How can I connect more case fans when my motherboard has no free headers?
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MellowCedar42
I'm building a PC with seven case fans, but my motherboard only has enough fan headers for six of them. At the moment I'm running three intake fans and three exhaust fans, and I'd like to add three more intake fans at the bottom of the case. What hardware do I need to connect the extra fans safely?
Answers
You can also use a fan splitter, which lets multiple fans share one motherboard header. That’s fine for a few fans, but don’t overload the header—check its current limit and the power draw listed on each fan. The fans connected to a basic splitter will generally follow the same speed setting.
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If your fans support PWM daisy-chaining, you may be able to link several together and plug the group into one header. For RGB fans, remember that the lighting cables may need a separate RGB or ARGB hub, depending on the connector type.
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A PWM fan hub is probably the cleanest solution. It connects to one motherboard fan header and usually gets extra power from SATA, letting you run several fans while still controlling their speed through the motherboard. Check the hub’s maximum fan count and power rating first.
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