How many fans can I run off of one Quadro header?

P.C.Zen

Junior Member

Monday, August 30th 2021, 7:40pm

1

I'd like to have one channel per radiator, but that means putting six fans on one channel (I'm going to be running a 420mm rad in push pull).

My fans are 0.16A & 1.92 W

Can I run six of them from one Quadro header?

Sorry if it seems like a dumb question but I know next to nothing about electronics.

InfoSeeker

Senior Member

Monday, August 30th 2021, 8:08pm

2

Quadro fan connector pin-out:

Ground
12V / max 2A / max 24W
speed signal
PWM signal

1.92W x 6 fans = 11.52W = Yes you can.

P.C.Zen

Junior Member

Monday, August 30th 2021, 8:10pm

3

Quoted from "InfoSeeker"

Quadro fan connector pin-out:
Ground
12V / max 2A / max 24W
speed signal
PWM signal
1.92W x 6 fans = 11.52W = Yes you can.

Brilliant, thank you so much; it's very appreciated. :thumbup:

P.C.Zen

Junior Member

Tuesday, August 31st 2021, 9:03am

4

Apologies for the double post but, another question...?

Is there a benefit to powering the fans on each radiator through a separate Quadro channel...?...e.g. might the software monitor power draw through the channel, for example? Can it be used to configure different profiles per channel...?

This post has been edited 1 times, last edit by "P.C.Zen" (Aug 31st 2021, 9:05am)

Remayz

Senior Member

Tuesday, August 31st 2021, 9:36am

5

you can have one profile per channel yes, so it's up to you how to connect them.
usually one channel per radiator is good, to allow you to manage the case air flow, switch off fans on one or more rads when idle etc..
There is power draw monitoring per channel on Quadro and Octo yes.

P.C.Zen

Junior Member

Tuesday, August 31st 2021, 3:30pm

6

Quoted from "Remayz"

you can have one profile per channel yes, so it's up to you how to connect them.
usually one channel per radiator is good, to allow you to manage the case air flow, switch off fans on one or more rads when idle etc..
There is power draw monitoring per channel on Quadro and Octo yes.

Cool...and thanks again for the info. :0)

I can't find a passive 6 fan PWM splitter so I'm going to have to pick up a Splitty9 Active for my 420 rad. Also might pick up another two Splitty9 Actives for the other two rads: Aquacool have sown a seed of doubt in my mind re. PWM signal attenuation with their Splitty9 Active PWM booster.

So, I'm guessing I might not be able to use the power draw monitoring, given that the Splitty9 Actives are SATA powered. :wacko:

InfoSeeker

Senior Member

Tuesday, August 31st 2021, 4:28pm

7

Quoted from "P.C.Zen"

Cool...and thanks again for the info. :0)

I can't find a passive 6 fan PWM splitter so I'm going to have to pick up a Splitty9 Active for my 420 rad. Also might pick up another two Splitty9 Actives for the other two rads: Aquacool have sown a seed of doubt in my mind re. PWM signal attenuation with their Splitty9 Active PWM booster. :S

So, I'm guessing I might not be able to use the power draw monitoring, given that the Splitty9 Actives are SATA powered. :wacko:

Not sure which 'power draw monitoring' you are referring to, but a standard SPLITTY9 does not take external power.

P.C.Zen

Junior Member

Tuesday, August 31st 2021, 4:43pm

8

Quoted from "InfoSeeker"

Quoted from "P.C.Zen"

Cool...and thanks again for the info. :0)

I can't find a passive 6 fan PWM splitter so I'm going to have to pick up a Splitty9 Active for my 420 rad. Also might pick up another two Splitty9 Actives for the other two rads: Aquacool have sown a seed of doubt in my mind re. PWM signal attenuation with their Splitty9 Active PWM booster.

So, I'm guessing I might not be able to use the power draw monitoring, given that the Splitty9 Actives are SATA powered.

Not sure which 'power draw monitoring' you are referring to, but a standard SPLITTY9 does not take external power.

I think he meant the software reads how much power is being drawn through the fan channel?

Splitty9 Active has a SATA connector.

I was interested in the Splitty9 Active mainly for two reasons:

1. It can be set to switch off the fans, but Remayz mentioned you can set the fans on individual fan channels to turn off at idle through the AquaSuite software, which renders that extra functionality of the Splitty9 Active unnecessary (if you have a Quadro/Octo etc.).

2. It has a PWM signal booster...which I wouldn't have thought I would have needed until I saw that the Splitty9 Active has one.

I'm wondering if the PWM signal booster is really necessary, or if it's just a gimmick, because otherwise I can just use a Splitty9 and not have to pay the import charges for Splitty9 Actives...

...do I really need the PWM signal boosters in the Splitty9 Active...?...wondering what people think....I've been using passive fan splitters for years with zero problems (that I know of)...maybe they weren't operating as well as they could have been?

Remayz

Senior Member

Tuesday, August 31st 2021, 5:13pm

9

it's useful for a handful of fan models, like the old noctua industrial that added capacitance to the PWM wire when connected on splitters, that made them answer erratically because the signal was so messed up.
some old EK Vardars also had a similar problem.

