best fan controller?

well what model do you have and what do you like or dislike about it?
thinking about the nexus but there are different models

well i just got the nexus nxp-205 4 port fan controller
and sometimes while it is quiet i can hear the fan speed fluctuating (you can barely hear it but still)
but it is usually not quiet so i dont really mind that
other than that it is cool with the blue led's around the knobs
and the price isnt bad (especially compared to the hardcano 12 ) i got mine for like 19.
for the most part it has served me well
so if you have a budget concious mind i would say go for it

Magick_Man

*EDIT* welcome to the forums

I have six 80mm case fans and a 92mm Delta CPU fan all running on two Vantec Nexus 201 Fan Controllers, and I love them. It's so nice to have the flexability to increase or decrease the fan speeds, based on how far I want to overclock.

Get the Sunbeam controller. It has 4 channels and and looks really professional. Also it can handle up to 20 watts per channel which I think is enough to run 2 tornado's on one channel. Not a lot of controllers can say that. It is also pretty cheap compared to the other controllers I was looking at.

I have the Sunbeam, and I don't really really like it. One thing you got to be careful about is the range of the fan controller. The Sunbeam can turn fans completely off, which is bad because if the fan is too low, it will not start back up if you restart your system! This is bad for most any cooling but can be CRITICALLY bad for a CPU fan, keep that in mind. If you do get the Sunbeam, at least you will see when the knob is too low because the blue light for that channel will turn red. This is a much needed feature, since guessing if the fan will come back on at a restart wouldn't be too fun.

If you get a fan controller that doesn't turn channels off, then the fans will turn on when you restart. Also, since you have more of a range on the knob (being that you are controlling a much narrower range of power), then you can fine tune your sound experience.

Also, as a sidenote, I don't need to go into the red area on my Sunbeam to kill my cold cathode, so I never found a huge need for the added range. It does make your fans quieter than a limited range fan controller would, but it also has the risks of a fan not starting.

This fact, in itself, may decide what fan controller you want to buy. I cannot defend the full range controller very well because I don't paticularly like it right now, however I bet some people could defend it well. Me, I'm just lost in decision like you... Just know that there is a difference between the two options and that you must choose which you would prefer.

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS ghouse78!!! Enjoy your stay, read the many lovely forum threads, learn and teach like everybody else here, and above all have fun! Hope to see you around the forums more.

Bought the Vantec Nexus '201 when SVC first got them over a year ago - I assume mine is from the first production batch b/c I was actually pre-paid on it. Had problems, but all of them were fixable 'till I tried to run 2x80mm Panaflo U1As, 2x80mm Panaflo H1As and a 92mm Tornado fan speeds were going up and down like crazy and the channel with the Tornado on it would cut out and force a restart! After a bit of reading a recently replaced it with the Sunbeam and I'm VERY happy with the change. The Sunbeam is a much nicer looking unit and has HUGE heatsinks on each channel. Its quiter and handles the fans in my system without so much as a hiccup. I have an RPM lead on the 92mm Tornado so I don't worry about the CPU fan getting turned too low - the system will protect itself.
Newer versions of the Nexus could be made to higher quality standards, but if you do some searching you'll see there were problems with the PCBs in the early ones and the clicking of the PWM circutry can really bug you when its quiet. . .

I vote for the Sunbeam (unless maybe you have kids around that'll mess with the pretty knobs!)

thanks for all the comments guys
keep them coming

I have a Nexus 201 right now. Great fan controller for those of us on a budget. Nice LED's and although they say not to run two fans per channel, depending on the fan, you can. One time I accidentally linked up three and the current draw was too much for it. Started clicking and fluctuating. Great controller though.

gt24 said:

I have the Sunbeam, and I don't really really like it. One thing you got to be careful about is the range of the fan controller. The Sunbeam can turn fans completely off, which is bad because if the fan is too low, it will not start back up if you restart your system! This is bad for most any cooling but can be CRITICALLY bad for a CPU fan, keep that in mind.

Click to expand...

Either your controller is an old version or it is no longer working properly. On my controller I can turn the fans down all the way even off and then crank them back up to full instantly. I think there is something wrong with your controller since you should be able to turn the fans off/on as many times as you want without a reboot.

Get a sunbeam they rock .

I don't know the model numbers. I had one of the first 5.25" Vantec Nexus models. It suxed. You could hear staticy electrical noise unless the fans were all on high.

I have since moved to the 3.5" Nexus. LOVE IT. I'm running two 120mm Panaflo H1A's, and three 80mm L1A's. Plus two cold cathodes. It's small, uses the useless 3.5" bay.

Ad Rock -

I think hes saying that the Sunbeam will let you run the fan at low-low-low volts. The fan would run if you slowly turned it down to those volts, but later when you re-start the system it may not be enough to spin up the fan. . .

