Help With Hooking Up Case Fans Properly

[Dorito Bandit]

Hey guys,

the directions for hooking up my case fans have me a bit confused, and concerned. The directions for installing the PWM hub says to connect it's 4-pin cable to the motherboard's 4-pin "CPU_Fan" connector. But this is where I have the CPU heatsink fan plugged in to. There are other 4-pin fan locations to plug in to, just not sure which I should use. I am also unsure if I am suppose to plug in the SATA power plug or not.

I have the Phantecks Enthoo Pro case and the PWM hub has the 2 pre-installed fans connected to it.

Please see the following screen shots with directions and tell me what I should do. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Case Manual PWM Hub Installation Instructions



Motherboard Layout From The Motherboard Manual The red arrow is where my CPU heatsink fan is plugged into, and where the case manual instructs to plug the hub in.





If interested. Here are links to my motherboard and case PDF manuals.

Motherboard Manual

Case Manual


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[EarthDog]

You have to plug in that SATA cable, yes. That is where the hub will get at least most of its power from.

If you don't want to hook up your CPU fan to the PWM hub, just put it on any other PWM controller on your motherboard and control it that way. What you posted is worded as such it only needs a PWM plug. It is just saying that the PWM functionality is usually found on the CPU header on most motherboards.

 

[Dorito Bandit]

Thanks, EarthDog.

I hooked it up to the CPU_OPT and left my CPU fan plugged into the CPU_FAN connector. The fans are running, but I did NOT hook up the SATA power plug. The reason I did not hook it up is because of what the case manual says.

Connecting the 4-pin to other 4-pin header (besides the CPU_Fan) Other 4-pin connectors can be found on modern motherboards besides the “CPU_Fan” connector (e.g. “CPU_Fan2”, “CHA_Fan”, “OPT_Fan”), however not all motherboard manufacturers implement a true PWM signal modulation onto these connectors. These type of 4-pin connectors modulate the RPM by voltage, which has a smaller control range compared to modulation by true PWM signal.

The 12V SATA power cable can not be used to power the PWM hub if connecting to these types of 4-pin connectors, due to the interference with the RPM regulation by voltage (resulting in the fans running on full RPM). The PWM hub will draw its power from the 4-pin connector, which is limited to a total device consuming 30W in total.

What do you think?

 

[NiHaoMike]

Do connect the SATA power.

 

[EarthDog]

30w coming from the mobo header alone???

Plug it in. See if the rpm reports wrong.

 

[trents]

I think the instructions are saying to use either the motherboard headers that have PWM capability or the PWM hub but not both.

 

[Bobnova]

Man that's horrible tech writing.

My take is that you can only use the SATA power plug (and, really, the hub in general IMO) with PWM fan headers that actually put out a PWM signal.
If it's a four pin header that actually uses 3 pin style control, blammo.

 

[RnRollie]

There is a whole discussion on the Phanteks hub/controller going on " the other " board the last couple of weeks

 

[inVain]

looks more alike a medical prescription than a manual book to me @.@

from what I see, the cpu_opt header share the very same function with the cpu_fan header.
you might want to connect the 4p to your hub from this header.

as for the cha_fan headers.
they're really look suspicious to me.
their 4th pin are outputing 5v rather than pwm signal.
probably to set the pwm signal to always running @100%

 

[Dorito Bandit]

I said to hell with the hub (for now) and went ahead and plugged the fans directly into the motherboard connectors. I can now use Fan Xpert 2 to control them. Like I said in an earlier post, I at first hooked the hub up to the CPU_OPT, but could never get Fan Xpert 2 to see them for some reason. I've also posted this very same question on a few other forums as well and have gotten different responses as to what to do. I was just wanting to make sure I would be getting the best control over my fans.

I may eventually try the PWM hub again one day. Maybe.

Anyway, I certainly appreciate the help, everyone.

 

[doyll]

Phanteks PWM Controlled Fan Hub

• Phanteks PWM fan hub requires a true PWM signal* in order to control the fan speed of fans plugged into it.
• Phanteks PWM fan hub uses a true PWM signal to control / vary the voltage to 3-pin fans.
• Phanteks PWM fan hub uses 12 volt power from PSU to power the fans.
  
• Phanteks PWM fan hub can handle up to 30 watts in total. Fan splitter can be used on all fan headers except FAN 1. Header FAN 1 is the "control" fan header.
  
• Using Phanteks PWM fan hub on a variable voltage controlled motherboard fan header (3-pin or 4-pin) without using PSU power allows it to function as a 3-pin splitter / hub .. powering fans with motherboard fan header power.
  
• *Motherboard PWM signal is only on CPU_FAN headers. Motherboards rarely have PWM signal / control on any other fan headers.

• Phanteks PWM Fan Hub is controlled by PWM signal.
• Phanteks PWM Fan Hub does not control fans with PWM
• Phanteks PWM Fan Hub uses PWM signal to vary the voltage going to voltage controlled fans.

 

[Bobnova]

Well that's snazzy. If they sold it without the case I think they'd have a decent number of buyers.

 

[doyll]

It's coming in a few more weeks Phanteks announced their Enthoo Luxe case and accessories including the PWM controlled 3-pin fan hub.

 

[Bobnova]

Nice.
I built one that could do up to 10w or so of fans. Wasn't especially pretty, but it worked and was simple.
I expect Phanteks did a snazzier job than just using an op-amp and RC filter though.
Mostly because 3a at 12v is more than you want to start reducing voltage on without a buck regulator.

 

[doyll]

Phanteks PWM Fan Hub comes with 2 Y-splitter, Sata power lead and PWM fan lead. It is 4.5x3.5x1.8cm and rated 30w for $14.99 from PhanteksUSA

The Phanteks PWM Fan Hub is capable of powering up to *11x fans (3-pin) through PWM modulation, while occupying only 1x 4-pin header of your motherboard per Fan Hub. At the same time this Fan Hub also keeps your chassis interior clean and tidy by centralizing all your fan cables. The PWM hub comes with pre-drilled mounting holes for easy installation to your Enthoo cases and also Velcro strips for use with other chassis. Power LED illuminates the Phanteks Logo when the PWM hub is powered on.
$14.99 USD

http://www.phanteksusa.com/products/phanteks-fan-hub

 

[Neo29™]

Plug this HUB is more than simple if you have a true PWM Fan Connector.

Plug in the sata power connector (it give all the power to all the fan)
Plug in the pwm Cable between the HUB and one PWM CH_FAN.
Plug at least one fan in the white 3 PIN connector of the hub.

Notice that if you dont' plug the pwm cable, all the fan will run at max.