Looking for a better way to control 12 fans for my water loop, Aquacomputer Quadro?

Tanquen

[H]ard|Gawd
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Feb 15, 2005
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I have an older setup with a Laing D5-38/810N pump so no PWM for the pump or for the 12 D1225C12B Gentle Typhoon fans that I have as their three pin. Just looking for a way to control all the fans and was thinking I could get the Aquacomputer Quadro with the in line Aquacomputer Temperature Sensor Internal/External Thread G1/4 (53219) and the Aquacomputer SPLITTY9 to control the existing fans and not have to replace them all with four pin PWN fans. The SPLITTY9 says it can control three or four pin fans but I'm not exactly sure what it does with the three pin fans. I have three case fans and three fans on each of the 3x120 rads. Would I need a SPLITTY9 for each channel or can one channel run all nine fans and then I could put the three case fans on the other three channels?

Right now I just have a 5 and ¼” bay with 12 manual pots and just set them so I can't hear them but on occasion when I'm playing a game for a while I don't notice how hot it's getting and then need to manually turn up the fans.

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The Aquaero units (and, in particular, their software) are fantastic.

With a Quadro, I would use one channel for the three case fans, one channel for the nine rad fans, and one channel for the pump. That's what I'm doing with my external rad. The Quadro has 25 watt headers (2.05a @ 12v) so double check the current draws on your fans and pump, but you should be fine. I'm running 9 140mm fans on a single channel from mine, as well as a D5 pump on another. If your 9 fans do exceed the 25 watts, Aquacomputer makes a powered Splitty9 variant that is supplemented with a SATA power plug.

As for the 3-pin question, it would control your stuff via voltage modulation. It's a little less precise than PWM but there's nothing wrong with it.

Yes, you can pull in temp sensors and control your fans off that in the software. You can even do some fancy stuff like pulling in air temp and coolant temp, and then controlling your fans on the difference between the two.
 
I had mentioned the SPLITTY9 and the in line temperature sensor but my pump just has a molex connection. So it's just on all the time and it has a dial on it that I've set to a lower setting where I can't hear that it's running.

The thought was just to put the temperature sensor in the loop and base the fan speed off the water temperature.

So if I want to use more than one fan on a channel I need to get a SPLITTY9 for each channel or are you using a cable splitter or something else? I thought I needed the SPLITTY9 because the Quadro doesn't support three-pin fans at all, correct?

The Aquacomputer SPLITTY9 ACTIVE only shows 4 pin PWN fan support. ???

The fans are D1225C12B4AP-14 and are 0.049 Amps so just over half a watt (0.588) each?
 
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I throw my AP15s onto a splitter then run that splitter to my fan controller. I never really touch the fan speeds, they don't make a huge difference anyways going from 1k rpm to 1.5k rpm, shrugs. Your pump can be put onto a fan controller too if it can support a 30w load. Btw, I've run as high as a 9way splitter on the Typhoons in the past with one of those 9way splitter cables. GT's don't use a lot of power. As long as your controller can do 20w plus should be cake.

I'm using this controller... I don't even want to see knobs on the front of my case. Oh my pump is pwm though. You should really think about going up to a 35x or similar in the future. What do you have a 355?

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B073C5CHXX/
 
I had mentioned the SPLITTY9 and the in line temperature sensor but my pump just has a molex connection. So it's just on all the time and it has a dial on it that I've set to a lower setting where I can't hear that it's running.

The thought was just to put the temperature sensor in the loop and base the fan speed off the water temperature.

So if I want to use more than one fan on a channel I need to get a SPLITTY9 for each channel or are you using a cable splitter or something else? I thought I needed the SPLITTY9 because the Quadro doesn't support three-pin fans at all, correct?

The Aquacomputer SPLITTY9 ACTIVE only shows 4 pin PWN fan support. ???

The fans are D1225C12B4AP-14 and are 0.049 Amps so just over half a watt (0.588) each?
Ah, you're right. I made an assumption about the Quadro. My unit is an Aquaero 6LT, which can do PWM or voltage control on each of four headers. It's pricier than the Quadro, but still probably cheaper than replacing all your fans.

As for the pump, if it's low enough wattage, you can rewire it to a standard 3-pin header and voltage control it. If it's a standard D5, it should pull around 23 watts. I've done this to a couple of pumps for running off my Aquaero, which has 30 watt headers.

It looks like the Splitty will not convert PWM control to voltage control for you, so unless you're willing to replace your fans, it looks like the Quadro won't work for you.
 
.....
I'm using this controller... I don't even want to see knobs on the front of my case. Oh my pump is pwm though. You should really think about going up to a 35x or similar in the future. What do you have a 355?

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B073C5CHXX/

It would be hard to do that with 12+ fans. :)

Is the 355 a pump? As I said in the OP I have a Laing D5-38/810N pump with a molex connection for power and no PWM control. I could get a new one but it works and I can't hear it. I did not think water speed did much once the water temp has synced up with the load. Eight years ago when I set it up I remember looking at temps and maxing out the pump did not change much but having the fans at 300 RPM vs 1400 RPM did.

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Ah, you're right. I made an assumption about the Quadro. My unit is an Aquaero 6LT, which can do PWM or voltage control on each of four headers. It's pricier than the Quadro, but still probably cheaper than replacing all your fans.

As for the pump, if it's low enough wattage, you can rewire it to a standard 3-pin header and voltage control it. If it's a standard D5, it should pull around 23 watts. I've done this to a couple of pumps for running off my Aquaero, which has 30 watt headers.

It looks like the Splitty will not convert PWM control to voltage control for you, so unless you're willing to replace your fans, it looks like the Quadro won't work for you.

The price to replace the fans doesn't bother me as much as pulling everything apart to get at the fans in front of the radiators. So the Splitty9 is just a dumb splitter if it’s got PWM coming in it'll put it out if you just have a 3 pin connection it'll put that out but it's not going to convert PWM for you?

Will the 6LT do all the same stuff with software and everything. It's just bigger and more expensive and has a few extra features like converting three-pin fan to PWM?

Is controlling the fan speed really that big a deal? When I tested with it back in the day it didn't seem to make much difference once the water was moving. Then it was up to the fans to get rid of the heat off the three radiators.
 
The price to replace the fans doesn't bother me as much as pulling everything apart to get at the fans in front of the radiators. So the Splitty9 is just a dumb splitter if it’s got PWM coming in it'll put it out if you just have a 3 pin connection it'll put that out but it's not going to convert PWM for you?

Will the 6LT do all the same stuff with software and everything. It's just bigger and more expensive and has a few extra features like converting three-pin fan to PWM?

Is controlling the fan speed really that big a deal? When I tested with it back in the day it didn't seem to make much difference once the water was moving. Then it was up to the fans to get rid of the heat off the three radiators.
Correct, the Splitty will just multiply whatever control method your header uses X9.

The 6LT is the full featured Aquacomputer controller (sans LCD screen). The Octo and Quadro are baby versions of the Aquaero. They all use the same software and by and large have the same capabilities. The Aquaero, however, allows you to choose PWM or Voltage control for each header.

Controlling fan speed... It's hard to say you "need" it, but personally I think it's only right to make the fans speed up when your cooling system is loaded. On my machine, my rad fans usually hang around 450rpm, and will get up to 750 or so once under load. If I just run them at a static 450 all the time, my loop reaches a much higher equilibrium temperature and my components are that much warmer.
 
I guess it doesn't matter all that much as none appear to be in stock for the next few months but do you use a cable splitter of sub kind to put more than one fan on a channel or you must use the splitty9?
 
I guess I could get a 5 LT as for me and my 3 pin fans it will not matter? Seems odd that the 5 only has 1 PWM channel as I'd think that would be easier to do. ???

I guess I can get a 6 Pro and remove the screen? Did not want to use up a bay for it.

