Fan connections on Mobo

[Control_tech]

I have a Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 and I have spots for 4 fan connections.

CPU fan 4 pin
Sytem fan 3 pin
System fan 4 pin
Power fan 3 pin

My question is what is the signifigance of using these connections and what if the counterpart (power supply) has a 4 pin connection.

 

[ko888]

A 4-pin fan header offers fan speed monitoring and PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) speed control as long as you're using a PWM controllable fan.

A 3-pin fan header offers fan speed monitoring only. The fan runs at full speed unless it has its own speed control potentiometer or step down resistors.

Fans plugged directly into a power supply connector has no fan speed monitoring and runs at full speed unless it has its own speed control potentiometer or step down resistors.

 

[Control_tech]

Thanks for the reply. So I can plug the 4 pin connector into the 3 pin connection and I will just lose out on the PWM?

 

[ko888]

Thanks for the reply. So I can plug the 4 pin connector into the 3 pin connection and I will just lose out on the PWM?

Yes. The fan will just operate at its maximum speed.

 

[Control_tech]

Best answer selected by Control_tech.