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Why Fan Controller?

A

Alps

n00b
Joined
Jan 7, 2006
Messages
21
I'm building my first system and have almost everything decided.

- wondering why I would want to use a fan controller over software like speedfan or smartguardian?

trying to keep my costs down eventhough a rheobus would only cost $10
- how many of you actually use a fan controller?

thanks for the help
 
I use a fan controller, to control my 120mm intake and outtake fans aswell as the one i have in the front 5.1/4" bay to blow over my harddrives.

They are all powered directly from the PSU so kinda hard using software for it.

It's very recommendable to use a fancontroller, to turn all your fans down to prevent noise when you are only browsing or doing officework, then turn them up when gaming.
 
I used a nexus for a long time, and it was great. It let me dial down the fans that I was using at the time to have a nearly 100% silent rig. Getting a fancontroller will let you spend more on fans with a greater CFM and dBa, and then dial the fan to where its noise isn't intruding on your computing experience and still offer the cooling that you want.

 
Good if you have a pc in your bedroom that you want to leave on 24/7...

at nite just turn the fans down to minimum and you'll sleep like a kiddy :p
 
Not to thread highjack, but this is kind of on topic, anyone have a fan controller directly controlling their cpu fan? I was thinking of getting like a small 3 1/2" fan controller for a 92mm delta fan which is 142cfm at 62dba, so that would be very annoying at full speed all the time.
Does the mobo freak out that its nots plugged in to the mobo?
 
Stu55 said:
Not to thread highjack, but this is kind of on topic, anyone have a fan controller directly controlling their cpu fan? I was thinking of getting like a small 3 1/2" fan controller for a 92mm delta fan which is 142cfm at 62dba, so that would be very annoying at full speed all the time.
Does the mobo freak out that its nots plugged in to the mobo?
Click to expand...

Again, I used to have my nexus control the fan on my CPU, and had no issues with it. Keep in mind, I was using an XP and a socket A mobo, but don't think that it will make a difference in the current generation of boards.


 
This Zalman Fanmate 2 is looking pretty good because I dont really want to take up a 3 1/2" bay just for my CPU fan, anyone have experience using this. You just turn the know on the little box to change the voltage while the pc is on? or what?
 
yeah i didn't even bother with my zalman fanmate. I didnt think it was worth messing around with the cpu fan and limiting its power. Its not horribly loud anyways. i set my BIOS to have my cpu fan running full speed if the cpu temp is above 25 C.
 
Stu55 said:
Not to thread highjack, but this is kind of on topic, anyone have a fan controller directly controlling their cpu fan? I was thinking of getting like a small 3 1/2" fan controller for a 92mm delta fan which is 142cfm at 62dba, so that would be very annoying at full speed all the time.
Does the mobo freak out that its nots plugged in to the mobo?
Click to expand...

Some mobos have a warning that will alarm if it's not plugged in. If it does alarm, then there should be an option in bios allowing you to turn off the alarm (atleast the A8N-SLI is nice enough to do this) :p.
 
I was planning on going w/ a sunbeam rheobus.
But lemme be more specific, what can I do with a controller that I can't do with software?


thanks for the fast responses

ps dont worry bout it Stu
 
Alps said:
I was planning on going w/ a sunbeam rheobus.
But lemme be more specific, what can I do with a controller that I can't do with software?


thanks for the fast responses

ps dont worry bout it Stu
Click to expand...

As i mentioned in my first post just after your initial post, to control the speed of fans that gets their power from the psu and not the mobo.

You dont wanna plug a high rated 120mm fan directly to the mobo connector, as it could blow it up the connector due to too much amperage being drawn from the mobo connector.

Sure some use 120mm fans on their CPUFAN connector, but it's not the best thing to do, and they are usually low rated.

And ofcourse also if you ran out of connectors on your mobo due to many fans, then the fanbus is good too. :p
 
You do realize that there probably isn't a halfway decent self-respecting CPU fan which can actually draw more than 5W of total power (and this number includes a horribly crappy old 4" radioshack fan that was NOT meant for a PC which I spliced a molex connector into, which runs on 3.84W which I think is the highest I've seen so far.) If you manage to melt your motherboard connectors from < 400mA, I'd love to hear how you did it.

Anyway, my CPU cooling solution which I wasted a lot of money on came with a fan controller directly supported by the thing. I say I wasted money because the stupid thing keeps the CPU under 35C in Prime95 if I turn the dial so far down that it's overridden (apparently there's an override that keeps you from setting the fan speed below 2200 RPM and another to prevent going above 6000.) The advantage to this 100% hardware solution for me is the complete lack of reliance on software -- which can always go wrong. It's pretty rare that a potentometer that's made for a specfific application just all of a sudden stops working (and even if it does, well, that's what the override is for.) Software screws up all the time though. Plus, you have to get far enough to USE the software. Especially I like that 100% hardware solutions mean things which don't support software control or would just be such a pain as to not be worth it (such as linux) work without me making a single extra effort. I have a guaranteed solution that works in everything for me. I might add that this includes my decision to overclock via bios (even if it's not literally a hardware solution, it's as close as they let you get on a modern system.) Though I do admit that some stupid distros have powernow enabled the moment they see I have a K8 processor and that screws everything up since it suddenly lowers the voltage and raises the multiplier at the same time (bloody stupid enabling that by default, grr... All I ask is it be optional, sheesh.)

All that said, there's nothing low rated about my cpu fan controller. It works very well and with my current PSU, the fan speed is almost rock solid on whatever I set it to. My problem is the CPU runs too cool on this upgraded cooling, so the fan controller is basically useless since I just set it to the lowest anyway. It doesn't really run but one or two degrees cooler in this system if I turn it all the way up. At least, not in my room, which I do keep at or below 19C I admit (AC isn't 100% accurate, so it lets it get a little low, and now that it's winter it goes even lower since I crack the window.) I will admit it's a bit too sensitive for my liking (every setting is within a roughly 60 degree turning radius and it maxes long before I turn it all the way up, then stops.) Otherwise it works perfectly though. Nothing has melted so far. I will admit that the CPU fan plugs into the PSU (not optional unless I spliced up some kind of motherboard connector) but, I don't believe it's so much due to your suspicion that some can fry the motherboard connector as much as ThermalTake wanted a more direct reliable connection without going through less reliable motherboard, which will under/overvolt in more cases than not (then again, most PSUs aren't perfect either, so this isn't a much better solution, but, it at least means a more direct less dependant solution.)
 
Nazo said:
You do realize that there probably isn't a halfway decent self-respecting CPU fan which can actually draw more than 5W of total power (and this number includes a horribly crappy old 4" radioshack fan that was NOT meant for a PC which I spliced a molex connector into, which runs on 3.84W which I think is the highest I've seen so far.) If you manage to melt your motherboard connectors from < 400mA, I'd love to hear how you did it.
Click to expand...

I've always taken it as a rule of thumb not connecting high rated fans to mobo connectors.

But maybe stuff like this...

http://www.casecooler.com/rpmpowcabfor.html

...is only made for fun...
 
Money. Do you really think it's better to have one of those setups that keep cooling your system after you shut it off? You'd pay extra because it sounds good, right? Actually, what it does is it makes thermal cycling more extreme, causing your components to be stressed more than if they were allowed to cool off more slowly (ok, the difference is subtle and only shows over years, but, you get the point, right?) If they say a thing like that, the average joe user thinks "yeah, that sounds reasonable, and, hey, it's not too expensive, so why not" and shells out the cash. Plenty of money for a few peices of wire and plastic that probably costs them 50 cents each to mass produce, and they gain a tidy little profit. Average joe gets a little boost in confidence too, so I guess it's not all wasted money.

Anyway, I suppose theoretically there may be some fan out there that uses a lot of power. I haven't seen it though. Do remember that the radioshack fan was actually not designed for use in PCs, but, was intended for less sensitive electronics (bloody loud for one thing, so it assumes it won't even be near the user.) So far I've only seen more efficient fans in the years since I bought that thing (well, back when I got it there were very very few 120mm fans out there for computers, so I had to make one.) If you can find one that uses enough power, I do honestly want to know. I'm actually curious. I'm thinking you'd have to use a minimum of 500mA to fry a mb power circuit, and that's assuming it's a pretty crappy circuit -- or maybe a damaged fan.
 
