# How do I connect a 3 pin case fan to a 4 pin mobo?



## desumydesu713

I just made my pc and was wondering if I can connect the case fan from a Corsair 200r to the Asus P8Z77-M mobo. Will it work and if not are there any converters for sale because I can't find any or have no clue on how to look for them.


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## spikeSP

Hey you can just plug it in and it'll work just fine. I don't think a stock case fan will be over the rated amperage for the mobo header (you can double check this based on the fan and the header specs in the manual). The only thing is you probably won't be able to control the speed of the fan VIA your motherboard, it'll just run at max speed. There should be a groove with the pins and the fan that should indicate the right pins to sort of "slide it right in".


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## AlaskaFox

You do not need a converter, the 3 pin will fit on the 4 pin just fine with 1 pin sticking out the side








i have it set up like that on mine


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## desumydesu713

So is there a problem if I can't control the fans via the motherboard? And if I install speedfan will it somewhat help control it? Still new to building computers so I'm not sure what to do.


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## CattleCorn

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *desumydesu713*
> 
> I just made my pc and was wondering if I can connect the case fan from a Corsair 200r to the Asus P8Z77-M mobo. Will it work and if not are there any converters for sale because I can't find any or have no clue on how to look for them.


No, I'm afraid they don't sell those, since 4-pin mobo connections are PWM and you can't control a non-PWM fan (3-pin) with a PWM. So you'll need to use something like this. http://www.frozencpu.com/products/9116/cab-174/3_Pin_Female_Standard_Power_Connector_to_4_Pin_Female_Standard_Power_Connector.html?tl=g47c251


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## thomascwhitfiel

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AlaskaFox*
> 
> You do not need a converter, the 3 pin will fit on the 4 pin just fine with 1 pin sticking out the side
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> i have it set up like that on mine


Ditto


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## spikeSP

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *desumydesu713*
> 
> So is there a problem if I can't control the fans via the motherboard? And if I install speedfan will it somewhat help control it? Still new to building computers so I'm not sure what to do.


There's no PROBLEM if you can't control it- it'll just run at max speed and if the sound bothers you then I guess that's the "problem."

Speedfan won't do anything for it if it's not a PWM control fan


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## desumydesu713

The sound won't bother me at all because it's usually noisy in my room. So I guess everything will be okay with the fans. Thank you everyone for the helpful replies.


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## Tillmander

If you want full control of your fans tho you could always buy a fan controller.


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## mm67

Chassis fan headers on that board are voltage controlled, not PWM, even though they have 4-pin headers. So you can also control the speed of your case fans using bios settings, Fan Xpert 2 or Speedfan


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