Case fans don't work

[Caffeine-Rx]

Question about PSU and fans.

I have 5 fans (1 cpu and 4 case fans) but only 4 connections on the MB. I was wondering if it was possible to daisy-chain the fans to the PSU. Would that work? Would I be able to control them via a program like speedfan?

 

[-Jv-]

if you connect them directly to your PSU you will not be able to control them.

 

[GBear]

Unless you get a fan speed controller. Or if you don't have the money for a fan controller, you could always wire a potentiometer to the fan. Connecting a fan directly to a rail is basically a simple series circuit.

 

[EyelessHunter]

I would highly recommend just getting a 30 dollar fan controller. Also, if your fans use a significant amount of power I would recommend against hooking them up through the mobo anyway.

 

[GBear]

You don't really need to hook it up to the mobo. I don't really ever adjust the speed. I just put them all on high. The only downside is a little bit more noise and dust.

 

[That One Guy]

Hey bro, check this out, you may have to get some extensions but i got one for my new rig, it works great. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998808

 

[Mediarocker]

If you hook them up the PSU, you will NOT be able to control them. Hook up the CPU fan to the CPU connector on the mobo. and put the Case fans on a Fan speed controller. I advise against putting the CPU fan on the speed controller. Sometimes you might bump the knob.. then fry your CPU. I've seem it happen at lan parties. NOT fun.. and it DOES NOT smell good.

 

[EyelessHunter]

If you hook them up the PSU, you will NOT be able to control them. Hook up the CPU fan to the CPU connector on the mobo. and put the Case fans on a Fan speed controller. I advise against putting the CPU fan on the speed controller. Sometimes you might bump the knob.. then fry your CPU. I've seem it happen at lan parties. NOT fun.. and it DOES NOT smell good.

Thats a really good point. Also, CPU fans generally don't use that much power so it's perfectly safe to run through your mobo. Also, if you don't like noise I am sure your BIOS settings will let you adjust specific temperature/rpm qualities for your CPU fan.

 

[Squishy]

I don't bother with fans.....liquid cooling all the way.

 

[Jubei]

I don't bother with a controller. I use high quality quiet fans and run them full speed.

 

[bakerthree]

my themaltake case came with fans that allow them to be connected 3 different ways. My power supply also a thermaltake has two cables that are listed for fan use only. If your fans were working before and have now stopped you should be looking at what has caused the problem.
there are several programs that I have come across that read and measure my fans speed both ones connected to motherboard and those not. Can not think of their names right now. You can always try a program and if you do not like it uninstall it and try another one.

 

[QB]

As the others have said, you will be better off using a fan speed controller. If you try to hook up your case fans directly to the PSU, you will probably end up with a ton of noise. Most default case fans use sleeve bearings, which are very noisy at high speeds. We're talking more noise than even a loud crappy DVD drive.

If you happen to have a bunch of high quality ball bearing fans, then by all means run them at max speed all the time. They'll probably last longer than you need and be quiet enough that you'll never notice them.