[Answered] Where to Plugin Case Fan?

Are you in a dilemma about where to plug case fans into your PC? 

Positioning the case fans into the PC is important. By the way, don’t worry. You have come to the right place indeed. 

In this entire article, I will explain the details of the exact positioning of the case fans with some other common questions arising in your curious mind. Let’s explore. 

Where Is the Proper Positioning of Case Fan

There are two dedicated places wherever you can plug the case fans into your PC. These are-

• Plug Case Fan into Motherboard
• Plug Case Fan into Power Supply Unit (PSU)

1. Plug the Case Fan into the Motherboard

Plugin your case fan into the Motherboard would bring the topmost outcome. 

If you plug in it with a 4-pin cable to the Motherboard, you can increase or decrease the fan speed by using the Motherboard BIOS.

In common, Motherboard has two pin headers. These are-

1. SYS_FAN (System Fan)
2. CHA_FAN (Chasis Fan).

In some upgraded motherboards, there have two extra pin headers. 

1. PWR_FAN (Power Fan)
2. EXT_FAN (Extension Fan)

You have to find these pin headers around your Motherboard to plug in the case fan. To find these headers’ locations easily, look at the bottom left of the Motherboard. You will get one of them.

Next, it’s time to plug in the case fan. Here every connector has two tabs. You have to inject the connector into the header. To do so, gently push the tab until it is connected properly to the Motherboard. 

2. Plug the Case Fan into Power Supply Unit (PSU)

Another way to plugin your case fan is into the Power Supply Unit (PSU). 

Here is a back draw to connect a fan to PSU. You can not control the fan speed as it is possible in Motherboard while connecting a fan to the PSU. If you connect the case fan, it will run at full speed at all times. 

You will need two things to connect the case fan to the PSU. These are-

1. Four-pin Molex Connector
2. Three-pin Molex Connector

Here four-pin Molex connector comes with the PSU. On the other hand, a three-pin Molex connector comes with the case fan. You can directly connect the case fan to the PSU by using these connectors.

But, it’s not impossible that the fan or PSU does not have the built-in Molex connector. 

In this case, you need an extra PSU to fan pin header adapter by which you can plug the case fan into PSU.

Cautions

1. You have to set up the fan according to the proper direction. Because, if you neglect this fact, the fan will become harmful instead of useful. So, follow the manufacturers’ guidelines sincerely and apply them with importance. 
2. You should be careful about the positioning of the fan. There are two facts you need to take care of. One thing is, you have to place the fan in such a place where the cool air can intake from outside. Another thing is to make sure that the exhaust fan can bypass hot air to the outside.

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

Why should I have an additional case fan?

To balance the temperature, you should have an additional case fan. PC becomes heated because of the higher usage of the CPU. Wherever a case fan can produce extra cooling air. It will be helpful for your PC health.

Is there any specific number of case fans that I need to plug into the PC?

It is quite tough to recommend the exact number of how many case fans you need. It basically depends on the PC you certainly use. Better if you can follow up on how much heat is produced by your CPU. According to this, you need to set up the case fans to take a backup of cool air production. 

Can I Plug a three-pin fan into a four-pin header?

Yes, you can plug a three-pin fan into a four-pin header of the Motherboard. But you can not control the speed of the fan if you doing so. 

Final Words

Therefore, I hope you can understand where to plug in case fans. If you have any more questions to ask about the case fans connection, you can feel free to ask.