It is something Sunbeam owners have to be aware of, but like I said, unless you've got a kid running around pushing buttons and twisting knobs, you shouldn't have a problem.

Sunbeam. It is inexpensive and works.

Sunbeam, its high output, "color coded" (red / blue) and turns completly off... leaves me a virtualy silent, and 50-52c prescott at night, and a jet/lawnmower at about the same temps during the day, with 75/100% load during the day, and mp3's during night...

Im SO geting a different cpu when the stepings drop temp...
*knocks on forhead, a woodlike sound is heard*
Hope it DOES drop temp, cant keep that hot...
B!

anyone have any other experiences with models like zalman, cooler master or enermax?
thanks for the comments guys

I have a black Sunbeam. The LEDs are a little bright, but it gets the job done really well. It's nice to have the LEDs change color when you're under 7V.

Yes, my concern was about the fans not starting on a restart if they are turned too low...

It isn't that I don't know about the issue, but you never know when you brush one of those knobs... kick on your computer and come back 2 minutes later when an overheat alarm is going off!!! Luckly, I never had that happen, yet...

An AWESOME Sunbeam fan controller would be one that turns all fans to maximum when it first gets power, for 3 seconds, and then goes to knob settings. That way, all fans DO fire yet you can still keep nice low settings.

My general advice was not to go into the Sunbeam controller idea without at least knowing what you are getting into. It was certainly a little bit of a shock when I got mine! I learned though, and nothing was destroyed or harmed.

I originally bought my black nexus nxp-205 controller to get a dead silent case at night. So far it makes a poor paperweight, its only saving grace is the redish copper wires on the toroid-like things, and the four blue LED's that usually go for $2 per.

I can get my fans much quieter using the 7v line than that controller. Granted my current PSU is a POS (putting in an antec when I get "the" transistors) and might be giving the controller more than 12v, the 7v line is actually ~7.5v. I'm guessing I get 8volts minimum from my nexus. Either way, its louder to my ears. I don't hear the controller whine like other claim, thank god. Last thing it needs is that last proverbial straw on it's back... Ohh, did I mention that it adjusts in a few 'steps'? Despite having large-capacity caps (relative to the circuit), its very poor adjustment. My guess is that thier markings-sanded-off IC chip varies the input to the transistors.

As much as I'd have loved to love my nexus, so far Vantec has always come short in some way for me. Their fans are quiet, but all 3 80mm's I have vibrate like mad. One also has a weird sweak to it (sounds like a 'mentally slow' bird chirping on and off). I think I had another vantec product of some kind, obviously it wasn't 'polished' enough to stick in my memory.



I'd recommend the Sunbeam, mainly because it has a more realistic transistor design. The vantec somehow gets away w/o having their transistors heat up - like dog poop in that new movie, the heat has to go somewhere...

If you'd like an even better & cheaper solution, get a few LM317T transistors (1.5A = ~15-20 watts...?) and/or LM350T's (handles 3A...what's that tell ya ~4 deltas?). Along with the dirt cheap $.10 caps & resistors and a $1 pot/rheo per channel that are needed, its way cheaper than ANY controller. FYI, I'm getting my lm317's for $.69 each (cheaper elsewhere), and a lm350 for $1.99. That, along with the Xeon 1U copper cooler I'm using for cooling the transistors, it'll be perfect for tweaking.

FYI, LM317 circuts are availible everywhere (pm me for great urls), and a retarded monkey could solder these to radioshack pc board. Also, the only real difference between a LM317 and a LM350 is their ability to handle more current - which leads to more heat production. The LM3**T ("T" on the end) is the biggest TO-220 package, ideal for this stuff. Also the cheapest.

gt24 said:

Yes, my concern was about the fans not starting on a restart if they are turned too low...

It isn't that I don't know about the issue, but you never know when you brush one of those knobs... kick on your computer and come back 2 minutes later when an overheat alarm is going off!!! Luckly, I never had that happen, yet...

An AWESOME Sunbeam fan controller would be one that turns all fans to maximum when it first gets power, for 3 seconds, and then goes to knob settings. That way, all fans DO fire yet you can still keep nice low settings.

My general advice was not to go into the Sunbeam controller idea without at least knowing what you are getting into. It was certainly a little bit of a shock when I got mine! I learned though, and nothing was destroyed or harmed.

Click to expand...

Opps my mistake, I need to learn to read better .

i have read that the nexus tends to make some noise, has anyone had any problems of this nature with any nexus models?

Also, is there a way to mod the sunbeam to start at 7v instead of 0v, dont ever think ill need to turn any of my fans completely off? (some sort of resister right)