Which fan controller should I get?

gingo · Sep 26, 2003

I'm sick of my Nexus and I want something a little more high quality.

I'm thinking about either of these:

Enermax

or

Sunbeam

I really like the Enermax b/c of the LCD that displays temps. But the main thing is quality and stabilty in controlling the fans.

The sunbeam boasts the 20W per channel, and it doesn't even say what the enermax is rated at each channel, anyone know?

If anyone has either of these, please let me know how they are.

thanks.

brennan77 · Sep 26, 2003

I just got a SunBeam from svc.com.

The quality is definately there. One thing I like is being able to adjust the voltage from OFF to 12v. Well, actually it's more like 11v. I lost a tab bit from my top rpm's with the fans passed through the controller.

I like it. And for the price you can't go wrong.

Also, what is it that you don't like about the Nexus. I'm curious.

gingo · Sep 26, 2003

Thanks for input, I didn't know it was possible to loose any voltage from the controller.

I dont really like my Nexus because when it is restricting any voltage at all it emits a buzzing sound and gets louder the more you turn the fans down. And the quality just doesn't seem to be there, I've also heard stories of them failing which I cant have happening.

Jognt · Sep 26, 2003

with the enermax ud see the temps, which is quite handy tbh....

but, if you cannot find more info on it.... go with the sunbeam..

id try to find out more bout the enermax though...

brennan77 · Sep 26, 2003

gingo said:
Thanks for input, I didn't know it was possible to loose any voltage from the controller.

I dont really like my Nexus because when it is restricting any voltage at all it emits a buzzing sound and gets louder the more you turn the fans down. And the quality just doesn't seem to be there, I've also heard stories of them failing which I cant have happening.

The controller itself made noise? the SunBeam is very quiet in that regard. However, my Tornada fan makes a little bit of metallic noises at certain slower speeds. But that's to be expected of a higher powered fan with lower voltages. The motors tend to hum.

gingo · Sep 26, 2003

brennan77 said:
The controller itself made noise?

Yeah, it comes from the actual circuitry inside.

Anyway, how easy is it to turn a fan OFF completely with the sunbeam?

I'm wondering b/c I'm not sure if I should hook up my CPU fan I dont want it to accidentally get turned off...

kevral · Sep 26, 2003

gingo said:
Yeah, it comes from the actual circuitry inside.

Anyway, how easy is it to turn a fan OFF completely with the sunbeam?

I'm wondering b/c I'm not sure if I should hook up my CPU fan I dont want it to accidentally get turned off...

I was worried about the exact same thing before I got my Sunbeam.
It is not a problem. The knobs are big and easy to use, and the colored oh-so-bright LEDs will tell you when you go below 7 volt (5? not sure). If you keep your CPU fan hookup in the blue, you know you should be fine.

Although I can confirm that the thing doesn't put out a full 12 volts at max. My exhaust fans lost 10% of the rpm when I connected the Sunbeam.

gingo · Sep 26, 2003

So all the way counter clockwise and the fans are off? All the way clockwise and they are on?
If thats true how can you adjust the speed so the fans go directly from OFF to 12V?

But loosing 10% speed isn't too big of a deal for me.

kevral · Sep 26, 2003

gingo said:
If thats true how can you adjust the speed so the fans go directly from OFF to 12V?

I can't see how you can, unless you mean by twisting the knob real fast

brennan77 · Sep 26, 2003

All the way to the right is all the way on. All the way to the left will give you a click and shut off all power to it. In the middle, when the voltage gets below 7v, the blue LED turns red to let you know where you are. It's a gradual thing. It's not either on or off. Though, you can turn it all the way off by clicking it in the off position.

gingo · Sep 27, 2003

Ok, looks like I may be getting the sunbeam, too bad no one has opinions on the enermax...

pca · Sep 27, 2003

The sunbeam is the best and most dependable I've used and I've tried most available. Another great thing about it is you can use it to control a cathode since it can turn each channel completely off. When turning off, the sunbeam gives a nice tactile click.

Bad thing about is you will need 4-3 pin adfapters if attaching 4 pin fans. Unless newer versions of the sunbeam include them. You can get 4-3 pin adapters at svc cheaply.

I also have that enermax and it is decent. But there are no real specs on it and enermax even doesn't know. I ran a tornado on it for a while and it did ok. But I wouldn't want to run one with me not around. The inside is far too little compared to the sunbeam.

YviE · Sep 27, 2003

I've got the sunbeam and i'm very pleased with it. Like PCA said you can shut off each channel independently. I think that's a nice feature. It also allows you to alter to voltage all the way from 0 to 12v.
The only thing i don't really like are the bright leds. They're cool, but when watching a movie it can be a bit annoying.
It's an inexpensive high-quality unit. Go for it!

YviE

brennan77 · Sep 27, 2003

The LED's are pretty bright.

Also, I got mine from SVC and it came with 2 3 to 4 pin adapters. I bought 4 of them from SVC not knowing they had some in the box.

BTW, SVC has become my store of choice second only to newegg. Those guys are good about getting your stuff processed and out the door right away.

MRip · Sep 27, 2003

Don't pass over the Enermax just because no one has opinions on it. I don't have it, but when I was air cooled I had a Digidoc with an LCD screen and it was pretty sweet. The ability to get temps and rpms right off you fan controller is really nice. You can probably control more fans as well. My Digidoc can control up to 8 fans and give me the temp at each fan location. I'd say the extra dough is worth it.

MRip · Sep 27, 2003

Just read the Enermax ad. It can run 6 fans and give you info on two at a time. The screen is backlit and the face is a nice aluminum finish. I would definetly go for it.

gingo · Sep 27, 2003

Yeah, but I dont want to buy something without the specs on how many watts the controller can handle. I think I'm gonna go with the sunbeam and if I ever want a way to monitor temps,rpm's, ect from my case I'll try something else.

Silversinksam · Sep 27, 2003

I've had a few problems with the Sunbeam fan controller, I replaced it with a 3.5"bay Nexuss controller (but they also have a 5.25" model as well

http://www.svc.com/nexfancon.html

Both the Sunbeam and Nexus FC's are slightly cheaper at SCV than at Xoxide at the moment.

brennan77 · Sep 27, 2003

Silversinksam said:
I've had a few problems with the Sunbeam fan controller, I replaced it with a 3.5"bay Nexuss controller (but they also have a 5.25" model as well

http://www.svc.com/nexfancon.html

Both the Sunbeam and Nexus FC's are slightly cheaper at SCV than at Xoxide at the moment.

Can you tell a bit about your problems. I heard the SunBeam had issues when it first came out, but it seems to be a much more well rounded product nowadays.

Supertrucker · Sep 27, 2003

is that vantex nexus the same or similar to a pc toys system maxx fan controller?, i just picked one up at compusa and it has the same features and design as that nexus, identical looking except for the brand logo

Which fan controller should I get?

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