Hi all,
I just purchased a GB GA-M68M-S2 MoBo\CPU combo. My question is: How many case fans can I hookup to it? I have 3, 80cm internal cooling fans and I was wondering if I can just splice the wires together and use the board's Sys Fan connector? Or, would doing it like this keep the fans from running at optimal speed by drawing too much juice? I don't have a sensor on any of the fans.
If the fans don't have speed sensors, the motherboard will never get the information (feedback) to adjust the fan speeds correctly. you can splice three fans together BUT it's better to run fans directly from the power supply, 5 volts (low) 7 volts (medium) 12 volts (high). Check this helpful article out:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/496/3" how to make a three speed fan control without spending a dime"
I run my fans on 7 volts (medium) and I have a four wire CPU fan, which is the only fan that runs from the motherboard connector...You SHOULD run a larger cooler that comes with a fan included.
And of course, an over-sized CPU cooler is a great idea, in general.
When fans are installed, the more the merrier. I run seven.
The cooler the board runs, the longer it will last. BUT the board was never really made to run three fans from one fan connector, to be correct. The fan connector has a speed control that is regulated from a single transistor; and this transistor is sized to run only one fan. This means that three fans will work, until the transistor fails, and the fans all stop.
Now you can see why running fans from the power supply directly is a better idea for long term reliability.
