I've talked about PWM on the channel a few times, but here's a dedicated video about how it applies to fans, and how it gives us far greater control over fan speed.
I did like this video and it gave me some ideas for my situation. Question for you though. I just built a pc with the Cooler Master H500m on the ASUS Crosshair VIII Hero (Wifi) mobo. The case has 2 200mm DC fans that turn on and off on silent mode like you were talking about. I was thinking of replacing them but now I'm wondering if there's a controller that can treat them like pwm and also make them visible in Fan Xpert 4. Any thoughts on that? Also, why does it seem like 200mm fans don't really come PWM except for Thermaltake but those have a proprietary connector that isn't just a regular PWM fan connector? Confusing stuff... Anyways, appreciate any help you could provide. Thanks!
Some server fans are 4 pin with some of the pins wired a little differently. I've completely forgotten the "standard" they use. I think it was just an annoying OEM rewiring. I was (about 10 or 15 years ago) able to re-pin the server fan to work with out issue on a standard pc motherboard. It was a nice fast dangerous delta fan from memory :D
@@tamaica7770 Stepping up and down voltages is rather easy to do. Stepping up and down current involves more work and other various reasons. More current = more heat for example.
skillet pan heat depends on P=IV. Lets say the fan can work at 6V, and mobo gives it current to operate. Increase current, increase the speed of fan. just not sure how they decided to choose V instead of I. maybe for safety?
4 ปีที่แล้ว +171
Finally - someone explaining it in a way that can be understood
I love how thorough you are about this subject and that everything mentioned is relevant and on track. The only thing I don't like is there is no discussion about the 4 pin molex connector fan type.
Damm! This man is unbelievable! I just wish I had known this channel before. Of the dozens of computer channels I know, this one is by far the best. What a fantastic teaching method! he doesn't need edits, animations or a ton of fancy equipment to perfectly explain a subject. That's talent! Thank you!
Nice visual of "pulse width modulation".............. hope folks appreciate the lesson!....................... Nicely done!........................... AJ
Voltage control uses resistance to lower the tension, therefore as a result it consumes more power due to the loss of energy as a form of heat; this makes PWM a power saver. I really liked your channel right away after watching a couple of videos because obviously it is not made for showing off but for teaching purposes, “not too many infos + accuracy at its best = subscribe”. Thank you.
Brilliant explanation, this is so useful in understanding how car radiator fans work and when your ac doesnt work with the fan going into full speed mode!
THANK YOU! I bought 2 new fans for an older pc and I did not realize until today that I have 3 pin fans while the sockets on the motherboard are 4 pins. So I was sad that I must send back and buy new ones. You are a lifesaver and your explanations are amazing and easy to understand.
Video is fantastic, these are found on central heating appliances too, which now have modulating fans and pumps which work via a PWM signal from PCB. Normally heating engineers don't carry oscilloscopes, even cheap ones, so we are reduced to using Hz on a multi-meter.
Realy nice video. I've enjoyed it a lot. Few time ago i've to buy a new processor fan because mine have burned after 6 years of use. I almost bought the 3 pin fan but after some internet research i discovered that processors use pwm (4 pin) fans. Then i bought the right fan for my processor and i am still waiting for it to come. Thanks for nice content. Regards. Rodrigo.
I just got back into building PCs again since 2002. This was a great video for clearing some confusion I have with my case fans in my new PC. Thank you.
- 3 Pin regulates through the amount of "juice" it sends to the fan. The more power the faster the fan spins. - 4 Pin regulates through timings, for how long the fan is on on end. Pretty simple. Can sum it up in two paragraphs. Great video, well done.
Thanks very helpful. Just subscribed. In my new build, currently a work in progress, I decided to use all PWM fans having just switched the original Silverstone 3 pin 180mm case fans for PWM equivalents - also ex Silverstone in a FT02 case. All other fans will be Noctua - I'm awaiting delivery of a new CPU cooler to finalise. Hoping to make it quiet as well as very capable.
