PC Hardware Talk & Help

[endgameaddiction]

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[endgameaddiction]

So I'm in need of a specific hardware component that is impossible to find. I need a 5-Pin 2.0mm Mini-PH male cable extension to a 4-Pin PWM female. My GPU's side fans (triple fan GPU) are not spinning. I've already ruled out the fan motors since I bought replacement fans and opened a GPU for the first time ever. Only the middle fan spins so it has to be a fan header issue on the GPU, or something else on the PCB. I'm trying to bypass this with a DIY hack by using a cable extension to bridge the GPU fans to the motherboard and using a fan speed software to control the temp speeds.

I haven't had any luck at all finding a cable extension that I need like this. Not even a 4-pin 2.0 Mini-PH male to 4-Pin PWM female, which could possibly work if the housing isn't enclosed allowing for the wider 5-pin female from the daisy chained GPU fans to seat in properly. 

Edited 15 hours ago by endgameaddiction

[Doublezero]

8 hours ago, endgameaddiction said:

So I'm in need of a specific hardware component that is impossible to find. I need a 5-Pin 2.0mm Mini-PH male cable extension to a 4-Pin PWM female. My GPU's side fans (triple fan GPU) are not spinning. I've already ruled out the fan motors since I bought replacement fans and opened a GPU for the first time ever. Only the middle fan spins so it has to be a fan header issue on the GPU, or something else on the PCB. I'm trying to bypass this with a DIY hack by using a cable extension to bridge the GPU fans to the motherboard and using a fan speed software to control the temp speeds.

I haven't had any luck at all finding a cable extension that I need like this. Not even a 4-pin 2.0 Mini-PH male to 4-Pin PWM female, which could possibly work if the housing isn't enclosed allowing for the wider 5-pin female from the daisy chained GPU fans to seat in properly. 

I entered your reply into ChatGPT, and this is what came up. I hope it helps!

Quote

You’re actually very close to something that exists, but the reason you can’t find your exact cable is because GPU fan headers are weird and not standardized. A lot of triple-fan GPUs use a 5-pin JST-PH 2.0 header where only 4 pins are actually used (PWM, tach, 12V, ground). The 5th pin is often unused or for vendor-specific sensing. That’s why most adapters on the market are labeled “5-pin GPU → 4-pin PWM” rather than “5-pin → 4-pin extension.”

Good news: there are a couple ways to do the bypass you want.

 

Option 1 (Closest to what you want)

There is an adapter specifically made for 5-pin GPU fan headers to standard PWM fans.

• The 5-pin Mini-PH GPU → 4-pin PWM splitter from MODDIY is basically designed for GPU deshroud mods. [MODDIY]

What it does:

• Input: 5-pin mini PH (GPU header)

• Output: standard 4-pin PWM fan connectors

This is normally used the opposite way (GPU controlling case fans), but electrically it’s the same wiring.

If your fans are already daisy-chained with the 5-pin female, you could:

GPU fans → 5-pin adapter → 4-pin PWM → motherboard header

Only caveat:

• You might need a 4-pin female-to-female PWM extension after that.

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Option 2 (What most people actually do)

People with broken GPU fan headers usually run the fans straight to the motherboard.

Example adapters exist like:

• 4-pin Mini GPU → standard 4-pin PWM adapter (JST-PH 2.0 to motherboard header).

This lets you do:

GPU fan → adapter → motherboard SYS_FAN header

 

Then control with:

• FanControl

• MSI Afterburner

And tie the fan curve to GPU temperature.

People have confirmed this works when bypassing dead GPU headers.

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/zp8y87?utm_source=chatgpt.com

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Option 3 (Your DIY idea — easiest honestly)

Since your GPU fans are already daisy-chained 5-pin, you can just:

1. Buy a JST-PH 5-pin pigtail

2. Cut it

3. Wire it to a standard PWM fan connector

Example cable for harvesting the connector:

Then wire:

GPU fan wire → PWM header

Black → Ground
Yellow → +12V
Green → Tach
Blue → PWM

 

Leave the 5th wire unused.

This is literally how most custom GPU deshroud cables are made.

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One thing to double-check (important)

Many triple-fan GPUs wire like this:

GPU header → middle fan
middle fan → side fans

 

If only the middle fan spins, the issue might actually be:

• broken fan splitter PCB

• damaged fan cable between fans

• not the GPU header

So bypassing the header might not fix the side fans.