Kicked out and barred from a PC shop

[andym]

I've only been using PC's for about 24 years, so obviously I haven't got a clue about them.... So maybe someone with a bit more knowledge can help me out a bit.

The guy in the shop said that I couldn't connect more than the CPU fan to the motherboard, all the rest needed to be connected with molex connectors.

I said I didn't want the fans spinning at 100%, and would rather they were controlled by the system, he said that they wouldn't be spinning at 100% because they have different amp ratings

As far as I'm aware, (and correct me if I'm wrong here), if you have a 12v fan that spins at 1200rpm (irregardless of amps), you connect that to a 12v power supply and it will spin up to 1200rpm and stay at that speed.... he said no it wouldn't and after about 20 minutes of disagreeing he told me to go elsewhere for the leads as he wasn't serving me

[MarJay]

I've never heard of your arrangement, and I'm not saying it's wrong, but his arrangement is how I've always done it. If you want more CPU cooling you fit a bigger heatsink with a bigger fan.

Case fan should always be running, CPU fan should be on demand.
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[colink98]

its common for the Mobo to have multiply headers for fans..
which you correctly state will then be speed controlled by the bios depending on temp.

the X79 board in the gaming rig has
1 x CPU Fan connector(s) (4 -pin)
4 x Chassis Fan connector(s) (4 -pin)
1 x Optional Fan connector(s) (4 -pin)
1 x Assistant Fan connector(s) (4 -pin)

so that's 7 fan headers all 4 pin so speed variable and controlled by bios.
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[Ste]

If you want the fans to be controlled by the motherboard then you need PWM fans.

Fans connected to molex will be running at full whack all the time.

[UncleFester]

Change PC shop and buy your shit off Ebuyer / Scan.

The bloke is clearly an idiot.

You might not want too many large fans drawing lots of current from the mainboard .... that's not daft but it's not a hard rule as long as you are within tolerance.

You can get seperate fan controllers if you want 14 x 140mm case fans running at whatever speeds.

And if you want all fans running flat out then use Molex directly off the PSU ( he does know most boards let you specify fan speeds anyway and most have an app in Windows for you to fiddle with.

But as long as you are not drawing more current than the board fan outputs are rated for then you'd be fine doing it you way - the right way.

Most decent PWM fans come with the correct leads for the board although you can get Molex to PWM convertor leads.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?i=aps&k=molex%20to%20pwm&ref=nb_sb_noss_1&url=search-alias%3Daps
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[Ste]

What leads were you wanting to buy?

[andym]

I've had this PC for 3 days and still haven't switched it on yet.

The case came with 4 fans (I want to connect them to the motherboard, but need 2 splitters as there are 2 sys fan points on the motherboard, but I can't do that because I'll melt the wires and fry the motherboard etc etc..... I MUST connect them with molex connectors.... no they won't be running at 100% constantly... you don't want to have more than 2 fans otherwise it will cause the system to be running too cold and will cause dampness inside the case blah blah blah, (he has 27 years PC experience and has written books and taught classes)), the water cooling with 2 fans and they are connected to the CPU fan (with a splitter)

[andym]

[Ste]

It makes sense but I can see why the guy might have been reluctant to sell you those splitters.

If wanting to make a setup like that, you'd need to see how many amps the fan headers on the motherboard are rated for. because then you'll know if things will get melty.

The two fans on the radiator are running as extractor fans and blowing air out of the case?

[Ste]

This looks like a tidier solution for what you're wanting... https://www.amazon.co.uk/DEEPCOOL-FH-10-Integrated-Controller-Motherboard/dp/B077YHLDSP

I'm not specifically recommending that, it's something I've found that looks appropriate as it wouldn't result in things getting melty.

[defblade]

Christ, you sure it was an actual employee you were talking to, not someone who was pretending as you came in while he was robbing the place? I've heard some drivel in my time, but that guy sounds special...

