Choosing a fan controller

hostyle

Very Long Post Warning. I may edit it later and replace with some sort of table or image/diagram.

I've recently added some fans to my machine, so its running nice and cool, but its now rather noisy, and pretty much impossible to watch DVDs with them running. So I'm looking for a fan controller, but not just any one.

Most fan controllers seem to assume you have 3-pin fans, although I guess adaptors are an easy solution to this? Am I correct in this assumption, or missing some important fact about the way fan controllers work?

It needs to meet the following criteria:
- Must fit in 5 1/4 drive bay (floppy and zip drive aleady filling both 3 1/2 bays)
- Must mount easily on Chieftec rails (ie. must be deep enough to attach to them).
- Must fit behind closed Chieftec Dragon door.
- Preferably uses dials.
- Must control at least 4 fans.
- Direct 4 pin molex connectors vastly preferable (less cables)
- Absolutely must allow 0 voltage capability (turn fan completely off).
- Dimming LEDs corresponding to power would be nice.
- Preferably black.
Easy, huh?

I've done some research and come up with a few options:

Coolermaster Aerogate II
- 5 1/4 drive bay. Check!
- Chieftec rails. ??
- Dragon door. Check!
- Dials. No.
- 4 fans. Check! (bzzzt! one of the "4 fans" is in the Coolermaster itself)
- 4 pin molex. ??
- 0 voltage. ??
- Dimming LEDs. ??
- Black. Check!

Vantec NXP201
- 5 1/4 drive bay. Check!
- Chieftec rails. ??
- Dragon door. ??
- Dials. Check!
- 4 fans. Check!
- 4 pin molex. No.
- 0 voltage. No.
- Dimming LEDs. No.
- Black. Check!

Vantec NXP301
- 5 1/4 drive bay. Check!
- Chieftec rails. ??
- Dragon door. ??
- Dials. Check!
- 4 fans. No.
- 4 pin molex. No.
- 0 voltage. Yes.
- Dimming LEDs. No.
- Black. Check!

Noise Isolator FC 525
- 5 1/4 drive bay. Check!
- Chieftec rails. ??
- Dragon door. ??
- Dials. Check!
- 4 fans. Check! (3 x 2 = 6 fans)
- 4 pin molex. No.
- 0 voltage. ??
- Dimming LEDs. Check!
- Black. Check!

Mac-Power Digidoc
- 5 1/4 drive bay. Check!
- Chieftec rails. Check!
- Dragon door. Check!
- Dials. No.
- 4 fans. Check!
- 4 pin molex. No.
- 0 voltage. ??
- Dimming LEDs. ??
- Black. Check!

Enermax UC-A8FATR4
- 5 1/4 drive bay. Check!
- Chieftec rails. ??
- Dragon door. ??
- Dials. Check! (ugly though)
- 4 fans. Check!
- 4 pin molex. No.
- 0 voltage. ??
- Dimming LEDs. ??
- Black. Check!

Akasa Fan Controller Pro (AK-FC-03)
- 5 1/4 drive bay. Check!
- Chieftec rails. ??
- Dragon door. ?? (looks unlikely - those are large dials)
- Dials. Check!
- 4 fans. Check!
- 4 pin molex. No.
- 0 voltage. ??
- Dimming LEDs. ??
- Black. Check!

(My fans are akasa so I might just go with this one, if I can find out if it fits behind a Dragon door)

PC Mods Bay Bus
(involves use of drill and wire strippers. They also appear to have closed down?)

Sunbeam Rheobus II
- 5 1/4 drive bay. Check!
- Chieftec rails. Check! (longer tham most of them, so I presume so)
- Dragon door. ?? (they seem shallow)
- Dials. Check!
- 4 fans. Check!
- 4 pin molex. No.
- 0 voltage. ?? (you can turn a channel off?)
- Dimming LEDs. Check! (changes colour)
- Black. Check!

Zalman ZM-MFC1
- 5 1/4 drive bay. Check!
- Chieftec rails. ??
- Dragon door. ?? (those dials look tiny)
- Dials. Check!
- 4 fans. Check!
- 4 pin molex. No.
- 0 voltage. ?? (presumably)
- Dimming LEDs. Check!
- Black. No.

