Cooling Little cube case fans setup HELP

CubeBucket

Chassis Packer
Original poster
Aug 5, 2017
15
11
Hi there!

In this thread there's all you need to know about my build and my case layout:

https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/mini-itx-cube-case-build-yay.2912/

Now I have to set the fans up and it's a bit tricky because I've never done something similar before.

This is what I have at the moment:

- stock CPU FAN
- CASE 12cm fan 3-pins

And I ran out of MOBO connectors.

I was thinking to get this:

https://www.amazon.it/Akasa-AK-CBFA...d=1501934355&sr=8-10&keywords=sata+ventola+pc

And I need to ask you if I risk to fry everything with this cable mod.

Also: where should I place the fans? I have the case fan above the CPU fan. What should the case fan do? Blow the air IN or OUT, since it sits above the CPU fan? Should I ditch this 12cm 3-pins fan for a 14cm 4-pins fan? I also have 2 slots for 8cm fans on the back of the case, so which fans should I get to keep this baby silent and fresh? Should they blow IN or OUT?
 

AleksandarK

/dev/null
May 14, 2017
703
774
Try to experiment. Since every case is diffrent i cant say what would be otpimal. First try: 120 or 140 pullung air from the top and those 80mm set up to exaust the hot air.
Second try:reverse every fan. 80mm pulling cold air in and 120 or 140 as exaust.

Oh, i forgot. WELCIME TO THE FORUM. HOPE YOU LIKE HERE. Plenty of things to see.
 

CubeBucket

Chassis Packer
Original poster
Aug 5, 2017
15
11
Try to experiment. Since every case is diffrent i cant say what would be otpimal. First try: 120 or 140 pullung air from the top and those 80mm set up to exaust the hot air.
Second try:reverse every fan. 80mm pulling cold air in and 120 or 140 as exaust.

Oh, i forgot. WELCIME TO THE FORUM. HOPE YOU LIKE HERE. Plenty of things to see.


Alright I'll try :)

What about that SATA adapter cable? I can see that it has 3 fans slots, one sata connector to get the power and one 4-pins connector that goes to the mobo. Have you ever seen one of these? What's the purpose of that 4-pins connector? Fans speed regulation or again, power? ...Because if it provides some power I'm afraid that pluggin all 3 fans would damage the MOBO.........
 

AleksandarK

/dev/null
May 14, 2017
703
774
4 pin is to provide PWM. Sata is to handle power.
Edit: cable seems legit since it has good rewievs and manufacturer is AKASA.
 

msystems

King of Cable Management
Apr 28, 2017
781
1,366
Please note, That adapter will work best if you purchase 4-pin PWM case fans such as the arctic F12, F14, ect. https://www.arctic.ac/us_en/f14-pwm.html


If you connect a 3 pin fan to this adapter it will work but be very loud and run at 12v full speed. So use only real 4pin pwm fans for best results. I read the specification of your msi mainboard and it has two 4-pin.

This way you can use the bios or software like speenfan to control the speed and noise. So buy which fans you like, as long as they are 4 pin pwm
 
Last edited:

CubeBucket

Chassis Packer
Original poster
Aug 5, 2017
15
11
Y
Please note, That adapter will work best if you purchase 4-pin PWM case fans such as the arctic F12, F14, ect. https://www.arctic.ac/us_en/f14-pwm.html


If you connect a 3 pin fan to this adapter it will work but be very loud and run at 12v full speed. So use only real 4pin pwm fans for best results. I read the specification of your msi mainboard and it has two 4-pin.

This way you can use the bios or software like speenfan to control the speed and noise. So buy which fans you like, as long as they are 4 pin pwm

Yes mate! Only 4-pins PMW fans :) ..my mobo has one slot for the cpu fan and One for the case fan. Already checked.

My main question was: do I risk to fry my mobo and or PSU with that cable+3 pmw fans plugged in it?

If the answer is no, as I might have understood, I Will soon post some pics :)
 
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Mar 6, 2017
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I'm not too much of a fan of fan splitters (pun not intended). Check out the Corsair Commander Mini and Pro, both of which can control up to 6 fans, but beware, they're a tad expensive.
 
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msystems

King of Cable Management
Apr 28, 2017
781
1,366
Y


Yes mate! Only 4-pins PMW fans :) ..my mobo has one slot for the cpu fan and One for the case fan. Already checked.


My main question was: do I risk to fry my mobo and or PSU with that cable+3 pmw fans plugged in it?

If the answer is no, as I might have understood, I Will soon post some pics :)


No. It's getting power from sata. it gets 0 power from the motherboard
 

CubeBucket

Chassis Packer
Original poster
Aug 5, 2017
15
11
I'm not too much of a fan of fan splitters (pun not intended). Check out the Corsair Commander Mini and Pro, both of which can control up to 6 fans, but beware, they're a tad expensive.

Niece piece of tech! But it's too much for my build. Not to mention that in my cube case there's not much space left :) ....anyway, the cable that I linked is a SATA splitter as well. Not a usual Y-shaped PWM 4-pins splitter :)
 
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