New Cooler Master Fan controller survey - help us out!

[George_o/c]

Hey guys, if it's possible, I'd like to get some feedback from you regarding our upcoming Cooler Master fan controller/function panel.
The questions are fairly simple, so please take some time and answer all of them, it will be much appreciated

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JK5B5T6

In case something isn't mentioned in the survey, feel free to let me know in the thread.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

I would like a prize.

 

[Interitus]

Kind of a strange request, but I would kill for a decent looking controller with an easy access front face hookup for fans. Would be awesome to not have to open my case and free up wires just to test fans. Sounds stupid, but I find myself testing fans quite often lol.

 

[Ketchup]

The best fan controller I have ever owned would have to be the one that came with my latest case, a CM Storm Trooper. Plenty of levels and integrates perfectly into the case. The only other thing I could ask for is a standard 3-pin connector so that one could replace fans that either fail or don't meet the buyer's needs.

 

[ClockHound]

Hey guys, if it's possible, I'd like to get some feedback from you regarding our upcoming Cooler Master fan controller/function panel.
The questions are fairly simple, so please take some time and answer all of them, it will be much appreciated

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JK5B5T6

In case something isn't mentioned in the survey, feel free to let me know in the thread.

Took the survey. You won't like my answers. I'm a fan controller cheapskate. I want the bling on the inside. Inside the CPU arch.

 

[George_o/c]

Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer it guys. I'll send the answers back to the team - hopefully we'll create something cool in the future

There are no strange requests when it comes to fan controllers. Lots of people dont want just to control the fans, but also have a multipurpose I/O panel with temperature sensors, touch screen, auto profiles, usb ports etc.

Regarding the wattage per channel, do you think 30W are enough?

 

[Ayah]

It'd be cool if you could do a polynomial-like piecewise function for voltage wrt a temperature sensor. Could just be setting a bunch of points and then joining them with a parabolic/cubic/etc curve like so:

 

[aigomorla]

rofl...

Is CM gonna commit this time?
Dont get me wrong... ive had many vendors come in for feedback... like ThermalTake...
Get excellent advice... like Thermaltake... and then release something on the other side of the universe going WTF is THAT?!?!?!.... Thermaltake lvl10.



I hope u guys at CM will commit.

I'll tell you guys the most important features on a fan controler.

1. The voltage regulators.. what is it? How many AMPS can they handle per channel?
An ideal Fan controller should be able to handle at least 2.5amps per channel, on 4 channels for a total of 48W!! (like Sunbeam and Lamptron)
(this helps when u want to chain fans and have them on the same controller... ie.. a radiator fan for example).
Power Cable Adapters so we can use a Free PCI-E Rail (4pin ATX Rail) cable on top of the outdated 4pin Molex head normally used to power fan controller.
Let us decide what rail to use on our PSU and not stick us with just straight molex.

Example: Simular to this but backwards... a molex head would be male... the pci head female.

A lot of people dont run multi gpu's... so getting the fan controller power off the 6 or 8 pin PCI-E power line would be a viable option.
Also a clean option since its 1 straight direct cable.. and not serial bridge out.

Please dont limit the voltage on the fancontroller to only .5amps per channel like aerocool.. and other trash fan controller companies.

2. digital PWM's!!!! My Lamptron FC-5 has digital voltage regulators and not analog.
Thats what made these fan controllers the best in the industry.

3. Temperature probes locations so we can attach probes.

4. A durable not blingy dial... nothing too TANKish either... again a lamptron type.

if u guys can build a quality fan controller on the same class as lamptron... i'll be thumbs over it..

if u guys fail horribly and ignore us.. i'll kindly remind u guys to Scythe Kaze Master and how horrible that ended up due to scythe using cheap voltage regulators.
Lamptron basically FIXED scythe's kaze master, and secured our market in quality fan controllers.

Spoiler

if u guys cant at least come out with a lamptron class fan controllers, i and many others can't look at your stuff.

To save cost... u can get rid of the LCD screen or offer it in a upgraded fan controller.


In short... the 3 fan controllers i live by and highly recommend.. are:
Lamptron FC5 <-- shown above... this is the money is almost no object fan controller at 60 dollars!!! :O

Sunbeam Rheobuss Extreme: My Middle ground Fan controller... costs 25 dollars... Regular rheobuss which i also love is only 15 dollars.

handles 30W per channel.

sunbeam Rheosmart Six... (its a PWM fan controller.. has 1 PWM sense line which can be used to PWM 6 normal fans...) This is also a pricey fan controller due to PWM.

Make a Fan controller comparable to the ones i listed.. and u guys will have a solid fan controller.
Mess up 1 thing in any of those i listed... and no one will really want to buy it.