I didn't know whether the fan was driven by the power of PWM signal or not, but now I see the maximum voltage of the PWM line only goes up to about half a volt, so my question is answered. This video is exactly what I was looking for. The power if provided by the 12-volt line and the PWM acts as a sort of relay that switches the 12 volts on and off. Thanks for the video.
Great explain. One video per year watched entirely. I'm serious. I'm going to change my case and wanted to know about the exact difference between those two and I got it. That was really helpful. I watched this for future to what should I choose when I would like to buy two fans for maybe new case. Maybe it will not be necessary. I don't also comment too much videos and give thumbs up but there I should for giving 1:1 all knowledge about fans. Keep it going!
Great video mate. I was wondering why my 3-pin fan that's plugged to a 4-pin connector is not controllable, checked the bios and turns out its still in PWM mode on that particular fan header. Switched to DC and it finally works. Cheers!
Another beauty of PWM control: I'm a model train enthusiast. My DC trains can run on straight DC or PWM, but using PWM allows the lighting to remain at full brightness, and the sound function at full volume, at any speed. The full voltage is always available for a fraction of the time and is used to charge capacitors to power the accessories. Wall warts / power adapters can be made without heavy, expensive copper windings if they use PWM.
Amazing, the most comprehensive video I have seen on this topic. But what happens if I use a simple pwm fan speed controller in a mix of 3 and 4 pin fans?
An excellent video, I just want to add a note, not all motherboard manufacturers are so restrictive like ASUS about the DC fan control, some allow to set the voltage down until the fans stop, even in DC mode. I have four 200mm Cooler Master fans, and the difference between 50% and 60% is VERY audible, in an ASUS motherboard the sound is really annoying at 60% but in my new motherboard I can set the voltage I want in the BIOS, if I remember correctly, I have the fans at 6 or 7 volts at the beginning of “the curve” and the sound difference is really big. It’s a shame that ASUS don’t give the user full control of the fans… That was why I change brand. Still, I really think that this was the best video I’ve watched on the subject, congratulations to the guy with the cool beard.
He is right all about what was said about how frequency works. We don't usually say times per second though. But more of how many cycles per second that the pulses are being made. "Cycles per second" or "pulses per second" sounds more straightforward instead of "times per second." Other than that, this is still one of the best educational video for people who would like to learn a little more about their computer fans and learn the differences between DC and PWM.
Good darn video my friend. the first video which really explains the way it sud be explained. You know what u r talking about bruh. u deserve more views and subs. thank you so much. take that like and sub
Absolutely awesome video....I have been working and building computers for 35 years I know about 3 pin and 4 pin PWM but I never knew exactly how it was doing it...never to old to learn. I do have a question though. Will the 3 pin last longer that a 4 pin fan because of the pulsing on and off? You know how computers are sending voltage on and off is the sure fire way to kill a electronic equipment.
You explained it really well. Now I am in a problem with colour codes of wire. My old 3 wire fan had brown, red, and black colour wires, and my new 3 wire fan of same model and same company(ebmpapst) has red, white and blue colour, so how to connect this new fan? Can you help me get the solution
Excellent explanation, thank you, I just had one question... Does this mean 3-pin fans use less energy? Or is the consumption similar because a PWM fan is "off" for a certain part of the time rather than just permanently drawing less power? Thank you
If you liked this video, I demonstrate this in action on LEDs in this video here: th-cam.com/video/sPkRS2sLXh8/w-d-xo.html
I did like this video and it gave me some ideas for my situation. Question for you though. I just built a pc with the Cooler Master H500m on the ASUS Crosshair VIII Hero (Wifi) mobo. The case has 2 200mm DC fans that turn on and off on silent mode like you were talking about. I was thinking of replacing them but now I'm wondering if there's a controller that can treat them like pwm and also make them visible in Fan Xpert 4. Any thoughts on that? Also, why does it seem like 200mm fans don't really come PWM except for Thermaltake but those have a proprietary connector that isn't just a regular PWM fan connector? Confusing stuff... Anyways, appreciate any help you could provide. Thanks!
