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Fan controller?

L

loki5667

Member
I'm looking for a decent fan controller that will fit in a 5 1/4 bay. Right now I have my hsf, vga cooler and rear exhaust fan all hooked up to fanmates. They work great, but its a pain in the arse to change the speeds. I was going to route them out of my case, but that will look sloppy.
I'd like to hook all these fans up to a fan controller so if I am doing something where I need extra cooling I can just turn a knob real quick.
 
The Sunbeam Rheobus is about the simplest fan controller there is. Drawbacks: can turn the fans all the way off - can be a damage prevention issue - rig your own stops and use your software temp alarms so you don't burn your CPU/PSU/etc. up; LEDs are very bright but they are socketed so you can change them out for something not so garish if you want - others have added dropping resistors, painted them with translucent nail polish, etc. to dim them; knobs won't fit behind some low-clearance case doors (Wavemaster, Silverstone TJ-05, etc.) unless you recess the unit back a bit; doesn't include any fan extensions and you will likely need some.
. Good stuff: simple as a rock, tells you if you've crossed into the danger zone by the LED changing color at ~7V, handles up to 20W per channel (safely hook several fans up to the same channel if you need/want to), inexpensive, plus it is a linear controller which will work fine with all fans.
. Others use PWM technology - you can generally tell them by the fact that they can't adjust to much below 5V and many can't go below 7V equivalent (PWM changes the power by varying pulse widths, not the voltage which remains at approx 11V at all times). Poorly designed PWM controllers can cause some sleeve bearing fans to buzz and some ball bearing fans to whine. The Coolermaster Aerogate 1 and and the original Zalman Fanmate are among those. Properly designed PWM will either have variable frequency pulses or higher frequency pulses to reduce that problem.

Besides the Aerocool Gatewatch, I have had an Aerogate 1 and I have both a CM Aerogate 3 and a Rheobus on hand. I use the Rheobus all the time for testing fans.

I've seen some manually adjustable controllers that have up to six channels and use roller wheel pots to adjust the fan speeds that can fit behind tight doors. The one I saw had lots of other stuff like front panel I/O ports, Flash card reader, etc. SVC.com, jab-tech.com, newegg, xoxide.com et al. all carry a selection of them. Many of the shallowest fan controllers are digital and you have to push buttons to select the fan you want to adjust and then use one set of up/down buttons to adjust the speed - not too convenient for quick changes IMO. My fan controller from Aerocool has software to adjust the fan speeds but the fans have to have the speed sensor wire for it to work as it won't adjust any fan it can't detect.

Vantec and Thermaltake make some other fan controllers that are linear like the Rheobus and may have some features or appearance that you'd prefer over the Rheobus - most others are PWM.

.bh.
 
The Sunbeam Rheobus is widely acclaimed as the best fan controller with knobs.
The mCubed bigNG is probably the best if you would like to control your temps/fans automagically. (no knobs)

 
Originally posted by: Zepper
Others use PWM technology - you can generally tell them by the fact that they...
Click to expand...

You can also tell by LED fans becoming strobe lights. 😛
 
Good point Zap - definitely want a linear controller on LED fans especially if anyone around you suffers from epilepsy.

.bh.
 
:thumbsup: on the Sunbeam Rheobus.

Whatever you do, don't get a damned Thermaltake Hardcano 13. Biggest POS in the world....
 
I use the Coolermaster CoolDrive 6 and really like it. It's digital so there is no knob to reach over and turn up. But to me its a lot easier to just click the mouse button on the OSD in Windows
 
Originally posted by: iscsidude
The Sunbeam Rheobus is widely acclaimed as the best fan controller with knobs.
The mCubed bigNG is probably the best if you would like to control your temps/fans automagically. (no knobs)
Click to expand...

:thumbsup: i second this
 
Originally posted by: Pens1566
Zalman MFC1
Click to expand...

Zalman MFC1

Pros

Has bright LED?s (If you like blue)
Individual fan controls
Fits 5.25? bay for easy view and fan adjustments
Easy to access 3pin plug connections
Toggle switch allows for 12v or 5v connections


Cons

Only 7 watts per channel
The LED?s cannot be turned off if needed
Only comes with the transparent blue face with the blue LED?s
 
Originally posted by: iscsidude
Originally posted by: Pens1566
Zalman MFC1
Click to expand...

Zalman MFC1

Pros

Has bright LED?s (If you like blue)
Individual fan controls
Fits 5.25? bay for easy view and fan adjustments
Easy to access 3pin plug connections
Toggle switch allows for 12v or 5v connections


Cons

Only 7 watts per channel
The LED?s cannot be turned off if needed
Only comes with the transparent blue face with the blue LED?s
Click to expand...

I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE this controler. It has a neat feature that lets u connect 2 devices straight b4 wire and not plugs. Great for LED's and CCL, but its usless on fans, because u can only go 7 12.

The plugs for the fans, get lose very easily. Mine didnt secure very well, i thought it was pretty ****** for a zalman. But these guys are also HELLA EXPENSIVE, compared to sunbeam. Unless they fell in price.

Simple, sunbeam at 12.99 pwns all fan controlers, if you need a simple 4 fan controler.
 
I got the Zalman MFC1 for a gift. The LEDs are very bright...wouldn't try to sleep next to it. Other than that, has 4 knobs that are 7 watt max and 2 5v/12v/off switches that are unlimited and can handle many fans (but gotta strip wires first for these). Not sure why 7 watt max would be a big problem for a fan if you're concerned about quietness, but probably cuz I'm just suffering from a clue deficit there. Maybe not as good a value as the sunbeam, but I'm not about to throw it away or replace it.
 
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