^ sunbeam learned this hence why sunbeam is an EXCELLENT fan controller..

 

[Aikouka]

Power Cable Adapters so we can use a Free PCI-E Rail (4pin ATX Rail) cable on top of the outdated 4pin Molex head normally used to power fan controller.
Let us decide what rail to use on our PSU and not stick us with just straight molex.

I may be the odd man out here, but I still use an optical drive in my system. Now, optical drives are pretty much all SATA-based these days, and because of that, I do have a SATA power cable up near the top of my case. So, if I had a choice, I'd prefer a SATA-to-Molex adapter or an actual SATA power plug.

Also, I have a modular power supply, so if I don't need a certain plug, I just don't attach it. So, I only have two PCI-E 6/8-pin cables attached.

 

[George_o/c]

It'd be cool if you could do a polynomial-like piecewise function for voltage wrt a temperature sensor. Could just be setting a bunch of points and then joining them with a parabolic/cubic/etc curve like so:

You're referring to auto profile steps, right?

I may be the odd man out here, but I still use an optical drive in my system. Now, optical drives are pretty much all SATA-based these days, and because of that, I do have a SATA power cable up near the top of my case. So, if I had a choice, I'd prefer a SATA-to-Molex adapter or an actual SATA power plug.

Also, I have a modular power supply, so if I don't need a certain plug, I just don't attach it. So, I only have two PCI-E 6/8-pin cables attached.

aigomorla's suggestion actually makes sense, I can see where he goes with that. He says that it's better to leave it up to the customer to decide how to power up the fan controller. I'll let the guys know and we'll see how it goes.


@aigomorla: I'm here to help out whoever has questions regarding CM products and also collect from the community as much feedback as I can - the final product is not up to me :/ So far I've send two reports back, taking into concern all the suggestions we've received from various forums. I must say though that your post is the most informative so far, so it's much appreciated. I'll report back once again and hopefully CM will come up with a solid product.

 

[aigomorla]

George i really wish u guys the best of luck.

I ask you have your team take a look at the sunbeam equipment.
You can tell, they really stand out compared to the competition.

Big massive heat sinks on VRMS for analog.. *digital VRM's dont require massive sinks.*

Big sturdy dials... the only one bad thing about sunbeam tho was the annoying BRIGHT and OBNOXIOUS LED it had... however that was about the only complaint.

Also seems like people are using more fans then what they used.
10 yrs ago... 120mm fan was not very popular.
Infact i still remember looking for 80mm and 92mm fans....

Now 140mm fans are even popular, 200mm fans starting to phase into mid tier cases... Amperage have increased on larger class fans... people have radiators which require 2->4 fans.... things change... and we would love a company who can keep up with the changes.

 

[Meghan54]

I'm going to echo what Aigo said. While I'm not as deep into water cooling as he is, nor have been doing it as long, I ended up buying a fan controller, three actually. I resisted buying the Sunbeam at first, ending up with a Silverstone and a Scythe. Neither worked worth a darn. Bought the cheapie 4 channel Sunbeam, 20W/channel, and never looked back.

Oh, sure, looked at Lamptron...but never had a real reason to move away from the Sunbeam, outside the God awful bright LEDs, like was mentioned previously. I've even tried painting them with that transparent black taillight paint. Worked a bit, but not well enough.

The only thing I'd add to Aigo's list is to redo Sunbeam or Lamptron, but tone down the goofy graphics/face plates. I, like more than a few, want plain, brushed alu., black preferrably, but maybe replaceable faceplate in black, sil/nat, white. Simple plate, no splashy 2" tall graphics. Laser etch your logo in one corner, model name, etc. in opposite corner. Simple.

 

[Ayah]

I'm not sure what auto profile steps is, but what I'd want is a non-linear progression, not really steps, but some form of exponential increase in voltage wrt temperature. (slow ramp up to a certain point, then increases more and more wrt temperature)

The big question is whether you want to reach everyone, or only the "average"/majority.

 

[MrK6]

Your biggest competitor is SpeedFan. Even most mid-range motherboards have at least two fan headers that will easily support 2 120mm fans each, which is more than enough for most PC builds out there. With this I get fans that are directly controlled by the sensors on my motherboard and with everything being automatic it's completely "set it and forget it." I have never understood people who vie for manual controllers (why would you want to manually change all your fan settings every time you change your system load?).

