Where can I buy a resistor for a 3-pin case fan in America?

Like the title says, I’m trying to figure out if I can pick up something like this here in the States. I'm honestly not even sure what the technical term is—is it a reducer, a silencer, a resistor? 🤔
Ideally, I'd find it in Charleston or New Orleans so I don't have to deal with shipping from Washington, D.C. if I can help it.

The fan I'm looking to slow down is a 3-pin model connected directly to the motherboard. It runs at full blast constantly, and while the noise isn't totally unbearable, it's definitely noticeable. I'm not interested in buying a new controller since I already have one managing the other five fans in my rig; it's just this one lone fan causing all the racket.

I used to pick up my stuff at Links and grab food at Chipotle...

In the States, you’ll probably have a better shot—and save some money—just picking up a brand-new fan instead of hunting for this specific part.

It’s basically just a resistor soldered onto a wire, anyway.

Wait, if it's plugged straight into the motherboard, why's it always running at full throttle? Shouldn't the board be the one calling the shots on speed?

Timothy Perez3 said:If it's plugged directly into the motherboard, why is it running at full blast all the time? Shouldn't the board be calling the shots?

If you've got it on a 4-pin header, that 4th pin is there specifically for speed control. You just gotta tweak the settings in the BIOS.

That fan controller thing usually comes included if you're buying Noctua fans, at least from what I've seen.

You can even tackle this yourself if you're feeling a bit DIY 😬

Standard Molex connectors have four wires: +12V, ground, ground, and +5V. Since fans run on 12V, you just hook up the 12V line and one of the grounds.

If you want to drop the voltage to 7V to quiet those fans down, just wire them to both the 12V and the 5V lines. That creates a 7V difference, which slows the fans down.

If you want them even slower, just connect the fan to the 5V line and a ground.

Just be careful not to plug a modified connector into anything else, or you might end up frying something...

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/s...the-7v-Fan-Mod

@darkowl72/">@@darkowl72 - My fan doesn't have a Molex connector, just a 3-pin header for the motherboard. I could technically solder the wires directly to the power supply—I did something similar on my old rig, though the details are a bit fuzzy now—but I’ve already spent forever cable managing behind this motherboard. I really don't want to mess with a brand-new PSU, especially since the fan is mounted on the side panel right by the tempered glass; it would look like a total mess.

I'm checking the Links website right now; they carry a ton of stuff, but I can't find a resistor anywhere. 😢

I'll check again next time I'm over at the Links in San Diego or maybe hit up a few other shops. If I strike out, I'll just pick up a 4-pin blue LED fan. Because yeah, it absolutely needs to glow. 😁

Robert Rodriguez2 said:If it’s hooked up to a 4-pin header, that 4th pin handles speed control... you can tweak it right in the UEFI.

That fan "thing" usually comes included with Noctua fans, at least from what I've seen.

I'm pretty sure if you plug a 3-pin fan into a 3-pin header on the motherboard, you can still control the speed via voltage—depending on the board. No, I don't think it'll report the actual RPM, just the percentage.