Phanteks p400S Case fan controller.

[HiNu7]

I have the Phanteks p400S, and it has a 3 speed fan controller on the front panel with a 3 way cable to connect 3 fans to it, when I use the 3 speed fan button I don't notice any difference in speed. So i'm not sure if I need a phanteks fan hub thing (sold separately) or im doin something wrong. From what I understand If wanted to control the fan speed I don't connect it to the mobo. the mobo im using is a Asus Strix Z270F.

any info is appreciated thanks!

 

[Sedivy]

Did these fans come with the case or you bought them separately? If separately, which fans are they?
Also, did you check what is fan controller connected to?

 

[HiNu7]

Good to see ya again, yeah the fans came with the case, they run and everything, the fans are connected to the the fan cables from the front IO.

 

[Sedivy]

Ok basically your fan controller should be connected directly to the power supply (12V). Check that it is. Then the switch you have should be controlling the voltages on 3 presets. Usually 12V, 7V and then I don't know what their third is. This results in different speeds for fans, but you have to push the switch manually to do it. I am not sure why it wouldn't be switching but again this is a hardware thing so check all wiring. If it's still an issue contact phanteks.
As for your motherboard, you could as an alternative, plug in your fans into individual fan headers on your motherboard instead of going through the built in fan controller (though this feels a little superfluous and only do it if you can't find any other solution), since your motherboard supports up to 4 fans including the cpu:

1 x CPU Fan connector(s)
1 x CPU OPT Fan connector(s)
2 x Chassis Fan connector(s)

so you got space for 3 chassis fans on there. You'd then get whatever utility asus provides for controlling fans, set those 3 to DC, and set the curves yourself to what you want them (while leaving the cpu fan on pwm).

One question, as they are currently running, are they very loud? Do you get the impression it's running at the top speed that it can?

 

[HiNu7]

yeah the fan controller is powered by my PSU, is there something out there that can monitor my fan speeds, or do they have to be plugged into the mobo's headers for it to be read? Like the fans are spinning. I just did the toilet paper test, and laid it above my top fan exhaust fan, so perhaps the fan speed is working then, I could just barely hear it. Another question tho, earlier today I hooked up another 120mm fan as a top exhaust, the "new" fan would spin on boot up, etc, but then the fan would just stop, while the other 2 that came with the case continued to spin. Perhaps because it was an older fan? (that fan was from my 2011 build, so I just shrugged it off).

 

[Sedivy]

Ok if you can barely hear it then they're stuck on low voltage.
I would guess....either a low voltage cable, like 7V cable connecting fan controller to psu or fans to controller, instead of the proper 12V (sometimes these cables are included as a hardware way to cap the top speed of the fan), or something is physically wrong with the switches and the way they're connected, and it's just perma stuck at a low setting, no matter where you set it.
Since this is pre-built in the case, I can't see why they'd put in the 7V cable right off the bat unless it was all separate and you had to be connecting everything from scratch? Or else something is physically wrong, so contact phanteks and clear it up.

MOnitoring fan speeds requires fans to go through the motherboard as I described before, so in the case of you connecting directly to the psu, no.
About your top exhaust fan, what did you hook it up to? Fan controller again?

 

[HiNu7]

yeah I hooked up the "new" fan to the last fan controller cable

 

[Sedivy]

Hm. But...I just went over the manual for p400S and it lists the phanteks pwm fan hub as optional upgrade and not included. You can actually see the little box installed in the back? And if it is pwm then this is all not connecting correctly. pwm would be plugging into the motherboard. Indeed from the page for the fan hub:
http://www.phanteks.com/PH-PWHUB.html

The Phanteks PWM Fan Hub is capable of powering up to *11x fans (3-pin) through PWM modulation, while occupying only 1x 4-pin header of your motherboard per Fan Hub. At the same time this Fan Hub also keeps your chassis interior clean and tidy by centralizing all your fan cables. The PWM hub comes with pre-drilled mounting holes for easy installation to your Enthoo cases and also Velcro strips for use with other chassis. Power LED illuminates the Phanteks Logo when the PWM hub is powered on.

which mean likely it powers from the PSU but it modulates the fans using a signal from the motherboard.
And yes looking at the manual for fan hub, scroll down and it shows exactly that, it connects via sata 12V connection to PSU and then you have a 4 pin cable connecting it to the motherboard.
http://www.phanteks.com/assets/manuals/PH-PWHUB.pdf
The 4 pin cable I'd connect to the CPU_OPT plugin assuming you're not using cpu air cooler with 2 fans. If yes, then plug it into one of the 2 4-pin chassis fan inputs.
And this all further means you can monitor their speed at the least. Maybe even control it via a utility? But then what's the point of switches? I'm not sure I'm getting this case right.

 

[HiNu7]

i'll probably reach out to phantek and ask em about this situation. thanks for all your help, really you've been a great help to me with this new build of mine. i'll most likely snag a better 120mm or even a 140mm fan off of amazon and hook those up to the 3 speed fan connector for the front IO.