For the record, I do own a Sunbeam rheobus (I think I've actually bought two for different projects over the years). I liked it because it supported more wattage than my fan headers and looked clean. The LED's were annoying as hell though and I think I ended up painting them over black to dampen the light. I think any new fan controller you're looking to introduce to the average enthusiast needs at the minimum to have automatic functioning, excess wattage/amperage on at least four channels, PWM functions, and be aesthetically pleasing (black and aluminum models with no goofy decals is probably sufficient).

 

[Meghan54]

I'd add to this......be able to turn off channels completely if you want. There exist some fan controllers that never actually turn off.

 

[George_o/c]

I had some things to take care of so I was away for like 6 days, but I'm back now

Again, thanks everyone for the extra feedback. Whatever you mention is summarized in reports and send back to the guys so that they can create a solid product.

On Saturday I had some spare time and created a fan controller front side in SketchUp. Although it wasn't included in my duties, I think they actually liked it. Personally I'm a fan of the traditional designs with the knobs, like Lamptron and Sunbeam, but just for the heck of it I went for a different design this time.

Anyways I'll keep you updated on this. I think CM is going to release one by the end of the year, maybe earlier, but that's just a speculation.

@aigo: One of the key points of my report was related to voltage regulators and amperage, therefore I think it's now understandable that they are of utmost importance!

 

[mindless1]

Just one opinion but I don't adjust based on temperature. I adjust based on noise, having a variable but significant margin with fluctuating temperature. Just make it cheap, but clean lines and dependable.

To me, things that can break like a proprietary display, or crash like the OS running control software, are not desirable. Then again, what I'd like most is something you won't do which is have multi-pole switches with a different resistor for each. This is far, FAR more reliable and long lasting than using digital controls or a manual pot and ironically enough, a lot cheaper too. Yes it wastes a little power. I do not care.

 

[Specialized41]

Hey guys, if it's possible, I'd like to get some feedback from you regarding our upcoming Cooler Master fan controller/function panel.
The questions are fairly simple, so please take some time and answer all of them, it will be much appreciated

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JK5B5T6

In case something isn't mentioned in the survey, feel free to let me know in the thread.

For a nice fan controller need:

Multi color Touch panel
6 or 8 channel for a hungry power fan.
3 or 4 probe (temp)
High Temp alarm
If possible, a water flow or water pump failure alarm.


"The Perfect Fan controller" . . . . . Period!!!

 

[CZroe]

OK, I glossed over this thread until I realized that the hard-to-find device I want should be integrated into a 5.25" fan controller. It doesn't seem to exist. You see, the old but awesome Cooler Master Stacker STC-T01 and Stacker 810 have a 5.25" bay device with all the front-panel I/O ports including power, reset, AC97 audio, 6 USB 2.0 (too many at the time as no motherboards had that many headers). It's pretty outdated but every 5.25" device I can find with HD Audio and USB 3.0 lacks power/reset and adds USB card readers I don't even want.

What's more is than this chassis also supports an extreme amount of fans and so a fan speed controller is a must. I recently revived mine because the BTX convert-ability lent itself well to a reverse-ATX mod. I plan to populate all remaining 5.25" bays with HDDs and already have three Cooler Master 4-in-3 device modules (12 drives in 9 bays with even more fans!), so a combination 2.5" HDD/SDD bracket with fan speed control, motherboard USB 3.0 headers, FP-audio, and power/reset buttons would be awesome. I'm surprised not to see such a logical combination of functions in the higher-end controllers. Just like touch displays eliminate having unused knobs/switches, they would allow power/reset functions that wouldn't be wasted on people who don't need them. Headphone/mic ports can be used as extra headphone ports for most people (even my notebook has two) and USB3 ports can be adapted to USB2.

 

[aigomorla]

For a nice fan controller need:

Multi color Touch panel
6 or 8 channel for a hungry power fan.
3 or 4 probe (temp)
High Temp alarm
If possible, a water flow or water pump failure alarm.

"The Perfect Fan controller" . . . . . Period!!!

who is gonna buy a 200 dollar controller?
The thing alone would cost more then some of CM's top level cases.

I dont think thats CM's objective.
They want a solid fan controller which people of all catigories would buy.
Something that wont make you cry cuz its too bright on the LED's, or too complicated, or can break too easily cuz it has too many features.

OK, I glossed over this thread until I realized that the hard-to-find device I want should be integrated into a 5.25" fan controller. It doesn't seem to exist. You see, the old but awesome Cooler Master Stacker STC-T01 and Stacker 810 have a 5.25" bay device with all the front-panel I/O ports including power, reset, AC97 audio, 6 USB 2.0 (too many at the time as no motherboards had that many headers). It's pretty outdated but every 5.25" device I can find with HD Audio and USB 3.0 lacks power/reset and adds USB card readers I don't even want.

What's more is than this chassis also supports an extreme amount of fans and so a fan speed controller is a must. I recently revived mine because the BTX convert-ability lent itself well to a reverse-ATX mod. I plan to populate all remaining 5.25" bays with HDDs and already have three Cooler Master 4-in-3 device modules (12 drives in 9 bays with even more fans!), so a combination 2.5" HDD/SDD bracket with fan speed control, motherboard USB 3.0 headers, FP-audio, and power/reset buttons would be awesome. I'm surprised not to see such a logical combination of functions in the higher-end controllers. Just like touch displays eliminate having unused knobs/switches, they would allow power/reset functions that wouldn't be wasted on people who don't need them. Headphone/mic ports can be used as extra headphone ports for most people (even my notebook has two) and USB3 ports can be adapted to USB2.

that would cost the extra Audio plug.
also you would lose the cases's native head phone jack plug, and would have to chose.

Personally... again.. adding more options to a fan controller will skyrocket the price.

This isnt what we or CM wants. (i think they are done with the uber top tier gear... there really isnt any profit in it)
They want a solid fan controller which users will buy and make them happy.
They also want something which is cheap to construct so they can make a profit, and share that small price with their customers.

 

[CZroe]

that would cost the extra Audio plug.

Huh? What "extra" plug? I simply wouldn't install the power/reset, USB, 1394, AC97 5.25" bay that the Cooler Master case comes with. I could easily block them off or leave them unconnected if I weren't, same as the 1394 port no one wants these days (even premium motherboards often don't have it).

also you would lose the cases's native head phone jack plug, and would have to chose.

There are no shortage of them on performance-pcs.com which have pass-through. Besides, I'm specifically trying to REPLACE my Cooler Master case's outdated front-panel I/O that happens to be in a 5.25" bay, so I want to lose it.

If more cases were designed like this we might actually have a decent market for such things. You can buy motherboard trays and drive cages for DIY cases but I can't find any standardized front-panel I/O with power/reset switches. Elaborate fan controllers often go into pretty thoroughly-customized cases and are a lot closer to that demographic than anything else. A dedicated device with nothing more than power, reset, USB, and audio is much less marketable. I don't want to waste another 5.25" bay. I even want a 2.5" SSD/HDD bay in the same 5.25" device (no additional expense required).

This would allow a completely DIY case with individually upgrade-able components (motherboard trays, side panels, top panels, front-panel I/O, etc).

They would be optional/additional for anyone who didn't need it with minimal additional expense.

Personally... again.. adding more options to a fan controller will skyrocket the price.

This isnt what we or CM wants. (i think they are done with the uber top tier gear... there really isnt any profit in it)
They want a solid fan controller which users will buy and make them happy.
They also want something which is cheap to construct so they can make a profit, and share that small price with their customers.

They also want something that they can sell that people want that serve a market their competitors are not serving. For example, my AsRock Z87 Extreme 4 board has headers for four USB3.0 ports that few (if any?) cases have. Most bay devices with USB3.0 headers only support two ports. The only one to support four ports through the motherboard headers WITHOUT an internal hub gets my business because it represents a value to me and anyone else with this board. Any why stop there? How about making it represent a value to anyone upgrading an old chassis to support a newer system? To do that, it needs to support HD audio, like many others do, and the next logical step: power/reset functions.

Hell, even without the fancy electronic touch-screen units with programmable logic where it wouldn't add any additional expense, momentary switches can be used for more than power/reset functions.

Basically, something like this but with four ports and power/reset functions and with holes to mount a 2.5" SSD/HDD:
http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...ge=product_info&cPath=36_48&products_id=35913

 

[stevennoland]

I agree, users do need a good fan controller. Unfortunately, the inner workings of today's computers are very dynamic. Simple web brousing and email barely use any of thier computers power potential. But fire up a modern game at high rosolutions (think multiple monitors and all options set to very high) and the power requirements of that same computer increase dramatically! With the increase in power usage come an increase in thermal activity. If the fan controller cannot change (automatically) with the changes in thermal activity, then that computer is doomed to a very short life span. No one wants to have to manually increase fan RPM (and with watercooling, an increase in pump flow) every time they want to play a game. Not to mention having to turn them back down when done.

Aquacomputer has the Aquaero 5 line of controllers. Yes, they are expensive. Yes, they are complex to set-up. But once set-up, they are vurtually invisible. There is no easy and cheap fix for this problem. Anyone looking for one, I say good luck.

 

[mindless1]

Considering that the NZXT Sentry 2 on Newegg appears to vastly outsell anything else (more reviews than the next 3 most popular COMBINED), I'd target it.

