PWM Fan Hub - Question

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Status
Not open for further replies.
P

Pistons

Honorable
Sep 10, 2013
71
0
10,630
I'm just about to start my first build and I'm stumped....I bought a Phanteks Pro case and inside it has the 2 stock fans attached to a PWM hub. The manual recommends plugging this directly into the CPU Fan Header on the MOBO but that's typically where the CPU Fan goes. If I plug the PWN hub into the CPU Header then where does the CPU fan go? At the end of the day, I just want to ensure all fans spin as they should and the necessary power is being drawn from the appropriate places. What to do, should I use the PWM hub? Or should I just plug the fans into fan headers on the motherboard/PSU? The stock fans have 3 pin plugs but I'm sure the MOBO has 4 pin outlets, how would this work?
 
Solution
helpstar
just plug the 4 pin CPU Fan into FAN1 of the Fan Hub. It will be controlled through the PWM of the Mainboard and the Hub, which has to be plugged into CPU_FAN of the Mainboard.
So it needs just 3Pins to work properly.
Sort by date Sort by votes


The only one that is a 4 Pin is the one they suggest to connect to the CPU Fan Header of the MOBO, all others on the PWM hub are 3 pin
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


Ok perfect, thanks alot.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
This is not the way the Phanteks Hub works.... it is designed to take a PWM signal and control 3 pin DC voltage fans not 4 pin PWM fans.

The Phanteks is designed to control 3 pin fans not PWM fans.

CPU_1 => CPU cooler or water pump
CPU_2 =>Hub=> 3 pin fans

Most Z97 boards have 4 pin chassis headers thac can be run via PWM or DC voltage and Z87 has 4 pin DC voltage headers ... the Phanteks hub is unique in that works with both DC voltage and PWM control from the MoBo. If ya using DC tho, ya do NOT want to connect the auxilliary 12 volt power supply cable of the fans will all get 12volts and run at full speed. I have 3 of em in obe box if ya have any more questions:

DC controlled CHA_1 => Hub1 => 6 3-pin fans on 420 rad
DC controlled CHA_2 => Hub2 => 4 3-pin fans on 280 rad
DC controlled CHA_3 => Hub3 => 5 3-pin chassis fans
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
It will work (most of the time) but not w/ PWM control of the CPU cooler. It should work just like a 3 pin fan tho however, the reason you have separate chassis and CPU fan channels is you don't want the CPU fan and Chassis fans on the same channel and therefore all running at the same speed. Even the cheap Intel stock cooler uses PWM for precise and responsive fan control, I'd not recommend giving up that feature is ya don't have to. Your CPU is subject to widely varying loads and therefore PWM is better suited to this application whereas chassis fans actually benefit from less responsiveness as you don't want them spinning up and down in rapid cycles.

There is a lot of misinformation out there on the Phanteks hub as it is unique in the industry. It can take a PWM ***or *** DCV signal and control 3 pin fans. FAN1 is not a 4 pin header and is therefore useless for PWM control... and even if it did, the hub DOES NOT output a PWM signal; it outputs a DC voltage signal..... at 3.3 volts or so ya phanteks fans will spin at about 325 rpm..... at 12 volts they spin at full speed. You can measure this very simply with a volt meter .... PWM is pulsed 12 volt ..... DCV is 3.3 - 12 volts. I just measured the FAN1 header at 3.58 volts on my system at 399 rpm, .... clearly it therefore is NOT a PWM output.

1. When the Enthoo Pro was released it was the era of Z87. With Z87 every board out there had PWM on the CPU and CPU_1 and DCV control on the 3 or 4 pin* chassis headers. So the manual was correct at that time, that the Hub would only work with PWM control using CPU or CPU_1

* Many peeps mistook the Z87 4 pin CHA headres for PWM, it is not ..... some (i.e. Asus) even said PWM in the owners manual but later confirmed that the Z87 chassis headers were DCV. While the industry transitioned from DCV to selectable DCV / PWM for chassis headers, we got the headers with Z87 and the functionality with Z97

However, that is no longer true with Z97 as most Z97 boards have switchable chassis fan headers that will run either DCV or PWM. Therefore, if you have a Z97 board you can likely use any CPU or CHA header.... of course consult the manual for your particular board.

2. You can NOT however plug a PWM CPU fan into the header and expect PWM speed control. The Phanteks Hub is designed to use PWM input to control 3 pin fans. Looking at the image below this should be perfectly clear as the connector only has 3 pins. Without that 4th pin, PWM doesn't work.

http://pinoutsguide.com/Motherboard/mb_pwm_fan_pinout.shtml

1 GND Ground
2 +12V Fan Power
3 SIGNAL Fan RPM
4 PWM Digital Control

11-984-004-TS


Without the 4th pin, no PWM signal is received by the fan and it runs at full speed.....that doesn't (necessarily) negate DCV control.

