Please name a fan controller that does NOT fail after 1 year

Happy Hopping

Happy Hopping

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Jul 1, 2004
Messages
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In those newegg customer reviews, practically all of those fan controller from various brand, failed after 6 mth., from names like Aerocool to Zalman and every1 else in between.

in 1 review, there is smoke coming out and fry the whole PC. Are all these fan controllers junk?
 
Sunbeam

I've had one going something like 6 years easy now.
 
I have an FC-8 no issues, been running for 2 years plus ... I cant remember when I purchased it ...

I also wouldnt purchase Aerocool, or any fan controller from newegg (I believe the majority are shit). Look at frozen, jab-tech, performance pcs, etc.....
 
I like the Lamptron CW615, as it's a touch screen. Does any1 has any problem w/ touch screen fan controller? Lamptron is 1 yr. warranty on fan controller, just like Sunbeam, but 6 mth. warranty on "remote control related devices"

http://www.lamptron.com/faq/

For either sunbeam or lamptron, does the sensor and 3 pin cable be long enough if you have a full size tower? My tower is 2 ft. tall

I am not in favor of lamptron, I am thinking Lamptron is about $137, Sunbeam is $37, so I'm hoping Lamptron is better in quality.

Fauggusztin, who's Aqua Computer? Are they popular? This is the 1st time I ever heard of them
 
@Happy Hopping: They are a German watercooling manufacturer. I can't say if they are popular, but it is a much better option than T-Balancer bigNG due better software support (bigNG was pretty much abandoned).

If you need a front display, there are a 6th generation models too :
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...aphic_LCD_Liquid_System_Controller_53145.html
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1..._Liquid_System_Controller_w_Remote_53146.html

And they got additional modules like flow sensors.

For gen 6 performance, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPQaMowIrmU .
 
Scythe, have had this one for like 4 years now, no issues and looks snazzy. Though I think they may not be sold in the us anymore.
 
@munkle: actually the whole Kaze series is what the OP wants to avoid - many of them survive for years, other go out with a big boom :).
 
faugusztin said:
@munkle: actually the whole Kaze series is what the OP wants to avoid - many of them survive for years, other go out with a big boom :).
Click to expand...

.... The reviews on it are way better than the sunbeam that others have said to get. The sunbeam has 35% of its reviews 3 eggs and under, the scythe only 16% 3 eggs and under. Op never said he wanted to avoid scythe.
 
Scythe shut down their US division and kept their japan division. Can't remember the reason

so if you buy a new 1, there is no warranty unless you want to ship back to japan w/ a translator telling them what happens
 
faugusztin said:
@Happy Hopping: They are a German watercooling manufacturer. I can't say if they are popular, but it is a much better option than T-Balancer bigNG due better software support (bigNG was pretty much abandoned).

If you need a front display, there are a 6th generation models too :
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...aphic_LCD_Liquid_System_Controller_53145.html
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1..._Liquid_System_Controller_w_Remote_53146.html

And they got additional modules like flow sensors.

For gen 6 performance, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPQaMowIrmU .
Click to expand...

do you own 1? are they made in Germany or china?
 
W.Feather said:
I have an FC-8 no issues, been running for 2 years plus ... I cant remember when I purchased it ...

I also wouldnt purchase Aerocool, or any fan controller from newegg (I believe the majority are shit). Look at frozen, jab-tech, performance pcs, etc.....
Click to expand...

Or any of the Lamptrons.
 
Yes, i own one Aquaero 5 LT for 2 years now. Can't find a "Made in" label anywhere on the device or box, the only country mentoined anywhere is Germany, so i gues they are made in Germany.
 
Another thumbs up for scythe here. I have a mini 4-channel one (fits in a floppy bay, or hard drive slot). I've been running it on 40% fan speed for about 4 years now. No issues.
 
I've used two separate NZXT Sentry 2's for a few years. No problems (except the thermal probes falling off as the tape gets old). I just use alternate tape.
 
Zarathustra[H];1041063744 said:
I've used two separate NZXT Sentry 2's for a few years. No problems (except the thermal probes falling off as the tape gets old). I just use alternate tape.
Click to expand...

NZXT IS the fan controller that fails here, only 7 mth. Now it's the embedded 1 vs. your Sentry 2. But I can't bother w/ another NZXT fan controller ever again
 
W.Feather said:
http://www.legitreviews.com/aqua-computer-aquaero-5-xt-usb-fan-controller-review_1813

Made in Germany.. Aqua Comptuer is well regarded in the watercooling world, they make plenty of high quality blocks etc.....

I would take the Lamptron over the Sunbeam any day, night and day difference between the two products as the price indicates...
Click to expand...

The name Aqua, are they related to that person top nurse, that was banned in this forum?

Regardless, I like made in Germany product very much, but that unit is only 4 chnl., I have seen 6 to 8 chnl. from Lamptron. And it seems the Aqua is designed for water temperature control, what's the drawback if you use it for fan control?
 