Give users more features for $28 delivered, or same features at lower cost.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811992005

Unless you're building a massive SSD based server and ran out of space, I'm doubting most people will care if their fan controller can mount a 2.5" SSD. You can mount that anywhere with 50 cents worth of velcro if you run out of duct tape. Besides which, it'd be fiddly to access with all the fan wires in the way.

I agree, users do need a good fan controller. Unfortunately, the inner workings of today's computers are very dynamic. Simple web brousing and email barely use any of thier computers power potential.

But fire up a modern game at high rosolutions (think multiple monitors and all options set to very high) and the power requirements of that same computer increase dramatically! With the increase in power usage come an increase in thermal activity.

If the fan controller cannot change (automatically) with the changes in thermal activity, then that computer is doomed to a very short life span.

... There is no easy and cheap fix for this problem. Anyone looking for one, I say good luck.

Or just set the fans to a constant speed and accept a little more noise at idle. Nobody needs a fan controller at all to combat heat, rather it's a toy that reduces noise at idle. The easy cheap fix is you pick low speed fans and solder a series resistor inline with them so their peak speed handles the load, and have the rear case exhaust powered by the same fan heater that the BIOS varies based on CPU temp. This takes 5 minutes and 20 cents worth of resistors, but again you may have a little bit higher idle noise and it can't handle a half dozen fans like some people seem to feel they need. Well it can but you'd then have the motherboard controlled fan header biasing a 50 cent transistor to a set of identical fans so the bias level you set gives the right RPM for all of them.

 

[aigomorla]

Aquacomputer has the Aquaero 5 line of controllers. Yes, they are expensive. Yes, they are complex to set-up. But once set-up, they are vurtually invisible. There is no easy and cheap fix for this problem. Anyone looking for one, I say good luck.

thats if u want to automize everything and have sensors with it.

again... i dont think a lot of people would want to buy a 200 dollar fan controller. The Aquaero can actually cost more with all the options added onto it.

Also Sunbeam makes a PWM fan controller that will do what u ask at 1/8th the price.

It takes the PWM sense line... the line which reads cpu activity and translates it into 4-> 6 fan ports which arent PWM.

Elaborate fan controllers often go into pretty thoroughly-customized cases and are a lot closer to that demographic than anything else. A dedicated device with nothing more than power, reset, USB, and audio is much less marketable. I don't want to waste another 5.25" bay. I even want a 2.5" SSD/HDD bay in the same 5.25" device (no additional expense required).

This would allow a completely DIY case with individually upgrade-able components (motherboard trays, side panels, top panels, front-panel I/O, etc).

well a lot of us dont sit within cord range of our PC's and the headphone jack.
The PC would literally need to sit on top of the desk and not tucked away under it, or off the side of the desk entirely.
If u absolutely needed ports up front, u could also use a usb sound card and have it outport that way.
Unless u were an audiophile and it had to be streamed on a digital sound card.

Infact i get my headphones via bluetooth when i need them.

Having headphone jack on a fan controller would make it look kinda messy. You would have too many cables to the said fan controller which is already messy, and it wouldnt apply to a lot of people.

I cant think of many who do actually use the front port head phone jack if they have a speaker system.

The logitech speakers also have a built in head phone jack on the volume control, which is far more accessible then my PC away.

 

[_Rick_]

I agree, users do need a good fan controller. Unfortunately, the inner workings of today's computers are very dynamic. Simple web brousing and email barely use any of thier computers power potential. But fire up a modern game at high rosolutions (think multiple monitors and all options set to very high) and the power requirements of that same computer increase dramatically! With the increase in power usage come an increase in thermal activity. If the fan controller cannot change (automatically) with the changes in thermal activity, then that computer is doomed to a very short life span. No one wants to have to manually increase fan RPM (and with watercooling, an increase in pump flow) every time they want to play a game. Not to mention having to turn them back down when done.

Aquacomputer has the Aquaero 5 line of controllers. Yes, they are expensive. Yes, they are complex to set-up. But once set-up, they are vurtually invisible. There is no easy and cheap fix for this problem. Anyone looking for one, I say good luck.

I agree with the sentiment, of wanting to have an automatic/invisible solution.
Have a device that hooks up to USB, offers a standard fan control supported in Linux and windows, with standard speedfan software.

Give it 4-6 fan ports with reasonable amperage (a WC solution with a higher amperage should be a second option), and you're done. Integrate it into your higher end cases, and you're another step ahead.

I have an mATX case with neither 3.5 nor 5.25 inch bays, and still want to control my fans automatically with more precision than the ASUS board allows. Currently, there's no apparent reasonable solution.