3. One thing the Phanteks manual doesn't cover is the fact that this hub does not in fact **need** to be connected to a PWM header.

a) Connecting the input to the hub to any of the following will provide PWM control via DCV:

Z87 CPU or CPU_1 PWM Headers
Z97 CPU or CPU_1 or CHA PWM / DCV 4 pin Headers set in the BIOS to PWM (many auto detect)
Any other "real" PWM headers (Z87 CHA headers have 4 pins but are NOT PWM)

If you have a fan load < 1 amp (say 6 fans at 0.14 amps), you do not need to connect the 12v SATA Power Connector. You certainly can if you want to but it's more cable clutter. Anything of 0.85 or so amps and I would connect it. You will maintain full and functional speed control via PWM.

b) Connecting the input to the hub to any of the following will provide DCV control of 3-pin (and only 3 pin) fans:

Z87 3 or 4 pin DCV headers (CHA) Headers
Z97 CHA PWM / DCV 4 pin Headers set in the BIOS to DCV
Any other DCV headers with speed control capability

If your header is DCV, it provides variable voltage signal to control fan speeds. So, and obviously if you think about it, if you connect the 12v SATA Power Connector, the 12volt signal from the PSU will override the vbaruable voltage coming from the header and you lose speed control. So make sure that you full load current draw if using DCV remains below 0.85 or so amps.,DO NOT connect the power cable. You will maintain full and functional speed control via PWM.

Simply Put:

PWM CPU Header to your CPU cooler's PWM Fan
PWM CPU_1 Header to your Hub to control up to (11) 3 pin DCV Fan via the PWM signal from your MoBo
PWM CHA Header to your Hub to control up to (11) 3 pin DCV Fan via the PWM signal from your Z97 MoBo (or other confirmed PWM header

or

PWM CPU Header to your CPU cooler's PWM Fan
PWM CPU_1 Header to your Hub to control up to (11) Fans via the PWM signal from your MoBo
DCV CHA Header to your Hub to control up to (6 or so - max 1 amp total) Fans via the DCV signal from your Z97 MoBo (or other confirmed PWM header
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
Sorry for the bump, but I've just grabbed a Phanteks PWM Fan Hub for my build and I can't get the fans to change speed at all.

At first boot, it appears they're all at max speed. I check BIOS and as expected it only lists the one fan I have connected to Fan1 on the Hub and it reads it at 360rpm or something in that range. Clearly not the case, all these fans are moving a lot of air and are pretty noisy.

The fans are all Vardars(120s on my EK Predator 240 and 140s in the case) and 1 Noctua NF-A12 ippc Industrial. These are all 4pin PWM fans. If I read the rest of this thread correctly, does that mean the hub won't work with 4pin PWM fans? If not, I also have the Silverstone CPF04 Fan Hub, which has all 4 pin connectors on the hub. Will this one work for me?

Let me know if there's something I'm missing. I've tried messing with the speeds in the BIOS(MSI Z170 Titanium Mpower) but it doesn't change the fans at all.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


Because I'd rather not have half a dozen fan wires being visible when I look inside my build. If I have to I will use some splitters and plug them into the mobo, but keeping them all tidy behind the motherboard with a fan hub is the ideal solution here.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote


You are using the wrong fans. As indicated above, the Phanteks hub is not designed to control PWM fans. Phanteks designed their hub to provide the best of both worlds .... a) all the benefits of PWM (low speed control) and b) none of the disadvantages (PWM motor hum / clicking @ low speeds.

Option 1 - Phanteks hub fed by PWM MoBo header with up to 11 3-pin DCV fans and SATA Power cable connected to hub.

Option 2 - Phanteks hub fed by DCV MoBo header with up to about 6 (max 1 amp load) 3-pin DCV fans and no power cable connected.

Option 3 - Swiftech PWM Hub PWM MoBo header with up to 11 4-pin PWM fans and SATA Power cable connected to hub.

Be aware that:

1. Phanteks fans have the best performance / noise ratio on the market. Replace the fans on a Noctua cooler with Phanteks fans and the temps drop by 3C ... and rpm drops by 300.

