Why motherboards don't have two CPU fan connectors?

CougTek

CougTek

Hairy Aussie
Joined
Jan 21, 2002
Messages
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Québec, Québec
I'm pissed. My dream of building the perfect computer cannot be realised. I cannot find a motherboard, ideally a reasonnably-priced motherboard, with two 4-pins CPU fan connectors. Why do I need this? Well, the most efficient coolers on the market need two fans in order to achieve top performance while maintaining a tolerable noise livel (ie - being almost inaudible).

Let's say I want to install a Prolimatech Armagedon with two Blue Vortex 14 140mm fans. I can't. Well, I can, but I need to connect one in the CPU fan connector and the other one in the chassis/system fan connector, so they won't rotate at the same speed. Two fans on the same heatsink need to rotate at the same speed to achieve optimum results and not develop an anoying tonal distortion noise.

So I'm pissed. Quite pissed.
 
Howell said:
Why not use a splitter? I'm pretty sure I have one to give you. I'll check this weekend.
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Thanks, but the shipping from Tennessee to the Great White North would be more expensive than the part itself. Thanks for the suggestion though.

There must be places closer than UK that sell that splitter.
 
I found a 4-pin fan splitter in a shop once. They should be more common though.
 
Is this for a personal machine? If so why not just cut and splice the wires?
 
It's not only for a personal build. I have a few customers who want silent yet powerful computers and having two CPU fans could help achieve that.
 
The first two pins is for power and ground. The 3rd pin is the tach. The forth pin is to control the speed.
 
I vaguely recall seeing little fan control devices made to sit in a 3.5" drive bay last time I actually visited my local parts distributor in person.
 
When I was looking for a splitter last year I found that the fan controls had no more than 3-pin connector as far as I could determine. I use the second speed controlled fan on the case exhaust to increase airflow when the CPU is under load rather than for a second CPU fan. Strangely there was only one of the 4-pin splitter in stock and it was from an oddball supplier.
 
Case Rant: for the past 12 years or so, 99% of all the cases I have used have been Antec. When a computer is due to be replaced usually I reuse the case. Yesterday I was refiting an older Antec case and needed two more motherboard standoffs. I reached into my bag of screws and picked up two standoffs. They were different inside thread than the originals. As I looked for the correct standoffs, I found two different hights, two different inside threads, and three different outside diameters. WTF! You would think they would all be the same.
Antec also uses rails to install periferals. I found 5 different sizes/types of rails for the Antec cases. :frusty:
This is bullshit.
 
Antec isn't a manufacturer, so it's not surprising that their products from various OEMs use various fittings.

Eventually, this all changes anyway. Drive rails? Now that takes me back.
 
If you're splitting off a motherboard header, make sure you confirm it's rated for the total amperage you'll be pulling through it.
 
Mercutio said:
I vaguely recall seeing little fan control devices made to sit in a 3.5" drive bay last time I actually visited my local parts distributor in person.
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I have a Scythe Kaze master something or other. It gives me up to 6 temperature readouts and 6 manual fan controls. Temperature readouts are interesting to peek at now and them when I'm doing something intense with my computer, but not really useful. I almost never adjust fan speed as I set all my fans to the highest speed and it's still relatively quiet. I have two fans on my CPU's HSF, and one fan is controlled by the motherboard and defaults to low speed. If I were looking to save $40 on my next build, this is probably the item I'd drop first.

http://www.scythe-usa.com/product/acc/028/km01_detail.html
 
Bozo said:
Is there a tach feed back to the motherboard? Most motherboards won't run unless it sees that the CPU fan is running.
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There is one connector for the motherboard CPU fan header, one for the power in and two (or three for the splitter shown) sockets for the 4-pin fans. Only one of the fans is actually supplying the tach back to the MB, and it is typically labeled as such.
 
One more motherboard rant: Who is the stupid bastard that decided SATA connectors should face the front of the case? This person should have his/her intrails pulled out through their ass.
 
Bozo said:
One more motherboard rant: Who is the stupid bastard that decided SATA connectors should face the front of the case? This person should have his/her intrails pulled out through their ass.
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Buy a full-length video card and see how quickly you change your mind. I just go ahead and plug in a couple extra SATA cables when I see that I have ports parallel to the board.
 
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