Some server fans are 4 pin with some of the pins wired a little differently. I've completely forgotten the "standard" they use. I think it was just an annoying OEM rewiring. I was (about 10 or 15 years ago) able to re-pin the server fan to work with out issue on a standard pc motherboard. It was a nice fast dangerous delta fan from memory :D
Nice explanation. So why they don’t control the DC fan via current?
@@tamaica7770 Stepping up and down voltages is rather easy to do. Stepping up and down current involves more work and other various reasons. More current = more heat for example.
skillet pan heat depends on P=IV. Lets say the fan can work at 6V, and mobo gives it current to operate. Increase current, increase the speed of fan. just not sure how they decided to choose V instead of I. maybe for safety?
Finally - someone explaining it in a way that can be understood
I love how thorough you are about this subject and that everything mentioned is relevant and on track. The only thing I don't like is there is no discussion about the 4 pin molex connector fan type.
"My fan doesn't work."
"Have you tried turning it on and off again 25 000 times a second?"
😂
-"off and on". What you wrote is both an incorrect reference -*-AND-*- doesn't make sense.-
I'm a dope.
A year on from making this video and still the best explanation on TH-cam I've seen 👏🏻
Damm! This man is unbelievable! I just wish I had known this channel before. Of the dozens of computer channels I know, this one is by far the best. What a fantastic teaching method! he doesn't need edits, animations or a ton of fancy equipment to perfectly explain a subject. That's talent! Thank you!
agree
Thank you for this video. It was well worth watching and easily understood. Terry from Australia. 11/05/2024
Nice visual of "pulse width modulation".............. hope folks appreciate the lesson!....................... Nicely done!........................... AJ
Understand clearly now why my TUF Gaming X570 MB has the "fan tuning" function that calibrates fan speeds. Appreciate the content.
There are few people who can articulate tech (and engineering) stuff like this so well and more importantly present it as well...good work!
Voltage control uses resistance to lower the tension, therefore as a result it consumes more power due to the loss of energy as a form of heat; this makes PWM a power saver. I really liked your channel right away after watching a couple of videos because obviously it is not made for showing off but for teaching purposes, “not too many infos + accuracy at its best = subscribe”. Thank you.
Brilliant explanation, this is so useful in understanding how car radiator fans work and when your ac doesnt work with the fan going into full speed mode!
As others have stated, this is an excellent and underrated video.
It answered all my questions and more. Well done.
Thanks for making this video. I learned a lot about these fans and their respective differences. Keep up the great informative work!
I wasn gonna skip the video when i saw the length but hearing you explaining something is so interesting i watched the whole thing.
Definitely this is the best PWM vs Dc explanation on TH-cam. Please keep up your great job!
Interesting and very useful, thank you
Your explanation and demonstration of voltage controlled fans versus PWM control was brilliant. Thank you.
been looking everywhere for that information and there it is explained clearly and succinctly. thank you for the great video sir!
THANK YOU! I bought 2 new fans for an older pc and I did not realize until today that I have 3 pin fans while the sockets on the motherboard are 4 pins. So I was sad that I must send back and buy new ones. You are a lifesaver and your explanations are amazing and easy to understand.
This is invaluable! You need a Patreon, I'd love to support your channel. Thanks!
Video is fantastic, these are found on central heating appliances too, which now have modulating fans and pumps which work via a PWM signal from PCB. Normally heating engineers don't carry oscilloscopes, even cheap ones, so we are reduced to using Hz on a multi-meter.
Man, this video explained much more than I anticipated. Great job!
Good explanation and examples of the differences. Thanks very much.
