Where do I plug in the fans?

[manooly]

I just started my first pc build. I have the Antec 1200 chassis and an Asus p7p55d-e pro mobo. I put the cpu heatsink fan on the mobo. What other fans do I plug into the mobo? It looks like I have 3 other options but the other case fans are molex connectors. Hmmmm. Any help would br great.

Thanks so much!!!

- manooly

 

[enzo matrix]

ummm none... since you... don't have any other fans?

 

[Paperdoc]

I presume you connected the CPU fan to the mobo pinout identified as CPU_FAN. If all your other case fans have Molex male connectors on them, you must connect to matching Molex connectors on the wires coming out of the PSU. These days th4e only devices that need Molex power inputs are IDE HDD's and Optical drives, so you may have spare Molex's available. But if not, get a simple 1-to-2 Molex adapter that makes more connectors for you.

Did the case and its fans come with a speed controller? In that case you could use the adapter to convert the one controller output (if it only has one) to two for the two fans. If you have no controller, you can buy one from a computer parts shop and use it to set the case fans speeds manually to some mode that gives you good temperatures inside your case and moderate fan noise.

 

[manooly]

I presume you connected the CPU fan to the mobo pinout identified as CPU_FAN. If all your other case fans have Molex male connectors on them, you must connect to matching Molex connectors on the wires coming out of the PSU. These days th4e only devices that need Molex power inputs are IDE HDD's and Optical drives, so you may have spare Molex's available. But if not, get a simple 1-to-2 Molex adapter that makes more connectors for you.

Did the case and its fans come with a speed controller? In that case you could use the adapter to convert the one controller output (if it only has one) to two for the two fans. If you have no controller, you can buy one from a computer parts shop and use it to set the case fans speeds manually to some mode that gives you good temperatures inside your case and moderate fan noise.

Thanks for your response! I did connent the cpu fan to the CPU_FAN pinout on the mobo. The mobo now has 3 other fan pinouts (PWR_FAN, CHA_FAN1 and CHA_FAN2). The Antec 1200 comes with 6 fans (3 front, 2 rear and 1 top). I also have RAM cooling fan that I bought. That has a 3pin connection. Should that connect to the mobo? The rest of the fans have molex connectors and speed controllers. Can I connect the front 3 together with thier molex connectors and then to the psu? Can I connect the back 2 and top one together also? Now I also have an NZXT Sentry 2 fan controller to install. Will that complicate things? Should I just avoid plugging anymore fans into the mobo?

Thanks!!!

- manooly

 

[Paperdoc]

Regarding the mobo PWR_FAN connector, it has only one possible use. IF the wires coming out of the PSU also include one set with a fan connector on the end, plug that into the PWR_FAN connector. All it does is send the PSU fan's speed signal to the mobo. But if you don't have such a connector (many PSU's do not), just leave that unused.

The two CHA_FANx mobo connectors can be controlled by the BIOS of the mobo. At least one can be controlled by reference to a temperature measurement sensor built into the mobo. The other may also be controlled that way, or MAY be controlled only in the sense that you can set its fixed speed in the BIOS Setup screens. Even a connector that CAN be controlled according to measured temperature usually also has the option of manually setting a fixed speed in the BIOS. That is probably your best option for the RAM cooler, because I doubt there actually is any temperature measurement signal available in the RAM modules themselves. So you could connect the RAM cooler to one of those mobo pinouts and set its speed in BIOS according to your own observations of RAM temperature.

For the 6 case fans that all have Molex connectors, you probably need 3 or 4 of the adapters that convert one Molex output from the PSU into two. Using them you could convert two outputs (or three) to six and feed all your fans. Now, you also have the NZXT fan controller, and you could use those adapters on its outputs to create enough connectors to feed all the fans that you want to run from it at reduced speeds. Any you want to run full speed all the time can just be connected directly to the PSU's output.