[SOLVED] Fan control on arctic hub

[Francisco Silva]

So I want to order 3 80mm p8 silent (3pin) but my mobo only has 1 chassis fan header and because of that I'm ordering the hub (I don't know if they have multiple types but it's the 1 header into 10) too the thing is: how am I gonna control the fans rpm?

 

[CountMike]

So I want to order 3 80mm p8 silent (3pin) but my mobo only has 1 chassis fan header and because of that I'm ordering the hub (I don't know if they have multiple types but it's the 1 header into 10) too the thing is: how am I gonna control the fans rpm?

Fan headers typically are capable of 1A combined power. 3 or 4 80mm fans should be no problem but if combined fan power is above 1A you need a powered hub. for those 3 fans all you need is splitter cable or any hub.

 

[Paperdoc]

Right, BUT you need to recognize an important difference, and sellers make this difficult by mixing their use of the labels Splitter and Hub. A SPLITTER is what you need for 3-pin fans. It has one input connector to the mobo header and two or more outputs to plug in your fans. It has NO other connections. It gets all power for its fans from the host header and thus is limited to the max Amps the header can supply - typically 1.0 A max total draw for all fans connected to that one header. A SPLITTER may look like a group or cable "arms", a small circuit board, or a box with connectors in holes on the side. Its connectors most often have 4 holes or pins, but sometimes three.

A HUB may look just like a SPLITTER, but it has one important difference: it has a THIRD type of connector "arm" that connects directly to a power output from the PSU. This device gets all power from the PSU and avoids the limit of the header. BUT it feeds that power as a fixed 12 VDC to all its fans, so those fans MUST be of the new 4-pin PWM design if you expect to control their speeds. You do NOT have this fan type, so do NOT get a HUB.

Because of header design, all Splitters and Hubs will send back to the host header the speed signal from only ONE of its fans, so you must plug one of your fans into this particular output connector. On units that look like several cable arms, only ONE will have all 4 pins, and the others will be missing Pin #3. Use the 4-pin output for one fan, no matter which fan type you have. For units that look like circuit boards or boxes with ports, one of those will be labelled differently - like "CPU" - or maybe it's just the one marked Port #1. Use that.

 

[CountMike]

A 4 pin splitter can be used with 3 pin PWM fans, in most cases even 3 pin splitter for 4 pin fans but they would loose PWM control and be voltage controlled only.
What was described in above post is ideal combination but not only one that works.
PS, described is powered fan hub but there are some without added power so they also have 1A limit. Have to be careful there.
Another type of hub is active hub with own controls and power.

 

[Paperdoc]

Thanks for Best Solution.