Mini 4-pin PWM to normal 3-pin adapter

[Elcs]

Well, as part of my case and colling/silence upgrade I am thinking of running my HD4870 + HR-03 GT passively at No Load and use a fan to tame the heat under load.

What I was hoping is to connect a fan up to the header on the HD4870 and that would give me basic control via CCC profile editing however I have hit the problems of 1) How do i connect a normal 3 pin fan to the mini-4 pin on the HD4870 and 2) How much power draw could the fan port on the HD4870 handle?

I can hook up a fan to a manual controller and do things that way but using the 4-pin socket and allowing the fan to be temperature controlled is more fun and useful.

Is this possible?

 

[Zepper]

You may be able to find the connectors you need at action-electronics.com to make your own adapter, but you'll probably have to buy more than you need.

.bh.

 

[Elcs]

Originally posted by: Zepper
You may be able to find the connectors you need at action-electronics.com to make your own adapter, but you'll probably have to buy more than you need.

.bh.

Thanks Zepper. Couldnt find the contacts Id need there though. Im also from the UK to complicate things.

Could i steal the mini 4-pin off the end of my HD4870's fan then add a 3-pin on the other end?

Would the fan work without the blue fourth wire?

Max power draw concerns me too. Im going to be using a 1200-1600 rpm max 120mm fan for it so its not massive but I want to ensure i dont kill it or damage it.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Two things... one is the speed control probably won't work unless you get a 4 pin PWM fan since the card uses PWM to adjust fan speed. I wouldn't worry about blowing the fan header either because the stock fan is rated at 1 amp I believe and I doubt you'll be putting a delta fan on it

 

[Elcs]

Originally posted by: SparkyJJO
Two things... one is the speed control probably won't work unless you get a 4 pin PWM fan since the card uses PWM to adjust fan speed. I wouldn't worry about blowing the fan header either because the stock fan is rated at 1 amp I believe and I doubt you'll be putting a delta fan on it

Oh dear, that is rather not good. I wonder if I can find a nice PWM fan. Scythe Kama 1000 rpm perhaps....

Thanks re: power draw.

 

[Elcs]

Ok, Got my Centurion 590 and I am awaiting the stock of the 1,200 rpm Slipstreams to come back in.

I am looking at the Scythe Kama 1,000 RPM for the side case fan slot. The mid-height side fan perfectly hits my Thermalright HR-03 GT on the graphics card. Hooking up this fan to my graphics card to control on temperature looks like an idea that could bear fruit. I already have a Slipstream 1,600 in there while I wait and my card is idling at 52C with only that fan on it. I havent added my Turbo Module yet.

What do you think of my proposed idea?

As for fan headers, I am thinking I could remove the header on the Scythe Kama and replace it with the mini-4 pin already on the stock HD4870 fan. Would this work? Having just tested this with a regular 3-pin header, it does not appear to work and I have no PWM fans around to test on Any ideas?

 

[dud89]

Here's a pic of the Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 TOXIC. Looks to have a 3-pin to 4-pin adapter.

http://img293.imageshack.us/my...mage=boardfrontbf5.jpg

 

[Elcs]

Originally posted by: dud89
Here's a pic of the Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 TOXIC. Looks to have a 3-pin to 4-pin adapter.

http://img293.imageshack.us/my...mage=boardfrontbf5.jpg

Correct me if Im wrong but that looks like a mini 3pin extension cable.

Ill look into it thanks!!

 

[DerwenArtos12]

That is a four pin to a three pin however, sapphire could have done any number of things on the card itself to allow the use of voltage regulation or could have internal speed calibration on the cooler itself. You'll need a decent four pin fan to retain fan speed control on the card.