I'm upgrading my PC and want to add three more intake fans at the bottom of the case, but all of the fan headers on my motherboard are already occupied. I currently have seven fans installed, with three for intake and three for exhaust in use, and I'm unsure what hardware I need to connect the additional fans safely. Should I use a splitter, a fan hub, or a separate controller?
3 Answers
A PWM fan hub is probably the cleanest solution. It connects to one motherboard fan header and lets you plug in several fans, usually using SATA power from the power supply. The motherboard can then control the group’s speed together.
A fan splitter is the cheaper option if you only need to connect a few more fans. Just check the motherboard header’s maximum current and the combined rating of the fans—don’t overload one header with a huge number of fans. The fans on the splitter will generally follow the same speed signal.
If the fans support daisy-chaining, you may be able to link several together and use only one motherboard header. For larger groups, though, a powered hub or controller is safer. If the fans have RGB lighting, make sure you also have enough compatible RGB or ARGB connections; the lighting plugs and fan-power plugs are separate.
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