Realy nice video. I've enjoyed it a lot. Few time ago i've to buy a new processor fan because mine have burned after 6 years of use. I almost bought the 3 pin fan but after some internet research i discovered that processors use pwm (4 pin) fans. Then i bought the right fan for my processor and i am still waiting for it to come. Thanks for nice content. Regards. Rodrigo.
Great content. Subscribed and thanks for all the hard work.😀
I just got back into building PCs again since 2002. This was a great video for clearing some confusion I have with my case fans in my new PC. Thank you.
Great work. Fantastic explanation. This is an absolute gem of a video.
Thank you for a very informative video with no unnecessary fluff. Good info!! I gave you a thumbs up & subscribed.
I didn't understand the differences until now :) Thanks Graham
Thank you for the best explanation of how DC and PWM fans work. Thank you for your hard work.
Another great video, very clear to understand and a useful guide when buying PC fans.
Underrated video... This deserves more views.
Superior explanation AND illustration of the differences between PWM(4 pin) and 3 pin fan operation and logic.
Excellent presentation. Thanks!
- 3 Pin regulates through the amount of "juice" it sends to the fan. The more power the faster the fan spins.
- 4 Pin regulates through timings, for how long the fan is on on end.
Pretty simple. Can sum it up in two paragraphs.
Great video, well done.
Just the answers I was looking for. Thanks
Thanks very helpful. Just subscribed. In my new build, currently a work in progress, I decided to use all PWM fans having just switched the original Silverstone 3 pin 180mm case fans for PWM equivalents - also ex Silverstone in a FT02 case. All other fans will be Noctua - I'm awaiting delivery of a new CPU cooler to finalise. Hoping to make it quiet as well as very capable.
Sir: Thank you very much for such a clear concise explanation. I was able to share this video and the concept was understood perfectly. 👍
Absolutely BRILLIANT explanation of this. Thank you!
This is the first video I have watched on this channel and I liked it. Therefore: Subscribed.
I didn't know whether the fan was driven by the power of PWM signal or not, but now I see the maximum voltage of the PWM line only goes up to about half a volt, so my question is answered. This video is exactly what I was looking for. The power if provided by the 12-volt line and the PWM acts as a sort of relay that switches the 12 volts on and off. Thanks for the video.
Great explain. One video per year watched entirely. I'm serious. I'm going to change my case and wanted to know about the exact difference between those two and I got it. That was really helpful. I watched this for future to what should I choose when I would like to buy two fans for maybe new case. Maybe it will not be necessary.
I don't also comment too much videos and give thumbs up but there I should for giving 1:1 all knowledge about fans.
Keep it going!
Thank you superb explanation. I now understand the difference of the pins in depth !!!
You my friend are a life saver!!
Great respect!
Thank you for perfect explanation.
Excellent video, really appreciated.
Great video. Clear and concise!
This has been really good Thank you Thank you......Keep up ......!
Awesome explanation! Subscribed to your channel
Really informative video, I'm curious what probes you use. Mine are really wide and hard to get into a small area like that
Great video mate. I was wondering why my 3-pin fan that's plugged to a 4-pin connector is not controllable, checked the bios and turns out its still in PWM mode on that particular fan header. Switched to DC and it finally works. Cheers!
Another beauty of PWM control: I'm a model train enthusiast. My DC trains can run on straight DC or PWM, but using PWM allows the lighting to remain at full brightness, and the sound function at full volume, at any speed. The full voltage is always available for a fraction of the time and is used to charge capacitors to power the accessories. Wall warts / power adapters can be made without heavy, expensive copper windings if they use PWM.
Many thanks for the video. Keep up the good work!
Thank you on behalf of all mankind. Perfect explanation.
This has been really informative. I didn't even know PWM worked that way.
Thx, very good explanation and visualization
Excellent clear explanation. Thanks a lot for this vid.
Unbelievably good explanation, thanks a lot!!! 😎
Very well presented, thanks.