2. The EK Predator comes with it's own fan controller. IU would:

a. Connect the EX Fan controller to CPU Header
b.1 Connect the Phanteks Hub to Phanteks 140mm Case fans
or
b.2 Connect the PWM fans to a Swiftech or other PWM controller

What rpm are these fans ? .... this isn't the 1990s. Back in the day, the use of high fpi rads warranted the use oh high SP fan @ high rpms. With today's modern rads, there's no need to use anything faster than 1250 rpm .... 1800 if you have an AIO.

And yes, I agree, the hubs make all wires disappear ... cable splitters are a horror show by comparison.



designed to give

 
Upvote 0 Downvote


Pure bullshit by biased phanteks fanboy, Noctua fan A15 or Thermalright TY-147a connected to CPU FAN HEADER (PWM) can drop to 330 rpm (min), Phanteks PH-140HP cant go lower than 600... Phanteks fans are garbage and loud.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote



Before writing something like "bullshit", please read the thread carefully. It´s good to have other suggestions than others.

@JackNaylorPE and Gamescope
Do you have some charts to prove your thesis?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


Why is it always the ones who resort to ranting and unnaceptable language that never can post anything to support their claims

1. I have 16 Phanteks fans in my personal box (10 radiator / 6 case) with 3 channel control via Phanteks hubs. Care to explain the screen shot below that I just took ?

700


2. Care to explain the overclockers club test showing the Noctua Cooler dropping CPU temps by 3C when taking off the Noctua Fans and switching to Phanteks fans ?

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/phenteks_f140/3.htm

3. Care to explain why Phanteks finishes in 1st place here over the NH-D15 ?

http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph10785/84258.png

4. Care to explain why SilentPCReview.com shows Phanteks in 1st place yet again ?

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1345-page7.html

The Phanteks PH-F140HP/TS is the clear winner in every respect. It edged out the new Noctuas every step of the way, delivering the best overall results of any fan we've tested thus far. To top it off, it had cleanest, smoothest sound of all the new fans in this roundup. If we had to start from scratch, this might be our new reference model.

Our current 140 mm reference fan, the Noctua NF-P14 FLX held its own against the newcomers. It didn't cool quite as well as its successors but its acoustic character is still amongst the best you can find in a 140 mm model. For many, the new models' improvement in cooling ability isn't substantial enough to offset the superior sound of the older model. The fact this model has been discontinued is a shame — if you want one, get it now while you can.

The Noctua NF-A15 PWM and NF-A14 FLX followed close behind the Phanteks in our thermal performance test. The A15 has a smoother acoustic profile than the A14 but both sound fairly good to the ears. However, they share the misfortune of living in the shadow of the P14. The A15 and A14 have a rougher, muddier sound and neither is worthy of being a true successor.
Click to expand...



@JackNaylorPE
Do you have some charts to prove your thesis?
[/quotemsg]

That enough ?





 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Even though this is an old thread I was wondering with the new Z270 boards are the connections the same. I am using a Phanteks Enthoo Evolve case with EVGA Z270 mobo and NZXT X62 Kraken AIO cooler. Do I plug the pump into the CPU fan header and the case fans into the hub? The fans attached to the radiator plug in where? And which header goes to the fan hub? There are a few headers on the mobo. (CPU1_fan, CPU2_fan, PWR_fan, CHA_fan, SYS1_fan, AUX_fan). The manual is not clear for either the aio cooler or the motherboard.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
The use of a CLC throws things a bit outta whack as every CLC vendor has a different idea on how this should be done... and none seem to do it well. If a user asks us to do a build, we won't put in a CLC. Only options are:

Air Coolers
OLCs (Swiftech / EK AIPO water coolers)
Custom Loops

I can't really tell you about the Kraken X62 as given the choice between the X62 and the Swiftech H240 X2 for the same price, it's hard to choose the X62.

As far as the Kraken, Id suggest directing your questions to NZXT tech support. The rest of the MoBo headers **should"" be capable of either PWM or DCV and auto sense what type of fan is used. This should be stated int he manual.

PWM Hub - Swiftech 8W-PWM-SPL-ST
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA85V3N90439

DCV Hubs - ModMyToys 5-way 3-Pin Power Distribution PCB
http://www.performance-pcs.com/modmytoys-3-pin-power-distribution-pcb-5-way-block.html

PWM => DCV - Phanteks Hub
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4RE5032993

I find the latter provides the best / cheapest solutiion
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
The Phanteks case comes with a fan hub attached in the back already. I don't need a separate hub. The question is what headers should I be using? And regardless of what all-in-one cooler I'm using I'm sure the pumps of most of them plug into the same header. Not sure why you mentioned custom loop coolers in your response or offered an opinion on what AIO you thought was best. I'm asking about what headers should be used.






 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Status
Not open for further replies.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom