Antec Sonota - will a fan controller fit?

[ronnn]

I would like to have the rear fan on high speed for gaming, but connected to "fan only" connecter at other times. Is there an easy way to do this?

 

[Sid59]

short of manually changing it the connections no ..

you can always replace it and connect it to fan controller.

 

[ronnn]

Do fan controllers have the 4 pin connecter, and any reccomendations?

 

[Sid59]

dunno if they make 4 pin molex to 3 pin to use with a fan controller.

might have to just replace the fan that comes as 3pin w/ 3 to 4 pin molex.

 

[Ikonomi]

Perhaps this is what you need. SVC has a lot of stuff like this. Take a look around and you'll probably find a solution. Sunbeam fan controller maybe?

 

[ronnn]

I think the sunbeam controller would be perfect. Does anyone know if it fits in the sonota (will the door still shut)? Or any controller with a low enough profile? thanks

 

[0roo0roo]

i use a vantec nexus controller. has all the connector converters... and really, u could just wire fans urself to any connector with crimps or whatever. fans are rather simple, two wires, standard just match the colors. not that u have to since all the wiring comes with it.

heres are ghetto pics. http://fox302.com/index.pl?s=vg&user=oroooroo&category=cases all the fans in the system including psu are hooked to the controller. each knob can handle more then one fan.

that being said your system should have enough cooling to survive at low rpm even during gaming. if not add more fans to run at low rpm. i only turn mine up during extreme summer heat.

 

[ronnn]

the photos look great. thanks. I am trying to find out if the knobs on these things will stop the front door from closing on the sonota. Also does the vantec have a hum on low settings?

 

[hytek369]

Originally posted by: ronnn
I think the sunbeam controller would be perfect. Does anyone know if it fits in the sonota (will the door still shut)? Or any controller with a low enough profile? thanks

sunbeams are great. i have it in one of my antecs with a door, not sure if it would fit in sonata

 

[ronnn]

Thanks for the info. Can you tell me how far the knobs stick out - can't seem to find that info on their site. :beer:

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: ronnn
the photos look great. thanks. I am trying to find out if the knobs on these things will stop the front door from closing on the sonota. Also does the vantec have a hum on low settings?

they fit. the grey case is a chieftec with door, which is basically the same as the antec. both made by one company.

 

[ronnn]

thanks for all the info. I am leaning towards the sunbeam - as you can shut fans completely down. I like silence, but have been worried about heat during gaming. My hd has started to make more noise when seeking, noticed it after heavy gaming.

 

[WobbleWobble]

Did you get the Sunbeam yet? I'm also looking for a fan controller for my Sonata. I'm also planning to purchase that same controller from NCIX.

 

[nowallet]

Hi 0roo0roo, I just purchased the chieftec silver workstation server case and I think it looks just the same as your case. I also bought 5 additional CoolerMaster Blue 80mm Neon LED Fan to go with it. To minimize the noise cause by the 5 fans I can buy the vantec nexus controller and it will be able to control my fans to a lower rpm right? And did you hand paint the controller to match the case or it is like that when you bought it.

Thank you, look forward to your answer.

 

[ronnn]

NCIX has been slow sending my order. Got a feeling something was not in stock. Anyways ordered last Sunday and they finally shipped today (thursday). Am on the island so may get it tommorrow or probably I will have to wait until Monday. Will post and let you know if all works out. :beer:

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: nowallet
Hi 0roo0roo, I just purchased the chieftec silver workstation server case and I think it looks just the same as your case. I also bought 5 additional CoolerMaster Blue 80mm Neon LED Fan to go with it. To minimize the noise cause by the 5 fans I can buy the vantec nexus controller and it will be able to control my fans to a lower rpm right? And did you hand paint the controller to match the case or it is like that when you bought it.

