Zarius Posted June 9, 2007 Posted June 9, 2007 I just built myself a new machine this past week. I haven't built a new machine in a very long time. Alot of changes since my last build about 4 years ago, especially cooling requirements etc. I've got everything working well but I have a question relating to my fans. I'm currently running a Gigabyte 965P-DS3 with a Core2 Duo E6600. I've got three 120mm Scythe Fans, one as exhaust at the rear, one at the front as intake, and the third on the heatsink. Currently I have these powered directly off the fan power connections on the motherboard, but I just read somewhere that it's hard on the motherboard. Is that true? Should I move them to being powered directly from the powersupply or can I just leave them connected to the board. Right now I like the board connections because it keeps the system really neat and clean from a wiring perspective, but it's obviously more important to me that I have a stable and long lived system. If anyone has thoughts on this (or even better some definitive answers with supporting documentation) it would be appreciated. Thanks in advance, Zarius. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
road-runner Posted June 9, 2007 Posted June 9, 2007 I have heard of people burning a MB out by plugging to many fans in so I never plug them in there unless there is no other option myself. You could always get a fan controller, or just plug them in to the PSU... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow47 Posted June 9, 2007 Posted June 9, 2007 I've never heard ever of any such problem. Besides, if you plug them into the power supply, you won't be able to control fan speeds from the motherboard or any software. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeble Posted June 9, 2007 Posted June 9, 2007 I have heard of people burning a MB out by plugging to many fans in so I never plug them in there unless there is no other option myself. You could always get a fan controller, or just plug them in to the PSU... Ditto. I run everything off from the PSU directly or a fan controller. PSU for quiet fans, controller for everything else. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
markiemrboo Posted June 9, 2007 Posted June 9, 2007 (edited) It is possible to kill the fan connections on the motherboard by using a more 'power hungry' fan (Vantec Tornado?), but to be honest I think the issue is over-exaggerated a tad. You'll probably be OK up till about 4-5W or something like that I would have thought. The average '"pretty" LED 120mm fan seems to draw around 250mA ish. 12v * 0.25A (250mA) = 3W Edited June 9, 2007 by markiemrboo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardnrg Posted June 9, 2007 Posted June 9, 2007 Yeah, they'd have to be really high performance fans to draw so much current that they burn out the fan header voltage regulator (or whatever) Panaflo 120x120x38 M1A takes 0.45A, so 5.4W... I'm pretty sure a Vantec Tornado 92x92x38 uses 1A so 12W... the Panaflo M1A's come with a 3 pin fan header connector on them so I'd say they are fine on a motherboard... the next model up, the H1A usually comes with a 4 pin molex if I remember correctly (so does the 92mm tornado), so basically, if the fan has a 3 pin connector for the power then it's alright, if it is a monster fan that comes with a 4 pin molex, not a good idea to use an adaptor to fit it on the header. I only have one fan connected to a header, and that's the one that cools my ram (a medium airflow 92mm fan)... the rest I run off the PSU Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarius Posted June 9, 2007 Posted June 9, 2007 I guess since no one seems to be 100% sure, rather than take the risk I might at least move the front intake fan to the PSU and leave the exhaust and heatsink fans running off the motherboard. The fans themselves run at low RPM's so I can't imagine they have alot of draw. They came with the 3 port connection on them but also included the molex connector and another connector which I haven't seen before. Thanks for the info and the suggestions. Regards, Zarius. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMeeD Posted June 9, 2007 Posted June 9, 2007 (edited) I burnt out the header next to my CPU on my DFI Ultra-D by plugging in a high performance 120mm into it. It came with an adaptor but me being me, I didnt even think about the possibility of it drawing too much power. I wouldnt plug anything larger than the average 80 or 90mm fan into a header. Edit* It was this fan which did the header in. Edited June 9, 2007 by SMeeD Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
road-runner Posted June 9, 2007 Posted June 9, 2007 I think when I heard about it someone took and hooked all there case fans together 7 or 8 of them and then plugged them all into the MB header. I just use the PSU no sense in taking a chance and it has to be a little easier on the MB... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now