520HX/620HX Case Fan Connectors

[lambdaboyx]

Can somebody tell me what kind of connectors the 520/620HX have for case fans?

I currently have 2 COOLER MASTER R4-L2S-122B-GP 120mm 4 BLUE LED LED Case Fans that have the 3 Pin power connectors, and I want to make sure I can hook these up to one of the Corsair PSUs before buying one. Thanks!

 

[Yellowbeard]

There are no 3 pin fan connectors on our PSUs. I have never seen a PSU with those included. You will need to buy 3 pin to 4 pin molex adapters or, plug those fans into your MOBO if it has any open headers.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Corsair HX520w review

Corsair HX620w review

Both link to jonnyguru's review of the PSUs, and he lists the wiring configuration for both.

 

[Yellowbeard]

The manuals are linked at our site also:

http://www.corsairmemory.com/_...PSU_English_Manual.pdf

 

[ShotgunSteven]

Good stuff, I just got a Corsair HX620w for my new machine that I am building. :thumbsup:

 

[VirtualLarry]

Do Corsair PSUs (the 520HX and 620HX) officially support combined 12v rails? That is, do they support the combined amount of amps on any rail? I read that somewhere that they act like single-rail PSUs, is this officially supported?

 

[Yellowbeard]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
Do Corsair PSUs (the 520HX and 620HX) officially support combined 12v rails? That is, do they support the combined amount of amps on any rail? I read that somewhere that they act like single-rail PSUs, is this officially supported?

Here's our info: Triple 12V Rails provide independent reliable power to the CPU, video card
and other components with a combined rating of 50A (40A on 520W)
maximum! Advanced circuitry design that automatically enable power sharing
between the triple +12V rails in an event of overload on any single +12V rail.

You may want to read both the 520HX and 620HX reviews at www.jonnyguru.com

 

[Zepper]

Connecting fans to PSU fan connectors is probably not a good idea any more as generally they are controlled by the temp inside the PSU and not the temp of the item you might be trying to cool. Use a separate fan controller so you can do it the way you want.

.bh.

 

[Yellowbeard]

Originally posted by: Zepper
Connecting fans to PSU fan connectors is probably not a good idea any more as generally they are controlled by the temp inside the PSU and not the temp of the item you might be trying to cool. Use a separate fan controller so you can do it the way you want.

.bh.

Not on a regular 4 pin molex they are not? Can you imaginge a PSU trying to raise and lower voltage on the regular power leads?

 

[Zepper]

I'm talking about the specially marked fan connectors that come on many PSUs these days (including the Corsairs in question here), not a regular drive power connector. Those specially marked connectors ARE controlled by the thermal controller inside the PSU. IAC, they are usually standard 4-pin Molex connectors just like the drive power connectors.

You can connect the fans to a regular drive power connector using an adapter if you don't mind them running full speed 24/7... Places like http://www.svc.com and http://www.jab-tech.com have many types of power adapters and splitters to accomplish about any arrangement you desire - they also have items like this that create multiple, 4-pin molex outputs from one input.

Per Jonny's test, the 520 corsair appears to be a single 12V rail unit, I wouldn't expect the 620 to be different. I think they should be marked as single rail as this fiction of split rails is more dangerous than any danger actually presented by high single-rail current availability.

.bh.

 

[Yellowbeard]

Originally posted by: Zepper


I'm talking about the specially marked fan connectors that come on many PSUs these days (including the Corsairs in question here), not a regular drive power connector. Those specially marked connectors ARE controlled by the thermal controller inside the PSU. IAC, they are usually standard 4-pin Molex connectors just like the drive power connectors.



.bh.

Not on the Corsair units they aren't. They plug directly into the main 4 pin molex's so there is NO WAY they are connected to the fan/thermal controller circuit. And, if you will look at the color coding on a standard power connector and compare to the Corsair FAN ONLY plugs, you can see it ties directly the 12v side (yellow wire) and a ground. I have 2 right here beside me.

I have not seen every PSU out there but, I think you are mistaken here. Tying external fans to the controller on the PSU fan/thermal circuit would be a BAD idea.

 

[Zepper]

Well, I got my info from jonnyguru's review of the 520 so I guess he's wrong too. IAC, most specially marked fan power connectors on PSUs are temp controlled from inside the PSU or perhaps from a manual control on the PSU.

.bh.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Why would any PSU maker label molexes as "fan only", if they were actually wired up as standard molexes? It makes more sense if they were "special" in some way, such as being wired to the fan control circuit.

I would think that it would be superior to have more regular molexes, rather than have "fan only" molexes.

On the specs on NewEgg's page for the HX620, it lists 10 molexes and 8 SATA. Since this is a modular PSU, are those either/or, or can I have both 10 molex AND 8 SATA too?

