I got a new cooling fan because the old one was off balance or something and sounded like a jet engine gone haywire. So this new fan has an adapter like the one in this picture Warning: Spoilers inside! So my question is, would it be better to use the four pin adapter or just use the three pin? Also, if using the four pin adapter, do I plug it into one of the extra plugs coming out of the power supply? Sorry for the nooby questions
You use both. The 4-pin is the power supply, the three-pin has only one cable sticking out of it, so obviously it's fan speed control.
actually there's more to it, you can use the original small 3pin connector to connect it directly to your mobo, in this setup you'll have the ability to manage the fan speed through software. if you use the big 4 pin connector, the fan will always run at full speed, the extra small 3 pin with one wire (optional) can be connected to your mobo to allow fan speed monitoring.
It's usually better to use the small 3 pin connection into the motherboard because it shouldn't need to run full speed all the time.
