Fan Controller

Hey all,

So, I'm working on my new gaming build...and I am looking for a fan controller.

Specifically I am looking at this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811992013

So can someone convince me of a better controller that gets me a good bang for the buck in the same(ish) price range?

I prefer one that can do both 3 and 4 pin fans, and has at least one temp sensor and alarms. Size doesn't matter to me (1 or 2 bay, or the desktop version).

Thanks!

Welcome to OCF !

It would help us help you if you could list your system specs. What case will this go into? How many fans are you powering? What are the fan specs?What do you want to monitor the temp? What is your budget?

Help will abound once you fill in some blanks.

Robert17 said:

Welcome to OCF !

It would help us help you if you could list your system specs. What case will this go into? How many fans are you powering? What are the fan specs?What do you want to monitor the temp? What is your budget?

Help will abound once you fill in some blanks.

Click to expand...

Sorry about that. The case is a Fractal Design ARC XL which I believe I will have 5 case fans in (2 intake 3 exhaust) which I want to control. I may also want to control the CPU fan as well.
Fans will be 3x Silent Series R2 which came with the case and then 2 other fans, not sure which yet honestly.
I want to monitor the CPU temp at the very least...if I get a controller with multiple sensors: CPU - GPU - Intake - HDD - Exhaust (in that order of importance)
Budget is going to be 50-75 for the controller.

Typically a free program such as HWMonitor (http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html) will gather info from your system and display it for you. Depends on how late a model of MB you own, but anything recent, say the last 5-10 years should all be o.k. Therefore, no real need for temp probes (used them, meh).

Look for a fan controller that can handle a minimum of 25 watts. I don't see the wattage listed for the Silent Series fans, only a voltage which is 6-11 volts at startup. Running wattage should be a minimum of 5 watts/channel; others here will say 6 watts/channel. Either way, you'll get better performance with a more powerful controller. Most aftermarket fan controllers have pin connectors that will handle either 3 or 4 pin connectors. It's a matter of the feedback loop on controlling fan speed when using fans with a 4 pin connector.

MoBo is a Z97 FTW, so relatively recent board...not a problem with that. I guess my mind is still a little old fashioned (my last PC build was 2008) where everyone I knew was using the temp probes...

The controller I linked in my original post (NZXT AC-SEN-3-B1) is a 75 watt max, 5 channel, 15w/channel controller. So it seems by your feedback that that should be appropriate?

After thinking about (I know we have been discussing this already, LOL), you would not want a sensor for the CPU. it would have to be slipped between the IHS and the heatsink which takes away contact and raises temps. For the CPU, just plug it into the motherboard header is my suggestion there. HDD temperature monitoring I wouldn't do either (its pretty pointless - and in fact they run longer when they are a little warmer for whatever reason).

I personally measure intake temps and exhaust temps on my daily driver. That tells me how things are going on the inside really. Sometimes I put them in the intake of a radiator and exhaust to see that difference too.

After thinking about (I know we have been discussing this already, LOL), you would not want a sensor for the CPU. it would have to be slipped between the IHS and the heatsink which takes away contact and raises temps

Click to expand...

I was more thinking ambient temperature at the CPU (Intake of the cooler). But if I go with the controller I am looking at that's a moot point as it is only a single temp sensor (Would want to measure intake temp in that case)

Yes, that would give you a momentary look at the ambient room temps, let you know the offset for the internal readings and how effective your cooling solution is.

Personally I like the Lamptron FC 2. I have had mine for quite a long time. it was reviewed here, http://www.overclockers.com/lamptron-fc2-fc3-fan-controller-review/ 45 watts per channel is great.

I use a Sunbeam Rheobus for fan control and it works great with non-PWM fans at least - haven't tried it with 4-pin fans but I doubt it'd handle them poorly. For monitoring I just use HWINFO64 set to sensors-only mode. Used a separate sensor at one point but it was annoying to route and no better than the software sensors so I gave up on it awhile back.

Seems like NZXT and Aerocool have some pretty cool ones, but not sure if they're just looks.