power for case fans(psu or mobo)(3 or 4 pin)?

[augustwest]

should any of my case fans be receiving power from my motherboard or should they all be hooked directly to the psu with 4 pin connections? my case is going to have 4 case fans and i need to know whether they should have 4 or 3 pin connections before i make a purchase.

thanks for all the help folks

 

[Yakbak]

Depends on their power drain. Most mobo fan headers can take under 3 W safely, but if you have the spare power connectors, go for the 3-4 pin connectors.

 

[augustwest]

i will have only one spare 4 pin connection coming from my 300 watt psu. my mobo a SOLTEK SL-75DRV5. it hasent been delivered yet so im no sure about the connections i will have on it. can i run more than one fan off of one 4 pin from the psu? and what type of connection does the motherboard use for fans?

 

[Yakbak]

Well, if you get a decent cable, it will probably have a connector on the other side of it, so you won't lose a 4-pin connection (meaning you can plug in another device, keeping the plug free).

Most motherboards use the standard 3-pin configuration for CPU and case fans.

 

[augustwest]

do you know anything about the SOLTEK motherboard that i have? how many fans do you have running off of your mobo?

thanks for the help

 

[Yakbak]

I think your motherboard has 5 connectors for fans.

Check page 31 of your manual...

 

[augustwest]

your right, 5, but my cpu fan will take one of these, right? will my chipset cooler also use one of these also?

 

[Yakbak]

Most likely, yes. My mobo uses 1 for CPU, and 1 for the Via northbridge fan.

You'd have 3 connectors on the motherboard, but I still recommend powering them through the 4-pin connector, unless they draw little power and you want to monitor the case fan's RPM.

 

[augustwest]

the panaflow i want to put on my cpu is 3.24W, is that to much for the mobo?

 

[futura2001]

It is best to hook it up to the PS in my opinion, I rarely use my MOB hookups. Less wires to deal with is better, and one chain of wires is better than five...
Futura