Thermaltake HardCano 12
- 5 1/4 drive bay. Check!
- Chieftec rails. Check!
- Dragon door. Check!
- Dials. No.
- 4 fans. Check!
- 4 pin molex. No.
- 0 voltage. ??
- Dimming LEDs. ??
- Black. Check! (but only technically)

(looks damn ugly to me, car radios are for cars)

Silverstone Eudemon
- 5 1/4 drive bay. Check!
- Chieftec rails. ??
- Dragon door. Check!
- Dials. No.
- 4 fans. No.
- 4 pin molex. ??
- 0 voltage. Check! (I think)
- Dimming LEDs. ??
- Black. ??

Am I missing any? Does anyone have personal recommendations (in particular someone using one with a Chieftec Dragon case)?

Very few controllers will allow me to turn off fans completely, or are ambiguous about it (the Noise Isolator for example has on/off buttons, but doesn't explicitly explain what they do). My personal conclusion so far is to go with the either the Zalman or the Akasa.

Another interesting option: PCI slot Rheobus

And then theres Thermaltakes wireless fan speed control but I think a wireless card, wireless mouse and bluetooth keyboard are enough of that sort of thing.

Adeptus Titanicus

I'm using a Coolermaster CoolDrive 4 (pretty much the same as the Aerogate) in a Chieftec Dragon. I had some initial problems with the rails, and the unit sticking out a bit, but solved it easily enough.

See here for a thread on it. I like it alot!

You can see how it looks face on (not lit up)here.


<edit>

5 1/4 drive bay. Check!
- Chieftec rails. Check, but see above
- Dragon door. Check, but see above
- Dials. No. ? push button to select fan and view speed/temp, turn dial to adjust
- 4 fans. Check! (bzzzt! one of the "4 fans" is in the Coolermaster itself)Can disconnect if required so allow for powering a different fan
- 4 pin molex. Check
- 0 voltage. ??as in turning it off? No, but pretty low revs
- Dimming LEDs. No, but the light around the dial can have a different colour
- Black. Check!

BTW, the fan IN the CoolDrive can be unplugged, which is what I did, so you can connect a different fan to it.
</edit>

HTH

AT

jow

Hi,

It needs to meet the following criteria:
- Must fit in 5 1/4 drive bay (floppy and zip drive aleady filling both 3 1/2 bays)
- Must mount easily on Chieftec rails (ie. must be deep enough to attach to them).
- Must fit behind closed Chieftec Dragon door.
- Preferably uses dials.
- Must control at least 4 fans.
- Direct 4 pin molex connectors vastly preferable (less cables)
- Absolutely must allow 0 voltage capability (turn fan completely off).
- Dimming LEDs corresponding to power would be nice.
- Preferably black.
Easy, huh?

forget it!
I really do not know them all but here are my opinions:

Coolermaster Aerogate II

no 0 volts!! It fits perfect into a chieftec and you can close the door.

Am I missing any? Does anyone have personal recommendations (in particular someone using one with a Chieftec Dragon case)?

yes, we have a 6-channel _very_ basic controller that allows you to set three levels:
off, user-defined between 7-12 volts and full power (12 volts).
It looks very basic but does the job perfectly.

And of course: the innovatek fan-o-matic. This one allows you to do whatever you want to. But maybe it is a little _overpowered_ for your purpose.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Regards,
jow

hostyle

Originally posted by jow
we have a 6-channel _very_ basic controller that allows you to set three levels:
off, user-defined between 7-12 volts and full power (12 volts).
It looks very basic but does the job perfectly.

Whats this we business? Got any pics?

Adeptus Titanicus

That would be HiTide.ie. Pics at that link.

hostyle

Originally posted by jow
yes, we have a 6-channel _very_ basic controller that allows you to set three levels:
off, user-defined between 7-12 volts and full power (12 volts).
It looks very basic but does the job perfectly.

