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Fan resistors or fan controller

H

Hansen

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 15, 2009
Messages
185
Hey,

I just bought a new case and the 4 stock fans seem a little loud for my taste. I assume they all run on 12v since I have them connected to my motherboard.

Asking for suggestions/advice about a good and not too expensive fan controller. Or are there any good fan resistor cables out there? 5v or 7v.

These look like they could work:
Zalman (Update: The name was deceptive. It only controls 1 fan)
Scythe
 
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My only problem with that method is requiring 4-pin molex connections which I hate and wish to rid my entire system of them :p

But besides that it works... I think sticking a resistor in would be more work, but cleaner in the end...

Fan controller is nice if you have a lot of fan's and don't want to deal with anything other than plugging them in.
 
What I like most about this approach (after being free for me and taking less than 5 minutes to achieve ) is it allows you to attach multiple fans to the +7V connector. I usually power all fans in the case at +7V well except the CPU fan if it has QFAN or similar.

Also after making an adapter I label it +7V with a sharpie so I do not attempt to plug in a hard drive although with current drives there is no risk of that. Still have sata1 drives in my raid arrays at work from 2004..
 
I do like this method, but the thing is that all my fans use 3-pin, and I too try to avoid 4-pin molex connections.
 
Kinda like how people use software programs to overclock their CPU's? Or not...

Most people prefer the hardware solution... honestly never had great luck with SpeedFan...
 
Blazestorm said:
Kinda like how people use software programs to overclock their CPU's? Or not...
Most people prefer the hardware solution... honestly never had great luck with SpeedFan...
Click to expand...
No, not at all. I suggest SpeedFan because it's a superior solution and one that the OP might not be aware of. Now if one can't be bothered to set it up correctly or learn how to use it, then that's not a problem with the program. FWIW, in the last ~three years I haven't used a motherboard (out of about 10 different ones) that Speed Fan didn't support eventually.
Hansen said:
SpeedFan certainly does not change the speed of my fans... weird, huh?
Click to expand...
Yes, you have to set it up first. In case it wasn't intuitive, here's a good little guide to get you started: http://unitstep.net/blog/2007/11/02/using-speedfan-to-automatically-control-your-pcs-fan-speeds/
 
No, I tried different things and I also tried to follow that guide --- no luck, the fans rpm do not change.
 
Yea honestly, I never had it work properly.... I gave up after 3-4 systems it didn't work on, and I've tried all the guides / whatever. I've never seen it work.

I've seen the built in programs that ATI and Evga have for Nvidia cards, and those change the fan speeds. I've seen built-in motherboard "SmartFAN" controllers and stuff work somewhat properly, but I've never had SpeedFan work.
 
Speedfan does work for some motherboards and fans that support it. It can for instance turn off my H50 pump and rocket the temperatures up but will not stop a fan running at 100% to save its life.
 
SpeedFan only works with 2 of the 3 fan headers on my mobo(in sig). I tried everything to get it to lower the 3rd fan with no luck. This simple mod easily fixed that problem though:)
 
Just use one 12v lead and wire two fans in a series--instant 6v for each fan.
 
I wouldn't mind using software to control fan speed/temp if the actually worked. Very easy and clean way to do it. But I'd want a way to allow the fans to spool along with CPU heat. I think for fans, software is a great idea. I'd never OC with software though--unless it could reboot and auto add the settings in the BIOS 9yeah right).
 
vdragonlance said:
Already tried swapping fans. SpeedFan can read the RPMs from the 3rd fan header, it just can't slow down any kind of fan.
Click to expand...
Same happens on my motherboard. It has to do with how it's hardwired in the motherboard - some fan headers only have RPM sensing, some have full control via the onboard chip.
 
You would think MB manufacturers would get a clue. I mean how green is a MB when the fans only run wide open no matter what the temperature is? It's probably SOOOO hard to put 4 thermo-slots on the mother boards, and then allow you to adjust when they ramp up according to CPU temperature, or MB temperature, or even case temp. How hard can that be?

The only option now is to go thermo-fan controller ala drive bay or a TC fan such as the Gelid Silent series.

I bought two 1850 Scythe GTs, one Gelid Silent 1500 TC and one Gelid silent PWM. What I am thinking about doing is using the TC fan one the Cogage cooler setting the probe right down next to the CPU. That frees up a PWM for one of the case fans. I'll see which one is loudest and mount that one is the top of my 830 stacker.
 
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