 

[Yellowbeard]

Originally posted by: Zepper
Well, I got my info from jonnyguru's review of the 520 so I guess he's wrong too. IAC, most specially marked fan power connectors on PSUs are temp controlled from inside the PSU or perhaps from a manual control on the PSU.

.bh.

Well, I just re-re-re-read that review and Jonny does not even mention the fan only connectors. So, I don't see that he handed out any wrong info. If he DID say that these extenders are temp controlled, then he too is wrong. However, I don't think Jonny made that mistake, he's too thorough.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/review_details.php?id=28

I'm not trying to butt heads here but, I think this needs to be corrected. The FAN ONLY connectors are a simple "Y" molex extender. It provides only a 12v ground wire and the 12v+ wire. It does not have a 2nd 5v ground wire or the red +5v wire. On the female end, it attaches to a regular 4 pin molex of the PSU, at the same junction where you could plug in a HD or anything else that uses a 4 pin molex. Then, it splits into 2 seperate leads (male 4 pin but with only the 12v wires) That way, you can efficiently add 2 fans.

Can you link me to a PSU that has special leads coming off of it that will allow the PSU thermal controller to control the speed of attached case fans? I'd like to see it and read a review.

 

[Zepper]

Yellowbeard,
. Look at the connector table on jonny's review of the Corsair. Here is one review: http://www.jonnyguru.com/review_details.php?id=33

.bh.

 

[Yellowbeard]

Originally posted by: Zepper
Yellowbeard,
. Look at the connector table on jonny's review of the Corsair. Here is one review: http://www.jonnyguru.com/review_details.php?id=33

.bh.

From JGs connector table:

Fan only connectors (thermostatically controlled 12V only)



From the Corsair product manual:

Warning: The Y-Adapter for the fan can be only used on standard fans. Serious damage can result if you use it
on other peripherals. If your fan has a pass-through male standard 4-pin connector, please do not use it on your
peripherals. For thermally-controlled fans, please use standard 4-pin peripheral power connectors.

I think you are reading too much into that connector table. It does not say that the leads attach to a thermal control circuit. It "seems" to imply that only thermally controlled fans should be plugged into those leads. However, this is not the case and the manual recommends against it as the fan only plugs are simply a 12v pass thru. I'll contact Jonny and see if he can clarify what his table statement means.

Thank you for pointing this out as it could be misconstrued. But, I assure you, there is no fan connection externally to thermally control case fans with our PSUs.

Do you have any links yet? I just don't see any PSU maker hooking multiple fans to their active thermal controller in their PSU. I have seen the old Thermaltake PSUs that had a single controller where you could externally adjust the internal PSU fan. However, that was only on the single internal PSU fan and could not be connected to case fans.

 

[Yellowbeard]

From Antec's site:

Fan Only power connectors allow TruePower Trio to control case fan speeds, reducing total system noise

Interesting. I learned something. I even have an Antec PSU with those leads on it sitting right here but, I never used them. I just looked at the leads and I clearly see the difference though. On my Antec, those leads are on a dedicated line back into the PSU and obviously to a temp sensor based controller. On the Corsair, they are simply "Y" adapters that attach to the end of a standard 4 pin molex.

Think Jonny just did a cut n paste?

 

[Yellowbeard]

I just looked at the HX620 connector table and it does not have the thermostatically controlled statement. Looks like a simple mistake. Thanks again, I'll email Jonny and see if he would mind correcting it.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/review_details.php?id=32

 

[AmberClad]

duplicate

 

[AmberClad]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
Why would any PSU maker label molexes as "fan only", if they were actually wired up as standard molexes? It makes more sense if they were "special" in some way, such as being wired to the fan control circuit.

I would think that it would be superior to have more regular molexes, rather than have "fan only" molexes.

On the specs on NewEgg's page for the HX620, it lists 10 molexes and 8 SATA. Since this is a modular PSU, are those either/or, or can I have both 10 molex AND 8 SATA too?

If the Fan-Only adapter cable on my HX520 is thermally controlled, then that's news to me. It just plugs onto a regular 4-pin molex and splits it into 2 connectors, each with a regular Molex plug but only two wires. It's not a modular cable that can go directly into the PSU.

I was a little confused as to the purpose of it too, but I suppose it's useful in some ways. I can use one of the two ends for my fan controller and the other for my cold cathode. And no, the brightness of the cold cathodes do not change at any point .

 

[Yellowbeard]

Jonny revised the connector table: http://www.jonnyguru.com/review_details.php?id=28

Thanks again guys for the heads up.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Yeah... I'm a copy and paste whore sometimes.