Anyhow, it's voltage not amperage that determines the speed of case fans attached via molex. You can get special leads with resistors in to permanently reduce the voltage to a fan (and therefore reduce its speed), or get variable controllers in various forms.

Fans don't pull a lot of amps; quite a few PWM fans come with pass-through connectors so you can chain several fans to one PWM enabled plug on your MB, so I don't think anyone is really worried about MB melting amp drains.

In the meantime:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-Port-4-Pin-PC-Motherboard-PWM-CPU-Cooling-Fan-Splitter-Hub-Adapter-Cable-Lead/283520532413?hash=item420323ffbd:g:t64AAOSwZvldCQgi

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-To-3-Way-Splitter-Sleeved-4-Pin-PWM-Connector-Fan-Extension-Cable-1pc-JOP-Mz/283811539260?epid=0&hash=item42147c693c:g:EIIAAOSwwwRbIIM2
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[xX-Alex-Xx]

If you do get stuck with molex fans you don’t want running at full speed, swap the positive lead on the fans connector to the other side. It’ll run at 5v instead of 12v and therefore slower and quieter.

As mentioned though, almost all motherboards with have multiple 4 pin connectors for speed controlled fans via PWM.
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[colink98]

[P.]

All my fans are 100% all the time anyway, because I don't hear anything with headphones on, but yeah they will always spin at max speed if you directly connect them.

[Easy-X]

If you're free to design as you please it's probably better to go with fewer larger fans than lots of little fans. Also, suck from the front/bottom, blow through the back/top (ooo-errr!) and try and keep things balanced: no point having 3 fans on the front and only 1 on the back, for example.
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[xX-Alex-Xx]

[RhynoCZ]

Yep, what defblade says, use a resistor on the red (+) wire going to the fan. Noctua even sells ''noise reduction adaptors'', that are exactly that. I used those for years, having all the case fans pretty much run at 80% of their capability, to get them inaudible, yet still moving air around. Nowadays, I run 140x140mm case fans, that are inaudible so I leave them at 100%.

I do however agree, that PWM fans are the way to go. Even then some of the motherboards can work with standard voltage regulation fans. OR even better, buy some of the big 120x120 or 140x140 fans, that spin at 1000 rpm, move crap loads of air, while being completely inaudible.

Experience time; if you have a low TDP computer or it sits at idle for most of the time, I would even have the PWM case fans to stop when there is no need for the airflow. That way you not only reduce the noise, but you also drastically reduce the dust collection inside the computer, on the filters.
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[Ste]

Get fans like these: https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Fans+%26+Cooling/Fans/120mm/Scythe+Gentle+Typhoon+5400RPM+Performance+Case+Fan+120mm+?productId=44413&rqcType=new which move 150.1 CFM and run them flat out for maximum noise.

[andym]

I got it all (well mostly), sorted, turns out the 3 pin plugs can just get plugged in to the 4 pin slots on the motherboard, and the front fans are plugged in to a single molex via a splitter.... under heavy load it's still quieter than my old PC

Fan setup: 6 x 120mm fans - 3 front drawing air, 2 top blowing air out and 1 rear blowing air out.

I'm still testing, so I have a few things to sort out, (wire routing, aRGB controls, storage etc).

@Ste, it's 5 of these I have: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cooler-Master-MasterFan-SF120R-ARGB-120mm-Chassis-Fan/402135272433?epid=22037067799&hash=item5da1214bf1:g:E1kAAOSwv-5eXgct

[GettinBetter]

The idea is to not have the current from the fans going into your motherboard and back out to your case fans, it overloads the board supply plugs and is unnecessary. If you are unhappy about running the case fans at 100% then use a speed control....fits into one of the knockout at the front of the case

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3-Channels-PC-Cooler-Cooling-Fan-Speed-Controller-for-CPU-Case-HDD-DDR-VGA-/311835597579

Takes the power directly from the PSU to the case fans via the molex plugs.