Thank you, look forward to your answer.

yup, it works great. each knob can control atleast 4 fans, depending on their power requirements. first knob on mine controls all 4 main fans, just makes sense they should run at the same speed eh?

and yes, it comes in silver or black,... i have one of each in other comps too. the blue leds are permanently on, which i like because they look nice, and also shoot a bit of blue light back inside the case. i don't think i'd ever shut off one of the fans completely which is why id didn't go sunbeam, plus the sunbeams ugly and i think it puts out more heat too, the sunbeam dissapates the extra energy as heat when slowing a fan, the vantec the rapidly turns on and off the power.

only time i ever turn them up really is in dead hot summer. otherwise its cooling over kill.

 

[nowallet]

just bought this fan controller for $16.99 + $4.00 for shipping. Not a bad deal from newegg, I think much cheaper than NCIX.

 

[ronnn]

Well got my sunbeam today, am busy with work so may be a couple of days before installed. Looks like it should fit in the sonota. My main question about the vantec is does it have a hum at low rpm? If not, well maybe I should have got that instead.

 

[WobbleWobble]

nowallet, NCIX is a Canadian company so we're looking at Canadian dollars. Thanks for the recommendation though.

ronnn, I've read that same controller may hum for some people and may not for others. I've read this for other units as well. Sunbeam is nice a cheap, I'm definately considering it. It doesn't come with extension cables though, does it? That's why I'm considering a Zalman, but that's more pricey.

 

[ronnn]

The sunbeam came one 24" fan extension cable, I think I might use it for the fan controller with the zalman hsf and just put it out the back, as I am a little afraid of that fan being turned right off by accident. You get 2 - 6" adapters that will fit the sonota type case fans and then hook into the back of the sunbeam. I think these will be enough for me. If not I will have to splice the wires on maybe one fan. Also get one power Y, in case the power supply is short.

Darn I really wish I had ordered a panaflo to mod the power supply as that fan seems to make a quiet squeaky type noise intemittently.

I also considered the zalman, but it would not turn fans right off, so I would only gain extra cooling when needed, but not gain extra quiet. I think when running light apps I should be able to turn off the intake fan and the fan over the heatpipe. Probably will hardly notice the difference, but what the heck.


Anyways I got artic silver to replace the ocz stuff I used to install hsf and heatpipe. Hard drive and dvd rom to install.


Will do this Sunday for sure and will post my impressions. :beer:

 

[0roo0roo]

the vantec has a slight buzz, which is noticable if you put your head up to it. its very unlikely you'll hear it from where your sitting though. and well thats with my units which were bought when they first came out , now who knows. i'm sure they put out less heat though.

and they come with all sorts of cable adaptors, which was nice.

turning off fans is overrated unless you've silenced your harddrives and psu. fans at minimum barely move air, let alone make noise. once you get a controller you quickly realize how loud harddrives are, when you turn down the fans, thats all you hear, the godddamned harddrives.

either way, one shouldn't have a setup where you have to constantly control the fan speed. should be adequate cooling even at low rpm, fan speed as i see it just lets you tune the fan noise to the perfect level, not bare minimum cooling on the edge of burn out well that and gives u the option of turning up cooling when the weather changes..summer heat.

 

[ronnn]

Got it installed. Fits well and sonota door will close. The 24" fan extension cables has the wrong orientation for the connecters, so could not use it. So I have the intake fan, exhaust fan and fan over vid card hooked up to it. Made a difference in sound levels, but not huge as the noisiest things are the ps and hd, in that order. Does make it easy to bring more air in, when wanted. The main weakness is that it does not give fan speeds. Main strength is price and that fans can be turned off completely (this does not add heat as has a off on switch).

 

[WobbleWobble]

Cool. I'll pick one up then! Are there any lights on the Sunbeam at all?

 

[ronnn]

Yes, 4 very bright lcd lights on the front. The light is supposed to go from red to green when you have adequate speed, but the sonota fans are so slow that the light stays red at good airflow, which is a bit annoying. You will be happy you have the door. Wobble did installing the panaflow fan on the ps make a noticable difference. If so, that is my next project. :light:

 

[WobbleWobble]

No, the Panaflo did not make a big difference a subtle difference though. Depends how picky you are.