Maybe I'm stupid...but i'm a bit confused by fans :(

[timtim86]

Hello people,

I need to replace a fan in my shuttle and as far as I'm aware it's a 70mm PWM fan. Now my question is, is a PWM fan the same as a 4-pin fan? I can't find anywhere that'll give me a straight answer! And do 3-pin fans run at a set speed always?

Thanks, and sorry! Tim.

[MadduckUK]

what model of shuttle is it?

[Clunk]

Is your head spinning?

[timtim86]

haha my head is spinning! It's really frustrating me as i'm desperate to replace this knocking fan. It's a SN27P2, as in My System...and I'm trying to replace the 70mm ICE fan. Please help me guys!

[herulach]

At a guess, it will be a 3 pin one. However, since youre taking the lid off any, have a butchers, if it has 3 wires, its 3 pin, 2 wires, well, admittedly that could be either.

Does it do speed control now? If so it will deinately be a 3 pin one to connect to the motherboard.

By the way, theres no such thing (in general before some smart alec links one) as a PWM fan, PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) is a method of controlling the speed by turning the current on and off really fast.

[timtim86]

right okay, it's got 4 wires coming out of the plug in the motherboard, sort of looks like a molex plug with an extra wire in it...what do you think?

Thanks for the quick replies!

P.s. And 4 wires going to the fan, obviously. Oh and it's speed controlled by the bios. Thanks herulach.

[timtim86]

Sorry, my mistake...it's like a small connector that you'd use to power a floppy drive. C'mon people, any suggestions? Does that count as a 4-pin connector?

[Clunk]

Is the connector like this one?

If so, you can usually plug a normal 3 pin fan connector directly onto it. There is a plastic lug that is offset to one side and it will only let you plug the 3 pin fan in one way.

[staffsMike]

wouldn't the logical thing be to just disconnect the fan...and count the amount of pins on the header

Is there something about shuttles I should know? lol

[timtim86]

There are 4 pins, that's what i was saying? I need a fan to fit it and i'm getting confused as they all seem to be 3-pin or large molex's. Clunk, would it matter if i plugged a 3-pin fan in? Would the speed still be controlled? And if so, what's the point of the 4th pin? (yep, it's like the small white one in your photo).

[Clunk]

Clunk, would it matter if i plugged a 3-pin fan in? Would the speed still be controlled? And if so, what's the point of the 4th pin? (yep, it's like the small white one in your photo).

Yes, you can plug a normal 3 pin fan onto it. Try it and see

[timtim86]

Okay cool, i'll give that a try. Thank you Clunk