adoit90

I'm looking at CPU Fans right now, and I was wondering if someone could explain to me what happens with a 3-Pin fan. For example, how does it decided what RPM to run at? Does it just run at max speed all the time, or are there manual controls, or possible something else that I'm missing?

The two I'm strongly considering right now are the ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler and the ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing / Transparent CPU Cooler.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, I'm trying to keep the cost under $30; I'm on a tight budget.

TFL Replica

Depends on the motherboard. Some motherboards can control the speed of both 4-pin and 3-pin fans. Basically when you connect a 3-pin fan to the motherboard's 4-pin cpu fan connector, you're foregoing the pwm control and simply connecting 12v, GND and RPM monitoring. If the motherboard supports it the voltage on the 12v line can be adjusted to change the fan's speed, otherwise it will just run at maximum speed.

The NV120 you mentioned has a manual fan controller. Consider the FZ120 it's quieter and better than the NV120, comes with a 4-pin pwm fan with the option of auto speed control and you can change the fan if you ever need to (something that can't be said for the NV120). Seems to be going for $20.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835887016

__________________

adoit90

Ahhh.. that makes sense. Thanks for explaining that, and thanks even more for pointing out the FZ120; it looks perfect.

gothev

As the user above said i would go with the NV120, it might be a little more, but it is a much better cooler, then what you have and the Arctic Cooling Freezer. Hope that helps!

__________________

.: ATI HD4800 series club :.