Fractal Design offers a USB-C hub that can be used to connect fans featuring this not-so-typical connector. Yes, the fans support this interface. The hub otherwise provides everything you would expect—fan speed control as well as selection of lighting colors (or lighting effects). Communication with the motherboard works in several ways. In this article, we’ll take a look at the details of the Adjust Pro.
The Adjust Pro hub was released together with the Meshify 3 (XL) cases and slightly changed the perspective on fan control. It uses USB Type-C connectors, which Fractal Design (Momentum) fans also feature. This allows convenient daisy-chaining of multiple fans and, at the same time, connecting both the fan motor and the fan lighting with a single cable.
From USB-C you can also break out traditional connectors (4-pin PWM and 3-pin ARGB), but this is only to ensure backward compatibility with fans that do not have USB-C connectors. Two such adapters are included in the accessories, but the primary purpose of the Fractal Design Adjust Pro hub lies elsewhere.
A 9-pin USB 2.0 connector is used for communication with the motherboard. This connector is no longer commonly used for front-panel connections on motherboards, and even if it is (for example in cheaper cases), it usually comes as a pair, leaving one connector free—or available for exactly this kind of use, which Fractal Design takes advantage of with the Adjust Pro hub.
Fan speed control is another important topic. USB-C ports themselves are powered at 12 volts, but that doesn’t mean the fans have to run at maximum speed. That would, of course, be undesirable, especially in system fan positions. To slow the fans down or more precisely set an appropriate PWM signal intensity, there is a connector on the side of the hub labeled “PWM IN”. This is used to connect the hub to the motherboard, through which you can then set the PWM level you consider appropriate—using the traditional method you’re already used to.
Once the hub is connected via the PWM cable, you can configure the fan curve in the interface you normally use. Whether that’s an application running under the operating system or a BIOS utility is up to the user. After connecting the hub, settings become available on the specific motherboard header to which the hub is connected. The PWM signal is distributed centrally to all four USB-C ports. For some this is an advantage, for others it may not be. Some users might expect separate PWM control for each USB-C port, but the Adjust Pro hub does not support this—just like the vast majority of hubs on the market. The main purpose here is to allow multiple fans to be connected to the hub and slowed down for quieter (than noisy) operation.
Such a hub is also a useful tool for “offloading” the motherboard. At HWC we previously wrote an article about how chaining multiple higher-power fans can result in current draw exceeding motherboard fan-header specifications, which often top out at one ampere. In the case of the Adjust Pro hub, each connector supports at least 3 A (i.e., the minimum required by USB-C specifications), which is very difficult to exceed—even with faster fans mounted on a liquid-cooling radiator.
From advanced to basic: the Fractal Design Adjust Pro hub has four USB-C connectors to which fans can be connected in a practical way that we haven’t seen elsewhere. The hub body features magnetic mounting, making it compatible even with cases it isn’t bundled with. We don’t have to look far for examples—these include cases such as the Epoch (XL), but also other cases not manufactured by Fractal Design.
Adjust Pro is suitable for competing cases as well, provided you can connect everything to it. Incidentally, to reach longer distances, the accessory bundle also includes a 45 cm USB-C extension cable.
The price at which the Fractal Design hub can be purchased is around 45 EUR.