How does the "user-defined" bit work? There just toggle- / dip- switches aren't they? Or is it software based, in which case does it work in linux?

And of course: the innovatek fan-o-matic. This one allows you to do whatever you want to. But maybe it is a little _overpowered_ for your purpose.

Any chance of putting that on a special offer at some point in the near future? Say half price or less

Jorinn

Originally posted by jow
Hi,

forget it!
I really do not know them all but here are my opinions:


no 0 volts!! It fits perfect into a chieftec and you can close the door.



yes, we have a 6-channel _very_ basic controller that allows you to set three levels:
off, user-defined between 7-12 volts and full power (12 volts).
It looks very basic but does the job perfectly.

And of course: the innovatek fan-o-matic. This one allows you to do whatever you want to. But maybe it is a little _overpowered_ for your purpose.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Regards,
jow

Yeah, I actually managed to pickup one of those 6 channel ones from Maplins for a bit less, find it great to use, easier to get to sleep now, before it was just fans on max all the time.

jow

Hi,

Originally posted by hostyle
How does the "user-defined" bit work? There just toggle- / dip- switches aren't they? Or is it software based, in which case does it work in linux?

it works with simple switches and a poti.
Three positions are available: off, poti-setting (7-12 volts) and full power (12 volts).

fan-o-matic:
Any chance of putting that on a special offer at some point in the near future? Say half price or less [/B]

I know, it is expensive
But our margin for this thing is very, very, very, very low

jow

hostyle

How is the potentiometer adjusted?

hostyle

I almost went for the Zalman, but in the end wasn't as much "bang for the buck". I've settled on the Vantec NXP-301, I think - mostly cause its feature packed and good value for what you get.

- Each Channel Supports Up To 18 Watts (so it can take more than 3 fans - daisy-chain them)
- I can control Voltage From 0V to 12V (FULL SPEED to OFF)
- It has built-in dual CCFL Inverter With Light Control and includes two cold cathode tubes (I'm going to get a windowed sidepanel as soon as funds permit anyway)
- It fits fine behind a Chieftec Dragon door, and mounts fine on rails on the same case (could be flimsy with just 2 screws per side according to Toms Hardware - they are the only site I can find that had anything bad to say apart from cathode cables being a bit short under certain circumstances, and the colour of the facia - but other sites say it was fine and they seem to have got a newer version with a manual and other extras mentioned missing in Toms review)
- It comes with 3-pin _and_ 4-pin molex fan connectors out of the box
- I also discovered on my travels that the Chieftec Dragon case is sold under many brands and names - I didnt know before and that makes it easier to check out more things by myself in future

Its mentioned as advisable not to hook it up to the CPU fan because you can accidentally set it to 0 voltage, but I won't be connecting it anyway: the CPU fan is one of the quietest thing on my rig - 4x case fans, PSU fan, 4x WD HDDs and an LG DVD-ROM (the worst of all besides my new fans) are all louder at full tilt. I only want a fan controller to be able to adjust fans to lower volume than DVD-ROM when watching DVDs [in fact, I'll admit it, its my girlfriend who demands it], but also turn them off if its just idling [boards.ie shouldnt be costing me more money on ESB bills than necessary]. (I will also be replacing this DVD-ROM with quietest DVD-burner I can find when funds allow.)

Its being ordered very soon unless someone that has a Vantec NXP-301 has anything to add pipes up in the next couple of days.

I have one last question: does anyone know of any good _software_ CPU temperature monitors? Software for doing just that came with my motherboard, but its damned annoying. It picks up the PSU fan as operating way too slow (even though its not) and wont stop beeping because of this no matter what I change / tweak. I already have a Vantec removable HDD enclosure that gives a good indication of case temperature, but I really need a software indication for the CPU before I do any serious OC'ing. I'll try out lm_sensors under linux as soon as I get the chance, but does anyone know of a good _free_ Windows equivalent?

<edit>
I'll post here again, when I've installed the goods.

Finally, could the moderator add http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/ and http://www.challenge-my.com/goopsulator/ to a sticky somewhere? They seem very handy and could possibly help answer a lot of PSU questions on the forum
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