Skripka said:
Or any of the Lamptrons.
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I think Lamptron is 1st PC Corp.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...yMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo

here's 2 ugly user review on the FC9B, it's a $60 fan controller, the CM615 that I want has no review on it, so I can't comment

Pros: None, haven't gotten far enough to try it out.

Cons: Poor quality control, reversed positive and negative wires on a 4-pin connector.

Other Thoughts: I installed this fan controller, attempted to boot and fried my motherboard. Upon inspection, turns out 1st PC Corp shipped the controller with one of the three 4-pin power connectors assembled backwards, effectively ruining my workstation and setting me back a lot of money. They'll be hearing from me in the morning. Don't buy this product.


Emmanuel G.
7/15/2013 9:30:40 PM
Tech Level: Somewhat High
Ownership: less than 1 day
Verified Owner


1 out of 5 eggsExtremely Dissapointed

Pros: Didn't even get to use it.

Cons: Soon as I hooked it up and hit the power button, my computer gets fried, and now I'm out a PC.
Click to expand...

Having said that, I'm still leaning on the Lamptron, I just don't want to buy another controller and the damn thing fails in 1 year
 
No idea on that review, i never really look at newegg reviews ... You only typically get idiots posting, fan boys, or people in the extreme end of the QC Spectrum.

As for the Aqua one, yes it is a fan controller that is specialized for water cooling. This wont affect fan control at all, it does the same thing, but is internal to the case. As for channels, each of the channels can run 4 or so fans, so you have 16 fans there, you control em in sets of 4 (Setup for rads and such where you want em all at the same speed depending on setup)

edit: As for if they are related to the user, I have no idea, shoot me a PM with a link to that user and I can look at it for you.
 
W.Feather said:
No idea on that review, i never really look at newegg reviews ... You only typically get idiots posting, fan boys, or people in the extreme end of the QC Spectrum.

As for the Aqua one, yes it is a fan controller that is specialized for water cooling. This wont affect fan control at all, it does the same thing, but is internal to the case. As for channels, each of the channels can run 4 or so fans, so you have 16 fans there, you control em in sets of 4 (Setup for rads and such where you want em all at the same speed depending on setup)

edit: As for if they are related to the user, I have no idea, shoot me a PM with a link to that user and I can look at it for you.
Click to expand...

Reading NewEgg reviews is like watching Jerry Springer. You know what to expect to read going into it. Or you ought to...and if you're surprised, then the problem is you.
 
Skripka said:
Reading NewEgg reviews is like watching Jerry Springer. You know what to expect to read going into it. Or you ought to...and if you're surprised, then the problem is you.
Click to expand...

Truth is every product has problems with a certain percentage of its shipments. Doesn't matter what field you are in. Those who have a bad experience are much more likely to review than those who have positive ones, so online reviews are always skewed negatively.


For whatever reason here people tend to focus on the one or two negative ones and disregard the majority that are good.

I installed an NZXT Sentry 2 in a former stepsons rig in 2010, and it is still going strong. The tape dried and the thermal sensors fell off, but I replaced it with better tape.

I am building a second system with one now.

By no means a super high quality product that can be used for industrial controls, but very well suited for home computer use.
 
It all depends on how many bad reviews there are, and what's the detail of ea. bad review and you draw your own conclusion

Amazon also have user review too. For technical review, the problem is, they only test the unit for a few hr., but these things fail after 6 mth., so you have to rely on user review for long term durability
 
Idk but aquaero 6 is a bad mama-Jama.

Aq5 pro typical vrm temps:80c with waterblock
Aq6 xt typical vrm temps:40c with Heatsink only

220$ is insane for a fan controller though.
There's no way I would do the aquaero if I didn't start using water.
 
Have had this one for a couple of years now, none of the channels have failed so far. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811997018&cm_re=lamptron_fc-2-_-11-997-018-_-Product

Lamptron pc-2, it's a six channel full width half height drive bay, you can find them in black or plain white metal color. I use it for a mid tower case, put it into the top slot, now with three 120mm fan cooler on top of the case. Takes up about 3" from front of slot to plugs for fans. I have the black one, close enough to a black anodized case color. Supports up to 45 watt fans.
 
is there any specific Y splitter cable I need, or just any Y splitter cable for the channel to control more than 1 fan?
 
I also have a ~5yo sunbeam that was still working fine when pulled. It is the ooollldddd 4ch version.

I also had it connected to huge 38mm thick Delta SHE fans, and the system was kept on 24/7.
 
Happy Hopping said:
is there any specific Y splitter cable I need, or just any Y splitter cable for the channel to control more than 1 fan?
Click to expand...

Depends on the fan controller.

If it is PWM based (4 pin) then a special 4 pin splitter will be required. If it is voltage based, any old splitter will do.

In either case, only one fan can return the RPM signal.

Based on my trying to find a good multi-channel pwm fan controller recently (and failing) chances are it is voltage based (they pretty much all are)
 
I've been using my Zalman ZM-MFC1 Plus for god knows how long, got it when it came out. Been through 8 machines and still rocking. Also still have the original ZM-MFC1 from 2004 and still working but it's on the shelf.
 
My Lamptron FC Touch is still going good after ~2 years.
 
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