Question Seeking to Power 3 120mm 12V RGB fans / MSI P67A-GD65 Motherboard

[B.ONeal]

I'm building a new/used PC with a MSI P67A-GD65 motherboard and Thermaltake Case (Thermaltake Versa J25 Tempered Glass RGB Edition). I'm having trouble figuring out what exactly I should do to power the 3 120mm 12 V RGB fans in the front that are connected via the Thermaltake Dual-Mode 12V SYNC Controller with a 12V out 4 pin(?). The motherboard has 4 x SYS Fan (3-pin). I don't need an RGB motherboad header since the RGB fans can be changed with a button in front but I do need the fans to be powered and lit.

Any input would be greatly appreciiated. Thanks in advance.

PS- I'm a Noob with one NZXT H400 Build with new parts that went smoothly.

 

[Darth Sicaedus]

You can run the 4 pin fans from the 3 pin headers, but the 4 pin PWM fans will always run at full speed unless your board has voltage based speed control. I don't know much about your board though. Here is a good article about PWM fans.

What is PWM and how does it work? - ekwb.com

Many years after the introduction of PWM in 2003, there are users that are still not familiar with its advantages. In this article, we explain what is PWM and how to use it properly to get the best performance out of your fans and pumps!

www.ekwb.com

 

[B.ONeal]

Thanks for the info. The header(s) coming out of the controller are actually not normal 4 pin fan headers, they differ a bit in that they are symmetrical without a tab. There is a female and male that are tied into the same cable and they can plug into each other. IDK lol

Photo of controller and 4 pin female male 12V cable:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/jRYifeahMrzXLdGx8

 

[Darth Sicaedus]

What you have pictured looks like an RGB hub to me. At the generation your motherboard is, I don't even need to look at the specs to tell you it doesn't have any RGB headers on it.

 

[B.ONeal]

Ok, thanks. That makes sense that it's an RGB Hub. I guess I need a power cable/adapter to connect the +12V RGB and GRB Header (if they make such a thing), so it gets power and lights up the fans. I wonder if it's still possible to get PWM control or fan control in general. Maybe I should have just bought a new motherboard instead of Circa 2011 but I wanted to do some overclocking practice on this one. I know another option would be to just get 3 pin fans for the front, not using the controller, and I'd be good to go. Ugh, more parts lol.

 

[Darth Sicaedus]

Did some looking at the case specs. I am not sure how that RGB Switch is supposed to get power. I would guess either SATA or Molex? The manual only specifies how to connect the switch to the Motherboard.

I am not sure what your board is capable of, but I would try connecting the fans directly to the motherboard and seeing what you can do to set fan speed in BIOS or see if MSI has fan controlling software. If that is a bust, you could always pick up a standalone PWM fan controller if you don't mine spending a little bit and are ok with manual adjustments instead of simply setting a fan curve.

https://www.thermaltake.com/db/support/usermanual/_60ab09e757e6415a90763a2d782e42a3.pdf

 

[B.ONeal]

Thanks a lot for looking into it further. I just tried to remove the fan headers from the controller but they didn't budge at first (going to try again in a minute). They are 12V fans but I think my MB fan headers are 5V. I need to look at MB docs to see if there is a 12V header. Thanks again.

 

[Darth Sicaedus]

Thanks a lot for looking into it further. I just tried to remove the fan headers from the controller but they didn't budge at first (going to try again in a minute). They are 12V fans but I think my MB fan headers are 5V. I need to look at MB docs to see if there is a 12V header. Thanks again.

Do the fans only have one cable coming from each of them? I have Corsair LL140s, ML140s and an LL120. All of them have one PWM cable and one RGB cable.

 

[B.ONeal]

They are:
TT-1225 120mm Black Case Fan, 4-Pin Power Connector

Thermaltake TT-1225 Case Fan 12V 0.18A 120mm ZT12025SL Clear Red Light
https://pcpartsoutletstore.com/ther...2v-0-18a-120mm-zt12025sl-clear-red-light.html

But I can't get them out of the controller. Trying a 3rd time...somethings bound to break right about now...which may be a good thing lol.

 

[B.ONeal]

Ok, I got them out and they are 6 pin.

 

[Darth Sicaedus]

6 Pin? Picture?

 

[B.ONeal]

Yup. Just added to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/jRYifeahMrzXLdGx8

May just be getting some new fans and a new controller which will likely lead to more fans...more $...and a bigger project ha. But, that's how PC building goes, right??

 

[Darth Sicaedus]

I totally get that. The more you spend and upgrade, the more you want to do it. I don't think I have ever been so confused by computer fans before. I have never seen a 6 pin connection like that before. My best guess is that RGB and fan power/control are smash into one connection. I don't really know what to do about it. I found the diagram below from Enermax. Connector looks very similar and the pin out is identical. I can't find the controller seperate from fans though.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835214082

 

[B.ONeal]

Thanks for finding that - that's the connector! I'm honored to have you baffled, haha.

I think I found a device that will provide power and allow me to plug something in to get this build going again!: https://www.amazon.com/Taurus-Control-Mystic-ASROCK-BIOSTAR/dp/B0743LGBNH

Unfortunately it doesn't have PWM control so I may need a to add a controller in there somewhere. Hopefully I can change in BIOS.

 

[Darth Sicaedus]

Sounds good. Good luck with the rest of the build!

 

[B.ONeal]

Thanks again. I may or may not be able to provide an update depending on if this build works well, or if it causes a fire :\