Fan controllers keep dying slow deaths

[1Wolf]

I've got 3 Thermaltake case fans...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999122&Tpk=A2018

and a Scythe S-Flex fan on the TRUE cooler on my CPU...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185006

Just over a year ago I had installed a Kaze Master 4-Fan fan controller so that I could turn those fans down when just surfing or working and have a little peace and quiet....then crank those fans up when gaming to keep everything cool.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...8038&cm_re=Kaze_master-_-11-998-038-_-Product

The fan RPM's on one or two of the fans started slowly dropping...until eventually they died just a couple months after I installed the Kaze Master. So I got a new Kaze Master to replace the one that croaked and that lasted a few months and then that one died the same way. I needed a fan controller and couldn't wait around for shipping...so I picked up an "Ultra" 4 fan controller at my local Tiger Direct...and swapped that out.

That one worked pretty well for nearly a year....and then that one too started dropping fan RPM's and one of the fan channels croaked.

So...now I've disconnected the fan that stopped...and installed the fan controller knob that came with the fan (The thermaltake fans come with a single-knob controller that mounts in one of the removable PCI-slot covers on the back of the PC). That seems to work just fine for now....but its a bit of a hassle crawling on the floor behind the PC every time I want to adjust the FAN RPM's.

I COULD hook up the fans right to the motherboard...but that seems like alot of juice to be running through the motherboard.

Any idea why I keep burning out controllers? Or....maybe they are all just cheap? Does anyone know of any QUALITY controllers that will take the juice from the fans and LAST?

Thanks!

 

[Rogue71]

i am curious as well as i just ordered a fan/light controller for my upgrade.

 

[Hypernova]

Hows the cooling near the bay area? The controllers tend to be rated with the MOSFETs rating but what they don't tell you is the the ratings are based on the assumption that they are properly cooled. My Kaze Master can't deliver the 1A it promised. In my rig (http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1415697) the MOSFET powering the triple fan sandwich will start to overheat and shut down unless I clip a heat sink to it.