Difference between using 3 pin and 4 pin connector?

L

Lyrids

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 19, 2004
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I'm getting some new 120mm case fans soon and I have the option to connect them either directly to the motherboard using the 3 pin or to the PSU using the 4 pin. Are there pros and cons to either or does it not really matter?
 
Supposedly conecting too many fans to the mobo fan connectors could possibly put too much strain on the mobo. Im not sure if thats true or not, i have a 80mm with both connections and I think it recommends you hook both up. If your power supply has cool/quiet tech then using the 4 pin molex would allow it to spin down during idle times.
 
You don't want to plug 120mm fans into your motherboard headers. Those draw way too much power. Use the 4 pin molex connectors whenever possible with large fans like that.
 
This hasn't been answered, so I'll add just FYI.

The 3 prong mobo fan connectors have a live, ground, and RPM sensor for speed monitoring.

The 4 prong 'molex' connectors (like your hard drive uses) has two lives (12v [yellow] and 5v [red]) and two grounds.
 
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