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mb 3 pin fan connectors
- Thread starter darufe
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2004
- Location
- Santa Ana, Ca
darufe said:
DFI is the only MB maker I have ever seen list that info and they say 350ma (.35A) absolute
max on a 3 pin header. The header pins themselves can handle a lot more but the MB traces
connecting to the pins are usually very small and are the basis for the limitation.
Viper
I was trying to clean up the clutter inside my case and maximized the use of the MB fan headers....all it did was lead to instability. Now I'm down to my Zalman 9500 fan and the 92mm cooling my HR-03 running off the MB, now there is much rejoicing...although it is messier inside the case.
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2001
- Location
- Sunshine State, USA
These days the mobo's are protected from current overdraw. In the old days if the fan was to high in current, the fan headers would blow out. These days modern mobos from names like Abit and Asus it's highly unlikely the mobo fan header will blow out, what will happen is the mobo will not boot if the fan is not within specs for the fan header 
But if you have a fan with a very high power draw, just use a molex adapter, and just strip all but the yellow tach wire from the 3 pin fan header, and just plug the tach wire 3 pin plug in the mobo fan header, and the other 2 wires to a molex adapter, this way you can still monitor rpm's if you so choose.
But if you have a fan with a very high power draw, just use a molex adapter, and just strip all but the yellow tach wire from the 3 pin fan header, and just plug the tach wire 3 pin plug in the mobo fan header, and the other 2 wires to a molex adapter, this way you can still monitor rpm's if you so choose.
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2004
- Location
- Santa Ana, Ca
Silversinksam said:These days the mobo's are protected from current overdraw. In the old days if the fan was to high in current, the fan headers would blow out. These days modern mobos from names like Abit and Asus it's highly unlikely the mobo fan header will blow out, what will happen is the mobo will not boot if the fan is not within specs for the fan header
But if you have a fan with a very high power draw, just use a molex adapter, and just strip all but the yellow tach wire from the 3 pin fan header, and just plug the tach wire 3 pin plug in the mobo fan header, and the other 2 wires to a molex adapter, this way you can still monitor rpm's if you so choose.
If the header is adjustable speed then it will typically have Over Current protection...but not always. With fixed voltage fan headers the only OC protection I have even seen on any make or model of motherboard is when the one of the traces leading to the headers pins blows open at it's thinest point lol.
Viper
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