No Idea How To Plug Case Fan Into MoBo

Moz2407 · 10 Aug 2020 at 15:30

Hi All,

Really new to PC building (at least this if the first one I have attempted in almost 20 years) and looking for some help with an issue i'm having.

I have a ASUS Prime B350M-A Motherboard and purchased a Kolink Void RGB Midi Tower Case to house it. The case comes with an RGB fan which has a connector as shown in the pic here. However it is (now) my understanding that what my Motherboard has is 4 pin RGB header connection which my fan connection cannot be plugged into. Is there a converter cable available to get around this issue or should I get a different case?
Hope i have supplied enough info here but if not I can; I am clearly out of my depth

Moz

Image link - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OPCLvTNctqTsy5N33SZWrsZLsjQ9Hidt/view

varkanoid · 10 Aug 2020 at 15:42

No picture shown.

Case fans can be plugged into any white connector on the board labelled FAN HEADER. eg there is one on that board at the end of the RAM slots.

VortexA1 · 10 Aug 2020 at 15:51

How does the OP control the rgb from the fan header if it's a standard sys fan one, will it work with that? I've never done this before either.

Moz2407 · 10 Aug 2020 at 16:13

Sorry - image (at least a link) now added.

Alas there is only 1 place on the MoBo that i can see which is called RGB Header. Maybe I'm getting myself confused. Going to trace the fan cables back again and make sure i am looking at the right one.

VortexA1 · 10 Aug 2020 at 16:44

The four-pin RGB headers are for use with the 5050 style RGB lighting systems. Those pins are a common +12 VDC supply line, and three Ground lines, one each for the three LED colours in the system, and controlled by the mobo header - connection of a Ground lead to an actual Ground lights that group of LED's.

The 3-pin RGB headers are used with Addressable RGB lighting systems. Although the header pin layout looks similar, as OP has found one of the holes in the connector is blocked off so you can NOT plug it into a 4-pin header by mistake. In that system, 2 pins are for +12 VDC supply and Ground. The third pin carries a control signal from the header to an actual controller chip in the lighting device, and that is what controls the lighting effects in that unit.

https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/rgb-fan-3-pin-to-4-pin-help.3329363/

It seems you have to get a controller or hub.

LuckyBenski · 10 Aug 2020 at 18:40

VortexA1 said:
In that system, 2 pins are for +12 VDC supply and Ground.

Should point out that the thread you've quoted that from is wrong. Almost all addressable / digital (ARGB/DRGB) PC lighting runs off a 5V supply. If plugged into a 12V non addressable header it's possible to burn them out. This is confirmed in the case listing: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/koli...MI4fnY05WR6wIVhLHtCh0sMQY_EAQYASABEgL4G_D_BwE

That case should have a lighting controller built in - the listing says there's a button for changing the effects.

After checking the manual (https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/PRIME-B350M-A/HelpDesk_Manual/), your motherboard's RGB header is 12V non-addressable. So you will need a controller if you want software RGB control. Alternatively, you could use the one built into the case.

Saul Farrell · 10 Aug 2020 at 21:09

VortexA1 said:
How does the OP control the rgb from the fan header if it's a standard sys fan one, will it work with that? I've never done this before either.

Generally the fans have two separate cables, a pwm and then an argb/rgb, but some have intergrated controllers instead, or the fans could just be one colour.

VortexA1 · 11 Aug 2020 at 02:18

Saul Farrell said:
Generally the fans have two separate cables, a pwm and then an argb/rgb, but some have intergrated controllers instead, or the fans could just be one colour.

Oh I see.

Saul Farrell · 11 Aug 2020 at 19:38

VortexA1 said:
Oh I see.

Yeah, fans can be quite confusing at times. Some manufacturers have their own proprietary cables whereas others stick to being normal. Some headers are slimmer/fatter than others meaning that they won't fit in some controllers. You have just got to do your research thoroughly...