  • Aquaero 5: 3 voltage controlled channels, 1 voltage/PWM, supports virtual temp sensors
  • Aquaero 6: 4 voltage/PWM channels, supports virtual temp sensors
  • Quadro: 4 PWM channels, no virtual sensor support

" the 6 has full pwm support and a slightly updated front panel, i have both, the lack of pwm support on the 5 was a pain as my pwm fans would 'tick' when powered on a 3 pin. "

" - the 6LT has improved voltage regulation for voltage controlled fans and runs considerably cooler "

Hmm...

Then there is a water block for the Aquaero like it has heat issues?


And just one of these to control the pump speed?
https://www.aquatuning.us/cables/fan-cables-adptors/347/adaptor-3pin-12v-to-4pin-molex-12v


I like the idea of getting a flow and temp sensor in one but they don't have great reviews and I guess make noise. Don't know what speed to get? It looks like it just gives the units temp not the water.
https://www.aquatuning.us/search?sSearch="Aquacomputer+Flow+sensor"
 
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I guess it doesn't matter all that much as none appear to be in stock for the next few months but do you use a cable splitter of sub kind to put more than one fan on a channel or you must use the splitty9?
The Splitty is just a splitter that uses a PCB instead of cables. You can use it, or cable splitters, or other board style splitters.
I guess I could get a 5 LT as for me and my 3 pin fans it will not matter? Seems odd that the 5 only has 1 PWM channel as I'd think that would be easier to do. ???

I guess I can get a 6 Pro and remove the screen? Did not want to use up a bay for it.

  • Aquaero 5: 3 voltage controlled channels, 1 voltage/PWM, supports virtual temp sensors
  • Aquaero 6: 4 voltage/PWM channels, supports virtual temp sensors
  • Quadro: 4 PWM channels, no virtual sensor support

" the 6 has full pwm support and a slightly updated front panel, i have both, the lack of pwm support on the 5 was a pain as my pwm fans would 'tick' when powered on a 3 pin. "

" - the 6LT has improved voltage regulation for voltage controlled fans and runs considerably cooler "

Hmm...

Then there is a water block for the Aquaero like it has heat issues?


And just one of these to control the pump speed?
https://www.aquatuning.us/cables/fan-cables-adptors/347/adaptor-3pin-12v-to-4pin-molex-12v


I like the idea of getting a flow and temp sensor in one but they don't have great reviews and I guess make noise. Don't know what speed to get? It looks like it just gives the units temp not the water.
https://www.aquatuning.us/search?sSearch="Aquacomputer+Flow+sensor"
The 5 is the older version. I personally wouldn't buy one if the 6 is available. It doesn't have cooling problems, they just made a waterblock for it because they're watercooling nerds and their clientele are watercooling nerds. I ran mine bare for months and eventually added the passive heatsink more for looks than anything.

The MPS series of flow sensors are silent, as they have no moving parts. As for temp sensors, you can use any 10k thermister from any manufacturer. It doesn't have to be Aquacomputer - they're all Everett l electrically equivalent and will measure the same way.
 
That cable would work. Does your pump have a tach wire?

As for that flow sensor, I had one and it started clicking on me - though, admittedly, this only happened after I took it apart to clean it out. I did read that other have had that problem with those flow meters too.

https://www.aquatuning.us/water-coo...ter-flow-rate-sensor-mps-flow-200-g1/4?c=6599 This is the MPS flow meter I was talking about. It uses a differential pressure across an orifice plate instead of a paddlewheel, so there are no moving parts. You just have to make sure you get one that's close to the flow range of your system. I got the 400 for my single-D5 system with a MO-RA3 and found that my flow rates are almost at the bottom end of what the sensor will record when I have the pump turned down to silent.
 
As best I can tell it's just got the two wires for power and that's it. Then there's a manual dial for speed adjust.

