Curious what the difference between all those fan headers on your motherboard is? Wonder none longer.

Think this.

You're building your PC, You let your C.P.U., your cooler, and the motherboard in your PC-Case.

All you need to do nowadays is to plug that little connector from your CPU Tank into the Motherboard. You take the wire and go to fireplug it in.

And and so you see this:

CPU FAN and CPU OPT Headers on Motherboard

Image Mention: modders-INC.com

Which one do you choose? CPU_FAN or CPU_OPT?

What is CPU FAN (CPU_FAN)?

CPU_FAN, standing for "C.P.U. Buff", is the main cope used by the motherboard, and the BIOS and any other software (SpeedFan, HWMonitor, NZXT Cam, etc), to determine and control the CPU's thermals conditional the load aside controlling the winnow(s) hasten (if you're using some kind of splitter).

Information technology is critical that you pull in sure to male plug your CPU ice chest fan into this header equally well-nig motherboards worth the name would not allow you to boot the system otherwise.

Also, if the system is already running for some reason, it will safely close information technology down if it detects that the Processor has no cooler OR that the fans are defective and/or not spinning (when they are supposed to).

What is Processor OPT (CPU_OPT)?

CPU_OPT, standing for "CPU Optional", is mostly ill-used when you have more than one fan on your cooler/radiator and you need someplace to fireplug information technology in.

IT's basically CPU_FAN without the "not booting if nothing is connected to it" part.

It can also be used by approximately AIO/liquid cooling solutions as a power source for things like water-cooling pumps and other things that might require baron but is not important or power-thirsty enough to reroute power directly from the power cater.

SYS_FANS, CHA_FANS, etc

System Fan Header on the Motherboard

Image Credit: ofcomp.ucoz.ru

Chassis FAN Header on the Motherboard

Image Credit: ofcomp.ucoz.Ru

And while we'Re at IT, we might also address these as well.

I'm indisputable you've already figured it out from the name. These are the headers you connect your pillow slip fans to and are meant for differentiating fan-control.

They're like-minded CPU_OPT, but not connected to the thermals of the Central processor. So you're free to tinker with them and step-up or decrease them according to your GPU thermals, CPU thermals, Case thermals, or whatever you wish.

And in that respect are a wide variety of such headers on modern motherboards—mostly focused on helping water cooling. Let's rejoice that the days of plugging in 20 unusual things to one operating theater two headers are thankfully over.

In Summary

Use cases for a fan hub

If you want to connect fans from your CPU cooler or radiator, use up the CPU_FAN header (With a rail-splitter/hub if you have a lot of fans).

If you exclusively have a cardinal fan tank, for example, you can just use CPU_FAN for one fan and CPU_OPT for the other.

If you have a radiator with a large number of fans or just a plurality of fans in pandemic, you can look into getting a fan splitter / buff hub to accommodate them.

For exercise, you can use something like that to plug whol three fans (or sextet if you have fans on both sides) of a 360mm radiator to the CPU_FAN coping.

OR you can sporting get a Y splitter (two female connectors, one male) and hack one of the fans into CPU_FAN and the other two into the splitter, then that into CPU_OPT.

You posterior practice the same thing with your case fans as well. Case fan into hub/divider, hub/splitter into case fan lintel.

FAQ

  • Fundament I plug a fan hub into CPU_OPT or CPU_FAN?
    • Yes. But I'd recommend you use CPU_OPT or a showcase fan cope and keep CPU_FAN just for the CPU.
    • And make sure that you're non powering a good deal of fans from one header. Headers rear run hot when thither's a great deal of power going through and through them.
    • Set about combined that takes in external power from the top executive supply or else.
  • Where exercise you plug PWM fans?
    • If you want to use any of the PWM functionality, you penury to plug the 4-pin PWM connecter into another 4-pin header surgery else you leave lose that functionality.
      3 pin vs 4 pin connectors
  • Posterior you plug a 4-pin fan into a 3-personal identification number? And vise versa?
    • Yep. 4-pin fans crapper also be siamese to your motherboard's 3-immobilize fan headers just fine. But you have to keep up in mind that when connected to a 3-oarlock fan header, the fan will run at full speed unless your motherboard has voltage-based speed control.
  • What is the difference 'tween District of Columbia and PWM fans, and which is better?
    • Eh, information technology depends. DC is doddery and has been secondhand since the times of the dinosaurs. It has a 3-pin connector and it works well, but if you want more control all over how fast your fan spins, you wishing PWM.
    • PWM allows you to give finer curb over your speeds and allows you to reliably go to lower speeds.
    • By and large whatever winnow Charles Frederick Worth its weight in salty comes with a 4-pin PWM connector these years.

That's about IT from us! Need help with collecting your PC? Lease United States of America know in the comments operating theatre our Meeting place.

It It Ok to Run Cpu Fan at 2800

Source: https://www.cgdirector.com/cpu-fan-vs-cpu-opt/