I have a Delta WFB1212ME 12vdc fan which is rated at 0.42a (5.04watt at 12v) which is already more than the "highest you've seen", i also had some Sunons 120mm in metal casings which was rated even higher, 0.67a or thereabouts.

Then there's the 120mm Delta AFB1212VHE which is 0.90a (10.8watt at 12v).

You dont wanna attach such fans to your motherboard fan headers.
 
Maybe. Highest I've ever seen is just that. Whether that 10W would fry a mb connection or not I don't know, though I still find it hard to believe the mbs have such a poor design that they can't handle that kind of power running to fans (not as if they don't have the technology already -- some of those lines like the CPU and video card take a serious beating. I imagine memory is bad too.) Anyway, frankly, I think those fans are a serious waste of energy. This crappy old radioshack fan pushed more than enough at 12V (I had it lowered to 7V to keep my last system about as cool as it got) and it's a very badly designed sonic-jet loud style of fan. I now have a 120mm Antec fan which pushes more air at something like 3W and is nearly silent at max settings.

Hey, it's an energy efficient world today. d-:

Anyway, I just think it's silly to assume the motherboard can't even handle a normal fan (though I admit 10W is hardly normal -- I think my window fan uses that...) But, hey, it's not like it hurts anything to hook it up to a molex instead. Too bad most motherboards won't let you read fan speeds with just one pin (most shut off the speed detector if they see no power being drawn unfortunately.) Of course, the main reason I haven't tried that too often is that the little three pin connectors are harder to come by, and, useless anyway on a fan without the speed detector. To be honest, most of my system components are hacks with wires spliced left and right and enough wax (hot glue) to keep a third world country lit for a day. ^_^ I don't have much I can plug into the motherboard, but, what little I have in the past never fried it. Mind you, most were 80mm fans that ran on 3W or less.
 
Sure mobos nowadays may be better on their fan headers, i just have it from "the old days" back when i was overclocking and needed lotsa airflow (havent oc'ed since my duron800 on KT7A), but back then there were many warnings about not plugging such highpowered fans on the mobo headers.
That's why i have it as a rule of thumb since back then.

I would guess it still applies, atleast i wouldnt dare doing it. :p
 
Ironically, I didn't overclock then, but, I do now. Back then I did overdo it on the cooling though (I thought my CPU was running too hot, but, later I figured out that it was that ubercheapo kingston valueram that couldn't take a little heat.) Mind you, what I mainly did was a lot of hooking up of 80mm fans and some case cutting and I didn't have any that used three pins back then -- excluding the cpu fan. Anyway, fans are designed better these days and there aren't really that many out there that you'll find doing so much. I don't really know what a safe rule of thumb for a maximum value to plug in there is though. I can only guess around the area of surely being at least 4W considering how many CPU fans are pushing close to that without MB headers frying. Actually, I've noticed that the fans have improved quite noticably just over a matter of a few years. They get a little more CFM, a little less noise, a little longer lifetime (I think none promise less than 10,000 net hours) and use a little less power to do the same thing usually. I was shocked when I finally pulled out that probably 3+ year old radioshack fan and replaced it with the antec that came in someone else's case who didn't need it to see how much better it is. I noticed the differences a little less at a time as I saw the standard 80mm fans and cpu fans slowly improve from the best being these 12 blade tornadoes to something like my current fan which just has three big blades that I could probably lower them to 500 CFM and keep my cpu cool (ok, all that copper helps, but, still, the cfm was surprising for a mere three blades for me at least.)