I guess it's useful.. if you have the problem

But you should also look if your fans have a zero RPM mode. if not, and if you wnat to stop them under a certain PWM%, the active splitty can offer that functionality.
I forgot to mention, i can stop my fans because they have zero RPM mode. under 25%, they stop..
But all fans will run at full speed if you set PWM to 0%

P.C.Zen

Junior Member

Tuesday, August 31st 2021, 5:34pm

10

Quoted from "Remayz"

it's useful for a handful of fan models, like the old noctua industrial that added capacitance to the PWM wire when connected on splitters, that made them answer erratically because the signal was so messed up.
some old EK Vardars also had a similar problem.

I guess it's useful.. if you have the problem
But you should also look if your fans have a zero RPM mode. if not, and if you wnat to stop them under a certain PWM%, the active splitty can offer that functionality.
I forgot to mention, i can stop my fans because they have zero RPM mode. under 25%, they stop..
But all fans will run at full speed if you set PWM to 0%

Oh okay

...well that put's a different complexion on things: my fans don't have zero RPM mode, so...I would need a Splitty9 Active to get them to stop, right?

But I would like to be able to monitor power-draw through AquaSuite, so is it possible I can use a Splitty9 Active without plugging in a SATA connector...?...I'm guessing the answer is 'no' because the circuit controlling the adjustable turn off function needs to be powered.

Also, @Remayz, out of curiosity, if you don't mind me asking, what fans do you use?

Speedy-VI

Senior Member

Wednesday, September 1st 2021, 12:28am

11

Quoted from "Remayz"

I forgot to mention, i can stop my fans because they have zero RPM mode. under 25%, they stop..
But all fans will run at full speed if you set PWM to 0%

Also curious what fans you are using. I have a Corsair QL140 RGB fan that I just sat here and ran from 0% PWM to 100%PWM in 5% steps. It does not run at full speed when PWM is set to 0%. It stops. At 01% PWM it starts spinning and settles at ~630RPM. From 1% to 30% it basically maintains this speed. At 40% its up to 680RPM. Then it increases linearly up to a max of ~1400RPM at 100% PWM. Here is a chart of the data. I don't think any of the various PWM fans I own go to full speed when PWM is set to 0%.

Edit to add a link to the QL140 PWM curve. When I did Insert Image, it did not work, so now I have inserted a web link.

Ql140 PWM Response

This post has been edited 3 times, last edit by "Speedy-VI" (Sep 1st 2021, 6:58pm)

Remayz

Senior Member

Wednesday, September 1st 2021, 1:54am

12

ah if they stop then it works. i guess it doens't hurt to test. you can see that with the motherboard or any other controller.
i use EK vardar X3M

P.C.Zen

Junior Member

Wednesday, September 1st 2021, 9:32am

13

For pressure optimised fans I use Akasa Viper's (No RGB and they're yellow, but I've not found a higher efficiency pressure-optimised fan).

Akasa 140mm Viper
110cfm
12.5 - 26.01 dB(A)
(4.25 cfm/dB(A))

3.12 mmh20

They have a black variant:

Akasa 140mm Apache Black

89.55 CFM
12.5 -22.19 dB(A)
(4.036 cfm/dB(A))

2.76 mm H2O

...also, they report that the shape of the fan blade causes the air to move directly forward, rather then emanating in a conical shape.

As for the fan channels:

I opted for two Splitty9 Actives...I figured they're not that much more expensive than regular Splitty9s and probably worth the extra money for the extra functionality.

I'm not going to go for one rad per channel, as I was previously thinking, but rather, I'm going to have half the fans running at idle and have the other half start up under load.

This post has been edited 6 times, last edit by "P.C.Zen" (Sep 1st 2021, 9:43am)

Speedy-VI

Senior Member

Wednesday, September 1st 2021, 7:22pm

14

Quoted from "Remayz"

ah if they stop then it works. i guess it doens't hurt to test. you can see that with the motherboard or any other controller.
i use EK vardar X3M

I noticed that the plot I did of fan speed verses PWM % did not appear in my post. I uploaded the image to Imgur and did an Insert Image in my post, which did not work for whatever reason. So I went back and did Insert Link instead and now the link to the image appears in my post. Here it is again for reference. QL140 RGB PWM Response

I was surprised that the Corsair QL140 RGB fan runs at ~600RPM at PWM 01% and does not change speed until around PWM 40%. From there the curve is close to linear. I may test some other fans I have lying around to see if this is common. I am also going to redo my fan curves for the Octo. I am using the difference between coolant temp and case ambient temp to control the fans. The temperature range is 0°C to 10°C, with control points for every 0.5°C increase. The fan PWM value starts at 5% and increments in 5% or 10% steps. Since I now know that the fan speeds remain constant between PWM 01% and PWM 40%, a lot of my control points are wasted.

I am well aware that Corsair QL140 RGB fans are not the best. I traded performance for RGB bling which I am OK with as my temps are really good despite not using better fans. That said, I was not aware that these fans run at their minimum speed from PWM 01% to PWM 40%. Based on this, I can have my first fan control point at PWM 01%, and my second control point at PWM 40% then work up from there. This will give me better granularity between PWM 40% and PWM 100%.

How many fans can I run off of one Quadro header?

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