3 Pin Vs 4 Pin Fan Header

3 pin fans will plug directly into a 4 pin motherboard header without any additional adapters.

3 pin vs 4 pin fan header.

A four pin connector is a little different than the three pin connector since it has the extra fourth wire used for controlling and sending signals to the fan which likely has a chip on it that tells it to slow down or speed up in addition to the other wires the three pin connector has. Please note that 4 pin fans can also be connected to your mainboard s 3 pin fan headers though. You can plug a 3 pin fan into a 4 pin header just fine. It will also have three square holes on the front and three wires entering the back.

In order to get the most out of corsair link as a fan controller though you ll want to be using 4 pin pwm fans. When connected to 3 pin fan headers the fan will run at full speed unless the mainboard supports voltage based speed control. My rig has 2 pairs of 3 pin fans phanteks ph140sp connected to two 4 pin motherboard headers asus z97m plus via basic y splitters and they work and control just fine. Speed control options rpm range will vary between fans and motherboards on a 3 pin connection but the fan will spin.

3 pin fans still have an rpm sensor on them and most mainboards can. Pwm fans come with a 4 pin connectors for fully automatic speed control via your mainboard s 4 pin pwm fan headers. A 3 pin fan connector will be smaller in size than the 4 pin pwm fan connector.