How to Run Multiple Fans in a GA-Z87N-Wifi ITX?

[pmarascal]

I've got all the parts ready to start my first itx build, just waiting on my case.. Was making sure I had all my cords, sata, etc so I am ready once my case gets here this week. But I am stumbling here, and maybe [hopefully] it's a dumb question.

I am going to use a GA-Z87N-Wifi motherboard and I believe it only has 1 CPU header and 1 Fan header. I am running a Seidon 120M liquid cooler which takes up 1 for the pump and 1 for the fan.. so boom I am now out of fan headers. But I also am planning 2 additional fans in this build.

If I use the PSU/Fan connectors, is there anyway to have them controlled by my motherboard? Or I use the straight up PSU/Fan (molox to pmw?) connectors, are these fans going to be going at full speed, or how are they then controlled? ...Or... am I mssing something here? Help please


Thanks in advance!!

Edit: I don't have room for a Fan Controller (Bitfenix Prodigy w/ a Blu-Ray drive).

 

[WonkeyDonkey]

You have several options here:

Get fans that only run at low speeds, ive seen some whose top speed is like 600 or 700 rpm.

Get some inline resistors, sometimes referred to as ULNA (ultra low noise adaptor).

Get an inline speed controller which you can use to set the speed using a small rotary knob (Fanmate2).

With any of these options you can get a small adaptor that will allow you to power the fans from a standard molex connector direct from your psu.

Fan splitter cables are available but these are generally not recommended for water cooled setups.

 

[rjstott]

Another option would be to use a splitter that allows the cooler a four wire connection with a three wire connect to the cooler fan. This would allow the pump and fan to be speed controlled by the board, This then leaves a free board connector for any other fans and you could use the same type of splitter if more than one.

There are also fans with an inline speed switch providing similar control to an inline resistor.

 

[pmarascal]

So Donkey says to stay away from splitters (I've heard this elsewhere too), and correct me if I'm wrong but rjScott you are saying use them?

Or is there a difference in what kind of splitter? For instance I have seen some that are straight up 2 fans to 1 fan header. But I have come across a few that are like the link below, basically they link to the molox PSU, then to 2-3 fans, and then only to the speed sensor header on the MOBO. So if these in fact work, they seem safe as they aren't drawing power from the mobo right... Or am I wrong again?

http://www.amazon.com/Computer-Splitter-Connector-Sleeved-Adapter/dp/B00DYQRFY6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1394464196&sr=8-2&keywords=PWM+splitter

On another note, you said 'not recommended for water cooled settings'. So if I got a splitter like the one above, is it absolutely necessary to run the pump/rad fan in a separate loop than the rest of my case fans?

Thanks for the help guys, I may end up ditching my blu-ray drive and using a fan controller if I can't get this right lol. I do like bitfenix's anyway

 

[WonkeyDonkey]

So Donkey says to stay away from splitters (I've heard this elsewhere too), and correct me if I'm wrong but rjScott you are saying use them?

Or is there a difference in what kind of splitter? For instance I have seen some that are straight up 2 fans to 1 fan header. But I have come across a few that are like the link below, basically they link to the molox PSU, then to 2-3 fans, and then only to the speed sensor header on the MOBO. So if these in fact work, they seem safe as they aren't drawing power from the mobo right... Or am I wrong again?

http://www.amazon.com/Computer-Splitter-Connector-Sleeved-Adapter/dp/B00DYQRFY6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1394464196&sr=8-2&keywords=PWM+splitter

On another note, you said 'not recommended for water cooled settings'. So if I got a splitter like the one above, is it absolutely necessary to run the pump/rad fan in a separate loop than the rest of my case fans?

Thanks for the help guys, I may end up ditching my blu-ray drive and using a fan controller if I can't get this right lol. I do like bitfenix's anyway

The main issue with a splitter is that it may not be able to provide sufficient current to both the pump and the fan, if powered from a single mobo header. If that happens it is headed towards potential disaster. A splitter from a molex will have enough power but there is no speed control/regulation like you have from a motherboard header, hence an inline controller would be appropriate.

 

[pmarascal]

Doing some more reading it seems that the Pump for the Seidon 120M should always have full power, so what I may do is connect the pump straight to my PSU using molex, the Rad-Fan to the CPU header, then one of my fans to the remaining mobo fan header. The last fan will go straight to my PSU as well for now.

Does that sound like it will from a 'not blowing up' standpoint? I want the system and Seidon cooler to be stable most importantly, I can run the pump and 1 fan at 100% from the PSU for now.

As long as that works I'll play with temps and noise level and move on from there to decide if I want to buy a controller or a splitter, internal controller, etc in the near future.

Thanks for all your help guys, idk why I half panic'd over this

 

[rjstott]

I see no reason not to run the pump at full speed and let the Mobo control the fan but then I don't understand why the pump would have speed control capability.

As mentioned don't overload the Mobo connections (see spec of Mobo and fans to check what is possible). Yes you can draw power from a Molex and use just the PWM signal to control the speed of the fans and some connectors are designed to do this.

Re Mobo fan power, I just looked at a couple of Mobos and each connector seems to be able to provide at least 0.5A at 12V so say 5W, A typical fan requires around 1W. Anyway check out your Mobo and fans and if you're worried connect to the Molex!

 

[WonkeyDonkey]

I see no reason not to run the pump at full speed and let the Mobo control the fan but then I don't understand why the pump would have speed control capability.

As mentioned don't overload the Mobo connections (see spec of Mobo and fans to check what is possible). Yes you can draw power from a Molex and use just the PWM signal to control the speed of the fans and some connectors are designed to do this.

Re Mobo fan power, I just looked at a couple of Mobos and each connector seems to be able to provide at least 0.5A at 12V so say 5W, A typical fan requires around 1W. Anyway check out your Mobo and fans and if you're worried connect to the Molex!

Yep indeed, dont try to run the pump on lower power. Not clever at all. Let it have its own connector and draw all the power it needs.

You have a little slack in respect of fan power, 2 fans can happily share a header generally without issue; but if you do this then physically check boths fans start up but also continue to spin. I have 2 quiet fans I bought but if they share a single connector then they slowly spin down and then stop altogether, which thankfully i got a bios error message alerting me due to the non existant rpm. If that had been a fan and pump sharing, it could have caused much bigger issues.

Did you give any thought to using a single case fan but much larger in size ?

 

[Washuu]

The splitter you linked will work fine. The power is supplied from the PSU with only the tachometer and PWM wires hooked to the motherboard. I am using the Rosewill 12-Inch PWM Splitter to supply power to a PWM CPU fan and two PWM case fans being controlled by the CPU_FAN header on the Gigabyte Z87N-WIFI.

The SYS_FAN header is not a PWM controller and is actually a voltage controlled header that applies a constant +5 volts to the PWM wire. It is better to use a three pin fan on it.