.

 

[Kinvarder]

Thanks for that detail. Now I think I can see what you are missing.

You have a total of six fans, all by Deepcool. You bought four of those to go with the Deepcool case - three in the front, one in the rear. You also got two more as part of the Deepcool Castle 240 RGB V2 cooling system. NONE of them has any daisy-chain features - that is, a cable from a fan with TWO connectors, one male and one female, so you can connect one fan to another directly. Your fans each have two cables, and each cable has only ONE connector on it. For each fan, one smaller connector with 4 holes and two ridges along one side is for the motor, and that goes to a fan header or fan Splitter. The other fan cable has a different locking connector and three wires into it for the lights, and that one goes to an ARGB Splitter that normally would plug into a mobo 3-pin ARGB header. On your mobo, this is labelled an AURA Addressable Gen2 header.

Now comes sources of confusion. You should have received with the AIO cooler system a 4-output Deepcool fan SPLITTER to be used with the TWO rad fans. This should be connected to the CPU_OPT header of your mobo so it can control those for CPU cooling. You MAY also have got a second Splitter for use with all four of your CASE Ventilation fans. Since your mobo has only two CHA_FAN headers, it seems, that makes connecting and controlling all four together from one header easy. BUT in your posts first you say you have FOUR fans on a Splitter connected to a mobo CHA_FAN header, but no matter which header you use that on it fails to show any fan speeds. THEN later you tell us that checking discloses that the TWO fans in the Splitter are in the wrong output sockets and you changed them to solve the problem.

So, do you REALLY have TWO very similar Splitter boxes? What you SHOULD have is ONE box with the two RAD FANS' motor cables plugged into its ports 1 and 2, and that Splitter plugged into the CPU_OPT mobo header. (The PUMP of the AIO cooler system, which will have a slightly smaller connector on its end with only three holes, should be in the CPU_FAN header.) Then the second Splitter box should be plugged into one of your mobo CHA_FAN headers, and should have plugged into it all four of the Case Ventilation fans' motor cables - the three front plus one rear.

All of this nothing to do with the LIGHTING cables for all those fans. But there MAY be a similar situation. The AIO system says it comes with an ARGB Splitter with 5 output sockets, even though it only has 2 fans. You MAY also have got or bought separately another ARGB Splitter to feed the lighting cables of your four case fans - you have not mentioned any of this above, maybe because you are not having any problems there. But I can foresee an issue for you. The mobo has ONE AURA Addressable Gen 2 header, and you have SIX lighted fans with a Splitter with FIVE outputs. Now, IF you actually have a second lighting Splitter, recognize that you CAN plug the second one into one of the outputs of the first to give you more outputs in total to handle all the fan lights.

FYI -and this is NOT a part of your problem, just info - you may wonder why the cable from the pump had only three holes in it but plugs into a 4-pin CPU_FAN header. The pump is wired just like an older 3-pin fan. Because of the different designs of 3- and 4-pin fan systems, when you plug an older 3-pin fan into a 4-pin header that really is using the new PWM mode of fan speed control, that fan's speed is NOT controlled, and the fan always runs full speed. That is exactly what the PUMP is designed to do - full speed all the time. So having that type of wiring connected in that way makes the pump perform as designed.

My DeepCool Fans are the CF120 they are not ARGB, just regular RGB. I have two hubs 1 for the fans that is a 4 pin system as you stated, however the RGB portion of the fans were only 3 pin, so I purchased a DeepCool RGB Adapter 5v ADD to 12v RGB Transfer Hub and that is currently plugged into RGB port 1 at the top of the motherboard

 

[Kinvarder]

Or it might have been a case of 4 pin to 3 pin, for the RGB I don't remember. My computer has also developed a clicking type noise when playing a game and putting the system under load. Everything I do runs off of SSD, so I disconnected my HDD, but it is still doing it. I'm hoping it isn't the PSU because this system is maybe MAYBE a year old.

 

[Paperdoc]

I guess I was not clear enough. You have six fans altogether - two on the AIO rad, and four for case ventilation. All of these have lights in them. You say "they are not ARGB, just regular RGB." THEN you say "RGB portion of the fans were only 3 pin " and describe using a "translation" box to connect them to a mobo plain RGB header. You are mixed up on lighting. The PLAIN RGB system uses a FOUR-pin connector that supplies 12 VDC power and three Ground lines for the LED's. The more complex Addressable RGB (ADDR RGB, or ARGB, or Digital RGB) uses a THREE-pin connector that supplies +5VDC and Ground power lines and a digital control signal line. Between these there are two MAJOR differences - power supply voltage and method of control - so the two types cannot be mixed in one circuit. However, you have used a "translating" adapter to convert the plain RGB signals from a mobo FOUR-pin header into a set of Addressable RGB signals for THREE-pin lights in your fans. You DO have ARGB lights!

Note this also. The manual I found for the mobo you are using shows that it DOES have one ARGB 3-pin lighting header on it labelled "AURA Addressable Gen 2". Is this the manual for YOUR mobo?

https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/SocketAM4/PRIME_B550M-A/E16550_PRIME_B550M-A_UM_WEB.pdf

If so, look on p. 1-1 for a diagram, and p. 1-3 for the details of the lighting headers. It has TWO plain RGB headers (code no. 11), one at top near the front (you say you are using that) and another at bottom middle. ALSO at the bottom next to that is the 3-pin "AURA Addressable Gen 2 header" (diagram code no. 10) that CAN provide proper ARGB signals for your lights WITHOUT using a translator adapter. In fact, if you use that set of signals, you will be able to get the more complex displays of full ARGB.

Now, back to the number of Splitter boxes. I suspect you may have FOUR in total - two for fan MOTORS, and two more for LIGHTS. I know that the manual for your AIO cooler system for the CPU says it comes with one of EACH of those. One (with four output ports) is used to connect the two rad fan motors to your mobo CPU_OPT header, ideally. On this one it is important to have the two fans plugged into Ports 1 and 2.) The other Splitter with FIVE ports is for the LIGHTS in those two rad fans, and the lighting cables have non-standard locking connectors on them. But the single input cable on this lighting Splitter box normally would go to your THREE-pin "AURA Addressable Gen 2" header on the bottom edge. Is this the lighting Splitter you are feeding via adapter from the top edge plain RGB header? Maybe NOT, because we have not yet looked at the Splitters used with the FOUR case ventilation fans. You MAY have BOTH a MOTOR Splitter and a LIGHTING splitter for that group. Do you? You need to clarify how the motor AND the lighting cables from EACH of the two fan groups are connected, and where those connections lead to on the mobo.