Oh well, don't plug a 10W fan in there I guess. But, I refuse to believe a normal fan is going to fry anything. Anyway, back more on subject of fan controllers, it's still generally best to have a seperate connector just because you get full control and no amount of software it going to screw it up. Just as long as you remember to turn it up when necessary (or down if needed -- I bumped mine once during travel and ran it at 6000 RPM for who knows how long when I hooked it back up before realizing it was set so high...) With a little care, a manual override is hard to beat. The only way something goes wrong is if it's your fault. ^_^
 
I wouldn't know since I don't have ballistix...What I do know is that there isn't much info in the memory database on what apparently the ballistix usually use, which is apparently usually the micron 5b g chips. Apparently they use the same chips for pc-3200 and pc-4000, which means the pc-3200 probably does all but guarantee an overclock to pc-4000 speeds (though you might need move voltage to do it since those are probably the pc-4000 chps that fail their tests.) Still, if I were you, I'd pick something from that list that's a little more guaranteed to be an overclocker (eg more useful information, and, maybe you can even find cheaper if you look at chips instead of namebrand.) I would say try to find something that's almost guaranteed to have those samsung TCCD chips if you can. I must admit though, you may not find a better price on 1GB of memory elsewhere. I got my SpeedPremium (most of which are UTT CH5) for around that sort of pricerange though. You'll need a system that can set a lot of voltage to get any serious overclockability out of UTT CH5 (for that matter, you really need it for UTT BH5 to do much good -- 210 low latency or 215 high latency is about all you're going to get without > 2.9V, but, get enough voltage and you start to see 250MHz+ on UTT BH5, 275MHz+ on UTT CH5.) So, how am I liking my memory? Well, I bought memory in the hopes of serious overclocking, then found out the ocz ddr booster is incompatible with my motherboard and I'm stuck at 210MHz low latency (plus a motherboard bug that prevents me from using 1T, so I see worse memory performance than I did on my old nforce 2 board, despite the higher overclock.) The memory you're looking at may not overclock much more either (in fact, I see some reviews where they had to raise latencies to more conventional values even at 2.8V, though you may just get lucky and get one of a batch that can manage the PC-4000 speeds for all anyone can say for sure.) They don't sell speedpremium on newegg right now if at all anymore, so that deal is gone (which is fine, you almost always get utt ch5 with those, and without a ddr booster, most motherboards aren't going to give you much overclock at all with that.)

Well, dig around, find something on the database you see promising a decent chip, then ask around in the forums to make sure that the database is actually up to date on that particular memory so you'll be relatively sure you actually get what you were supposed to. Here's a link if you aren't aware of it: http://www.techpowerup.com/memdb/ Just remember, it's kept up by user submissions, so many things can be up to date and a few just plain wrong, so definitely ask in the memory section of the hardforum where people know a lot more than I do once you think you find something exactly right for your needs.
 
sorry nazo wrong person

For me I am avoiding ocz rev2 plat. because a lot of it is hype.
Yes, it can oc the highest, but to me, not the best. Anantech showed that it
really is only the best at over ddr 500 or 550, but not below. Crucial was the best at speeds between about ddr 400 - 500 and G.skill was always a runner up at any speed.
I will either go w/ crucial or the g.skill tccd. Neither is hyped a lot, and neither is as overpriced as some other brands. I was either considering the g.skill 2x1gig or the fast tccd.

g.skill 2-2-2-5 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231035
g.skill 2-3-2-5 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231032
@ 2gigs

what do you think about my reasoning? i read an article by anandtech that backed this, but right now im unable to find it.

thanks
 
Of those two links, I'd go with the TCCD (at least, if you can afford it, that's hardly cheap if you want 2GB since you'd have to buy two...) Looks like both are good, but, I think as a general rule of thumb you are more likely to get better results from the TCCD. The TCCD is guaranteed TCCD, but, the other, according to the memory database could be either of two hynix chips (one of which has no info.) The first is actually pretty darned good. I have no idea about the second. Thing is, you can always end up with something not even in the database (like the way just a few of TwinMOS's SpeedPremiums ended up being UTT BH5 instead when just about all of them are UTT CH5.) In other words, you'd be paying more for a guarantee, so it's kind of a question of whether it's worth it to you or not (remember, the cheaper one still has good possibilities, so don't discard it right off even if you can afford the more expensive one since, as good as TCCD is, it runs hot and you still have to raise latencies to get high overclocks.)

Oh, and there's nothing to ask about with your reasoning. Sounds like you did your research and looked at reviews where someone actually used some of the actual memory (though you still have to bear in mind that reviewers review what they receive, and they don't always get the best of any hardware.) The only other thing you can do is go to the memory forum and ask around there where you may find someone who has direct experience with the chips you're wondering about.
 
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