Fantastic! Very good explanation 😃
Thank you for explaining this in a way I totally understood
Excellent explanation! Thank you!
some people are very good at explaining tech related topics, but they should call you "Master", best explanation ever, thanks alot.
Excellent explanations, thank you very much :)
Great presentation - well done !
Amazing, the most comprehensive video I have seen on this topic. But what happens if I use a simple pwm fan speed controller in a mix of 3 and 4 pin fans?
Awesome demo, thanks !
Great explanation. It really has shown how much more control de PWM fans have, thanks!
Thanking you for a very well given insite into dc and pwm mode.
Very well explained, thanks.
Congratulations, very interesting and smart explanation
Oh you are so good at explaining it! Thank you.
Thank you for this explanation. Building my second gaming pc and just wanted to know the difference.
That was very educating. Thank you very much!
Very good explanation, thank you!
I have learned something new today, thank you
Fantastic, 3 pin 4 pin fans worried my if I connected it on mono wrong, now I know I can’t. Thank you.
An excellent video, I just want to add a note, not all motherboard manufacturers are so restrictive like ASUS about the DC fan control, some allow to set the voltage down until the fans stop, even in DC mode. I have four 200mm Cooler Master fans, and the difference between 50% and 60% is VERY audible, in an ASUS motherboard the sound is really annoying at 60% but in my new motherboard I can set the voltage I want in the BIOS, if I remember correctly, I have the fans at 6 or 7 volts at the beginning of “the curve” and the sound difference is really big.
It’s a shame that ASUS don’t give the user full control of the fans… That was why I change brand.
Still, I really think that this was the best video I’ve watched on the subject, congratulations to the guy with the cool beard.
Thank you for that explanation of 3 vs 4 pin fans, you made it quite clear.
Very good video, ty! I had a question. Can u also connect a 4 pin fan into a 3 pin connector (using the same logic 3 into 4)? thx a lot!
Yes you can, however you'll only be able to do voltage control on it, because PWM pin won't be hooked up.
Awesome explanation. Thanks!
He is right all about what was said about how frequency works. We don't usually say times per second though. But more of how many cycles per second that the pulses are being made. "Cycles per second" or "pulses per second" sounds more straightforward instead of "times per second." Other than that, this is still one of the best educational video for people who would like to learn a little more about their computer fans and learn the differences between DC and PWM.
Great video for a new PC builder. Thanks
Really nice and informative video !
Thank you so much for explaining.
Good darn video my friend. the first video which really explains the way it sud be explained. You know what u r talking about bruh. u deserve more views and subs. thank you so much. take that like and sub
Absolutely awesome video....I have been working and building computers for 35 years I know about 3 pin and 4 pin PWM but I never knew exactly how it was doing it...never to old to learn. I do have a question though. Will the 3 pin last longer that a 4 pin fan because of the pulsing on and off? You know how computers are sending voltage on and off is the sure fire way to kill a electronic equipment.
Increadibly good explaination, thx!
great video !!!! lots of useful information
Very good video. Thank you very much!
Very interesting and well explained thank you
Thank you exactly the video I was looking for
Clear and well explained video, thanks
You explained it really well. Now I am in a problem with colour codes of wire. My old 3 wire fan had brown, red, and black colour wires, and my new 3 wire fan of same model and same company(ebmpapst) has red, white and blue colour, so how to connect this new fan?
Can you help me get the solution
This was an excellent explanation, thanks
It's very useful. Thank you so much
Brilliant explanation 👌
Excellent explanation, thank you, I just had one question... Does this mean 3-pin fans use less energy? Or is the consumption similar because a PWM fan is "off" for a certain part of the time rather than just permanently drawing less power? Thank you
Correct, the PWM fan is functionally "off" on the low cycles, so will be pretty similar to 3pin.
Wow what an excellent explanation! Thank you!
Exceptional video. Thank you for helping the average joe understand!