Fans for a Gigabyte GA-Z270P-D3 ATX LGA1151

[wolfslaya22]

I need to know how many fan I can directly connect to this mobo so I know whether or not to get a splitter

 

[Paperdoc]

Mobo manual is here:

http://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-Z270P-D3-rev-10#support-manual

You can download and view using Adobe Reader. It has two SYS_FAN headers. The manual does not say this directly, but the mobo website here

http://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-Z270P-D3-rev-10#kf

under "Key Features" says that all of its headers are "Hybrid", which means they all can be configured in BIOS Setup for either PWM Mode or Voltage Control Mode. You will want to use PWM Mode for all yours.

For someone who wants to use many fans, this is important. It also is important that you buy the correct TYPE of fan. There are two types: older 3-pin, and newer 4-pin. The 4-pin fans are best controlled by PWM Mode. More importantly, to connect up many fans to one mobo header AND control them, the only way is to use a 4-pin Fan HUB that MUST operate in PWM Mode. That is, the Hub must be connected to a mobo header that uses PWM Mode, AND the fans you plug into the Hub MUST be of the 4-pin type.

There are Splitters and Hubs, and the two devices are slightly different. Unfortunately, some sellers confuse them and mis-use the names, so I'll show you how to tell them apart. Splitters usually look just like a group of wires with three (sometimes four) arms. One arm has a female connector (with 3 or 4 holes in a line) that plugs into a mobo male (with pins) header. Then it has two (sometimes three) output arms which each end in male (with pins) connectors, and you plug your fans into them. Those are its only arms. A Splitter connects all its fans in parallel to the mobo header and all of its fans' power must come from that header. The limit on most mobos is that each fan header can supply up to 1.0 amps total to all the fans connected to it, and this usually means you can connect 3 or maybe 4 fans to each header using Splitters. Your mobo may actually allow more power per fan header.

You upir needs, you should get a HUB for a 4-pin fan system. A Hub MAY look similar to a Splitter, like a group of several arms. Or, it may look like a box or even a circuit board with a few arms coming out and some sockets or ports. Either way, it will have one female connection with FOUR holes to plug into a mobo 4-pin SYS_FAN header, and two or more (usually more) outputs with pins (male) to plug your fans into. But it will ALSO have one other arm that must plug into a power output (either 4-pin Molex or SATA) from your PSU. A Hub gets all the power for its fans from that PSU connection, avoiding the limit of a mobo header. But for controlling its fans, the 4-pin Hub shares the PWM signal from its mobo header out to all its fans (this does NOT overload the header's PWM line). Because that PWM signal is crucial to this system, you must be using the Hub with a SYS_FAN header that uses PWM Mode for control, AND the fans you plug into the header must be of the 4-pin design.

Your mobo has two SYS_FAN headers, so it would be possible if you wanted to set up two Hubs and thus create two groups of fans under control of separate mobo headers. Rarely is that needed, but some people really like to customize their fan systems.

Note in the mobo manual on p. 25 it says that one customization option you have for each fan header is to choose the temperature sensor used for that header's automatic control functions. The cooling system for your CPU should always be connected to the CPU_FAN header, and that header should be set to use the temperature sensor built into your CPU chip itself. In addition to that, your mobo has several other temperature sensors built into the mobo at various points (most mobos have only one of these) so it is conceivable that you could set up two groups of case ventilation fans operating under the guidance of different sensors

You should be aware of two points about using hubs and splitters. First, every fan on one Hub will receive exactly the same control signals from the Hub's mobo SYS_FAN header, and hence will operate the same way. This does NOT mean that they all will be running at identical speeds unless the fans all are the same. Secondly, a fan sends a speed signal from its motor back to the mobo SYS_FAN header for counting and display if you want to see its speed. This speed signal it NOT used for actual control, though - just info. However, a mobo SYS_FAN header can accept the speed signal from only ONE fan, so any Hub will send back the signal from only one and ignore all the others connected to it. You will never see the speeds of all the "other" fans. On many Hubs you will see that, among the output connectors, only one will have all its pins, and the others will be missing their Pin #3.

 

[Gam3r01]

Three, not counting the CPU cooler.
1 x CPU fan header
2 x system fan headers
1 x system fan/water cooling pump header

 

[Paperdoc]

Gam3r01 is correct that there is a third header called SYS_FAN3_PUMP. By its label one would assume it is intended for use with a water-cooled loop CPU cooler system's pump unit, but the labels also suggest it is set up electrically the same as the two regular SYS_FAN headers. Assuming also that you can use the option to select which temperature probe is used to guide this header also (that is, this header is not locked only to the CPU internal temperature), then probably you can use it for a third group of fans. The only thing not mentioned, and therefore not completely clear, is what are called "loop tuning parameters". In any system to control something (in this case, controlling the temperature at a selected sensor by manipulating the speed of a fan connected to the controller output (the header)) there are a few parameters used to "tune" the controller action to characteristics of the "loop" (the entire system under control). These include things like the response time constants for the sensor, the actuator and the system affected by the control loop, the minimum and maximum output signals, the loop Gain and Damping constants, the target temperature, etc. For each header the BIOS has certain values pre-set according to the expected use of that control function. For example, the pre-sets for the CPU cooler system that operates the CPU_FAN header will be different from those used for a SYS_FAN header intended for cooling the case interior. I have no way of knowing whether the pre-sets for the SYS_FAN3_PUMP header are the right way to control case ventilation fans, but probably they will work.

 

[Paperdoc]

Thanks for Best Solution.