What is the capacity of a GPu's fan header?

crystal3d

Distinguished
Nov 17, 2009
23
0
18,520
Hi,

TL;DR
How many fans can i connect to a GPU header?


I have a reference design gtx 680 and i have mounted a AIO cooler kit onto it.(arctic hybrid II 120)




So basically, i want to hook up this fan of arctic's cooling kit:
35-186-095-TS


and this:
images


onto this GPU fan header
Zotac-GTX-680-Supreme-Edition-2.jpg


VIA this:
Mini_4-Pin_GPU_Female_to_Mini_4-Pin_GPU_Male___4-Pin_Fan_Male_%281%29__35212_zoom.jpg


But can the Fan controller afford to power two instead of one? how about three?
 
Solution
Most mobo fan headers top out at 1A and about 15W. Power-wise as long as you stay under that, you should be okay, but it's not ideal. If you split the PWM signal too far, your fans won't get a strong enough signal and they'll revert to their 12V max RPM. If the fans are all PWM, your best bet is to get something like an Akasa 3-way or 5-way PWM splitter that draws power straight from the PSU, but is controlled by PWM via the CPU header.
Most mobo fan headers top out at 1A and about 15W. Power-wise as long as you stay under that, you should be okay, but it's not ideal. If you split the PWM signal too far, your fans won't get a strong enough signal and they'll revert to their 12V max RPM. If the fans are all PWM, your best bet is to get something like an Akasa 3-way or 5-way PWM splitter that draws power straight from the PSU, but is controlled by PWM via the CPU header.
 
Solution