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Fan controller knobs, will it fit in a doored case?

ianmills

Member
Hi, I have a antec slk3000B case, which has a door, as can be seen here:
http://images.google.ca/images?q=slk3000B&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images

What I am looking for is a fan controller, but I'm afraid that I probably won't be able to close the door if I install it. Do you think it will be possible to fit one in without modding the door?

The specific fan controllers I am looking at the moment are:

Enermax UC-A5FATR2S Silver 6 Fan Controller (which seems to have NO SPECS listed, even in its reviews 🙁 )
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?...08&vpn=UC-A5FATR2S&manufacture=ENERMAX

SUNBEAM 4 PORT RHEOBUS FAN CONTROLLER
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?...25&vpn=4RHEOBUS-BK&manufacture=Sunbeam

Thanks in advance,
Ian
 
Not sure on the Enermax - the knobs on the Sunbeam protrude just about exactly 1 cm from the faceplate. You could always drill another set of holes into the side panels of either controller to recess it a little bit.
 
Thanks for the replies.
I measured and it looks like I have about .8-.9cm clearance. Probably a little closer to .9cm hmm..


Are there any other comments, perhaps maybe about controller may be better?

Thanks
Ian
 
Originally posted by: ianmills
Thanks for the replies.
I measured and it looks like I have about .8-.9cm clearance. Probably a little closer to .9cm hmm..


Are there any other comments, perhaps maybe about controller may be better?

Thanks
Ian

Short and sweet. PM Elcs, he has your case and uses a Sunbeam Rheobus. Tell him I sent you.
I prefer the Rheobus because it give total control to 0 volts. Plus there is less chance of PWM induced fan clicking.(Google PWM if needed)

The knobs protrude 0.430"from the face of the Sunbeam. Knobs off, the 1/4"shafts protrude 0.360"from the face. (I measured with a dial calliper 😀 )

Since you have a door, the controller can be set-back in it's mounting to clear the door.
The one negative about the Sunbeam is uber-bright LEDs. There are several fixes for this. One can be found at SPCR under fans and controll, they review this controller there also. The other is at overclockers.com, they solder a resistor into the LED ground leg. Niether fix is hard to do and being that your case has a door it might not be necessary.
Elcs just closes the door.

The price in your link is outragous. Jab-Tech has them for less than $10. I bought three at Xxoide on sale at $7.25 each.
Find an E-tailer that ships to Canada.
Hey!! SPCR has a thread about vendors that ship north or overseas, check it out.


...Galvanized



 
GalvanizedYankee pointed you in the right direction but you chose not to receive PM's. So, I received your message and cant reply there (after I wrote my reply).

Heres the message I wrote🙂

"Hi,

The Rheobus poses no problem in the SLK3000B with respect to the door. I have had a little bit of trouble with the rails though. The Rhoebus fits into the bay fine but with the rails on, i found it was an extremely tight squeeze and I had to shave off 1-2mm of the rail assembly to fit both rails in properly. That may have just been a slight quirk with my case or the rails. The margin of fitting and not fitting was quite fine.

GalvanizedYankee was right about it. Its a great Rheobus and does everything you need but the LED's are extremely bright without modding (or closing the door).

Hope this helps. Just pm me again if you need more info or advice."
 
Thanks are the reply Elc 🙂
sorry about not having private messages turned on. Putting my optical drives my case was also hard, I remember having to send down the edge of the rails so that I could reasonably get the drive to fit.

Galvanized Yankee: I wish I could get the prices you are talking about, but us Canadians are kind of screwed. By the time you slap on delivery, duty charges, and other fees... well, cross-border shopping isn't any cheaper 🙁

One more question. Why do you say there's less of a chance of PWM induced fan clicking with the rheobus? (the rheobus doesn't actually use a rheobus... not sure if its relevance or not...).

According to this: http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto...=9952&highlight=enermax+fan+controller

the enermax doesn't use PWM... but I'm having a difficult time finding its full specs.

Having quiet is my top priority, but having the included temperatures sensors that the enermax has would be nice too

Thanks 🙂
 
The rheobus is a linear controller that actually adjusts the voltage so it can't directly affect the sound of a fan. It is the only linear controller I know of. The Enermax (which can handle about 10 Watts per channel (0.8 Amp) - see the clearance price on the Enermax at http://www.svc.com and weep) is a PWM controller which varies the width of a pulsed wave form so the total power received by the fans varies (rather than the voltage) with the pulse widths - the actual voltage of the wave always remains near 12. This wave can cause some sleeve bearing fans to buzz and ball-bearing fans to whine depending on the shape and frequency of the wave.

.bh.
 
I have the same case with a Vantec 4 fan controller

it sits back less than 1/4 of an inch from the face plate as the knobs hit the door

Was more of a pita getting it to sit right with those rails 😛
 
Thanks for the advice everyone, I ended up buying the sunbeam. It works very well. I can finally say I have a fully overclocked and quiet computer 🙂

 
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