Yeah, not a lot of reviews on those flow sensors and I also saw the info on them clicking after a time. But then the other one you listed I'm not sure what flow rate to get. Seems kind of pricey to only be able to read the low end or the high end I'm not sure which. None of them seem that great if the D5 can really go to 1500 liters per hour.

It looks like these actually give you the temperature of the water where the other one just gives you the ambient temperature of the device. I think it's this one that I looked at the questions asked and they came back and said no it's just the temperature of the device not the temperature of the water.
 
Yeah, not a lot of reviews on those flow sensors and I also saw the info on them clicking after a time. But then the other one you listed I'm not sure what flow rate to get. Seems kind of pricey to only be able to read the low end or the high end I'm not sure which. None of them seem that great if the D5 can really go to 1500 liters per hour.

D5s "can" do 1500 litres per hour - if they aren't attached to a loop at all. Mine maxes out at about 220 when running at 100%, and I've got a similar loop to yours, though instead of 3 x 360 rads I've got a MO-RA3 420.

I'm using the 400. It'll make a little more sense once I get my second D5 installed, but for now it captures the range of flows that I typically see when running my pump between 85% and 100%.
 
So my max flow rate is probably below 200? Is the temperature sensor for the water or for the device? So you need to like run your loop into a bucket to figure out which sensor you need?
 
So my max flow rate is probably below 200? Is the temperature sensor for the water or for the device? So you need to like run your loop into a bucket to figure out which sensor you need?
I would guess that you would do well with the 200 if you run your pump closer to the top end of it's range, possibly the 100 if you run your pump slow.

I haven't rightly figured out what the temp sensor is referring to. I've got other temp sensors in my loop so I don't use the one that's integrated in the flow sensor.
 
I would guess that you would do well with the 200 if you run your pump closer to the top end of it's range, possibly the 100 if you run your pump slow.

I haven't rightly figured out what the temp sensor is referring to. I've got other temp sensors in my loop so I don't use the one that's integrated in the flow sensor.

The 2 reviews are not great. I think I'll just use the temp sensor. It would be fun to see the flow rate but I don't want the pump running any faster anyway, too much noise.

Tried to place the order on Sunday but my bank blocked it and then sent an auto email to verify it was a real transaction but now the aquatuning.us just keeps showing error: "Your payment process could not be finished, because of the following reason:" then shows no reason. ??? Lame.
 
I got all the stuff today. Did not think it would get here so fast. I did not know the in line water temperature sensor had a special connection. Good thing the 6 Pro has one. :)

Ah, you're right. I made an assumption about the Quadro. My unit is an Aquaero 6LT, which can do PWM or voltage control on each of four headers...

So what are the 2 PWM connections for vs the 4 PWM/voltage channels?
 
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I got all the stuff today. Did not think it would get here so fast. I did not know the in line water temperature sensor had a special connection. Good thing the 6 Pro has one. :)



So what are the 2 PWM connections for vs the 4 PWm/voltage channels?
I'm honestly not sure what those are designed for. Not fans, for sure. I've never used them, so the best I can do is refer you to the manual.
 
The other ports give it away by the devices it lists that you can connect but these just show a plug to terminal connection. ??? No big deal just wondering what you would use them for.
 
Got it mostly setup save for the in line temp sensor. It seems really cool.

The overview page setup is supper painful. Have to keep opening the data source selector for every little object. You an select more then one object for some simple stuff but not to sett all the rages or the data source. Just leave the source selector open so you don't have to drill down in the tree over and over and let you update the same setting in all objects selected. :(

Using the CPU temp for now and it's cool to be able to set the fans and pump at just enough volts to power on and see all that but some things only want speed input.

Is there a PID control or something to smooth out the fans and pump speed changes?

Also, my 6 Pro has a High and Low aquabus port but even the latest PDF manual from April 2020 don't show the Low one. The manual that came with it is from 2019 and has no aquaero 5 info. ???
 
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I use a aquaero with splitter cables. It can run plenty of power to run them all fine (so much power, fucker sparks if you short it accidentily). Think there’s an add on for more ports too
 
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