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xxxsonic1971 · 8th Nov 2011, 10:10

hello all,
i'm thinking of getting a big case, a raven, hafx, or the big inwin, how do i connect all the case fans in these sort of cases so they operate through a fan cotroller, can they all be connected together, or will it be to much draw on my motherboard?
many thanks.

TheKrumpet · 8th Nov 2011, 10:41

If you mean a fan controller that goes into a drive bay, then generally that will be powered by a 4-pin molex connector and the fans plug straight into there, meaning the power doesn't go through the motherboard. However you may need some fan cable extenders to make it look neat.

If you're using in-line fan controllers, then there shouldn't be any extra strain on your motherboard - if there's a pin-out for a fan, you can assume the motherboard has the ability to power it. I'm not sure if there's some kind of splitters for these pin-outs, and if that's what you're using then I can't really advise.

Generally speaking a motherboard will have 3-4 fan pin-outs - one for the rear exhaust, one for a front intake, one for the CPU cooler and optionally one for a top exhaust (tends to be fairly standard these days). I use a HAF 922 with my P6TD and I have enough pin-outs to power all of the standard fans that come with the case. Just do some research (it shouldn't be hard to look at your motherboard and locate all the fan pin-outs) and check that you have enough. If you don't, it may be worth investing in a drive bay fan controller. Unless ofc motherboard fan pin-outs are designed to support more than one fan (of which I have no clue).

xxxsonic1971 · 8th Nov 2011, 10:57

thanks for the reply,
i should have said in my first post that all my motherboard fan connector are being used powering my h70, my motherboard is an p6t se.
cheers.

TheKrumpet · 8th Nov 2011, 11:11

Well, my suggestion to you then would be to pick up a drive bay fan controller. As noted above they generally just take a 4-pin plug and can be used to power a bunch of fans. I couldn't recommend a particular model, having no experience with them, but it all honesty I think the only real difference will be aesthetics and home many fans they power/control.

You may also need to pick up some fan cable extenders, but then again that might be because I'm ridiculously anal about having any ugly wires showing. Really depends how long the fan wires are. Shouldn't be hard to test.

xxxsonic1971 · 8th Nov 2011, 11:16

cheers,
them nzxt sentry lxe look nice, i'll have a look on ebay.
thanks again.

TheKrumpet · 8th Nov 2011, 11:18

Yeah, I like the look of that one myself, the meshing will fit in really well with the chunky industrial look of the HAF cases... may have to pick one up.

xxxsonic1971 · 8th Nov 2011, 11:22

yeah they look cool

8th Nov 2011, 10:10	#1
xxxsonic1971 W.O.T xxxsonic1971 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: cumbria england Posts: 664	fans hello all, i'm thinking of getting a big case, a raven, hafx, or the big inwin, how do i connect all the case fans in these sort of cases so they operate through a fan cotroller, can they all be connected together, or will it be to much draw on my motherboard? many thanks.

8th Nov 2011, 10:41	#2
TheKrumpet Once more, into the breach! Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Hull, UK Posts: 406	If you mean a fan controller that goes into a drive bay, then generally that will be powered by a 4-pin molex connector and the fans plug straight into there, meaning the power doesn't go through the motherboard. However you may need some fan cable extenders to make it look neat. If you're using in-line fan controllers, then there shouldn't be any extra strain on your motherboard - if there's a pin-out for a fan, you can assume the motherboard has the ability to power it. I'm not sure if there's some kind of splitters for these pin-outs, and if that's what you're using then I can't really advise. Generally speaking a motherboard will have 3-4 fan pin-outs - one for the rear exhaust, one for a front intake, one for the CPU cooler and optionally one for a top exhaust (tends to be fairly standard these days). I use a HAF 922 with my P6TD and I have enough pin-outs to power all of the standard fans that come with the case. Just do some research (it shouldn't be hard to look at your motherboard and locate all the fan pin-outs) and check that you have enough. If you don't, it may be worth investing in a drive bay fan controller. Unless ofc motherboard fan pin-outs are designed to support more than one fan (of which I have no clue). __________________ i7 920 @ 4GHz \| ASUS P6TD X58 Motherboard \| 6GB Corsair Dominator DDR3 1600MHz \| Gainward Phantom GTX570 Titan Fenrir \| Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB \| Corsair HX650W \| Cooler Master HAF 922 \| Dell U2412M \| HP w2007v Steam \| Twitter To quote Moriquendi - "Resistance is Relix" - stonedsurd

8th Nov 2011, 11:11	#4
TheKrumpet Once more, into the breach! Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Hull, UK Posts: 406	Well, my suggestion to you then would be to pick up a drive bay fan controller. As noted above they generally just take a 4-pin plug and can be used to power a bunch of fans. I couldn't recommend a particular model, having no experience with them, but it all honesty I think the only real difference will be aesthetics and home many fans they power/control. You may also need to pick up some fan cable extenders, but then again that might be because I'm ridiculously anal about having any ugly wires showing. Really depends how long the fan wires are. Shouldn't be hard to test. __________________ i7 920 @ 4GHz \| ASUS P6TD X58 Motherboard \| 6GB Corsair Dominator DDR3 1600MHz \| Gainward Phantom GTX570 Titan Fenrir \| Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB \| Corsair HX650W \| Cooler Master HAF 922 \| Dell U2412M \| HP w2007v Steam \| Twitter To quote Moriquendi - "Resistance is Relix" - stonedsurd Last edited by TheKrumpet; 8th Nov 2011 at 11:15. Reason: Self-Grammar Nazi'ng

8th Nov 2011, 11:18	#6
TheKrumpet Once more, into the breach! Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Hull, UK Posts: 406	Yeah, I like the look of that one myself, the meshing will fit in really well with the chunky industrial look of the HAF cases... may have to pick one up. __________________ i7 920 @ 4GHz \| ASUS P6TD X58 Motherboard \| 6GB Corsair Dominator DDR3 1600MHz \| Gainward Phantom GTX570 Titan Fenrir \| Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB \| Corsair HX650W \| Cooler Master HAF 922 \| Dell U2412M \| HP w2007v Steam \| Twitter To quote Moriquendi - "Resistance is Relix" - stonedsurd

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8th Nov 2011, 10:57	#3
xxxsonic1971 W.O.T xxxsonic1971 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: cumbria england Posts: 664	thanks for the reply, i should have said in my first post that all my motherboard fan connector are being used powering my h70, my motherboard is an p6t se. cheers.

8th Nov 2011, 11:16	#5
xxxsonic1971 W.O.T xxxsonic1971 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: cumbria england Posts: 664	cheers, them nzxt sentry lxe look nice, i'll have a look on ebay. thanks again.

8th Nov 2011, 11:22	#7
xxxsonic1971 W.O.T xxxsonic1971 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: cumbria england Posts: 664	yeah they look cool