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Fan controller and PWM confusion

post #1 of 5
7/20/12 at 7:26pm
Thread Starter 
Hey All- Can someone point me at a link, or explain something to clear up some confusion on my part. PWM allows for variance in fan RPM (specifically the amount of voltage supplied to fan), correct? So how does a fan controller adjust the RPMs on a non-PWM fan? Is it the fan controller itself which is the PWM facet of this equation?

Thanx
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post #2 of 5
7/20/12 at 7:34pm
Yea the fan controller will act just like the (PWM pulse width modulation) connector
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post #3 of 5
7/20/12 at 8:37pm
PWM = pulse width modulation this varies the on/off signal (not voltage) to fan to allow
all currentto pass-through. like a relay turning off and on rapidly to make speed variations
to the fan. the fan is getting 12volt all the time... just switched on/off quickly. faster allows
it to stay on longer, slower allows
the turn off sooner.

only fan controller varies voltage to fan..
hope this helps

airdeano
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post #4 of 5
7/21/12 at 12:46pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by airdeano View Post

PWM = pulse width modulation this varies the on/off signal (not voltage) to fan to allow
all currentto pass-through. like a relay turning off and on rapidly to make speed variations
to the fan. the fan is getting 12volt all the time... just switched on/off quickly. faster allows
it to stay on longer, slower allows
the turn off sooner.
only fan controller varies voltage to fan..

Understood. 12V is always the potential -- what is being fed at any point in time voltage is applied to the fan. "Amount" to me was the "on" of your on/off of the potential to the load. Perhaps "frequency" would have been a better term. So my understanding then is that the fan controller would be controlling the on and off. And a PWM fan would be able to handle this by itself by virtue of its 4th "leg" which carries the on/off signal.
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post #5 of 5
7/21/12 at 8:15pm
Think you got it. Problem is most fan controllers are not PWM

I use Akasa and/or Gelid PWM splitters. These use 1 fan for master rpm signal to motherboard and PWM trigger signal from motherboard to trigger 12v power provided by molex connector to PSU. You can hook up more than one splitter. I'm running 7 fans with motherboard CPU socket controlling them all. biggrin.gif
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