[GizmoDuck]

Need to control at least 5 fans.

I have read, the controllers with bling sacrifice quality and the really quality ones have no bling at all.

Is there something in the middle? Would like it to turn heads and be somewhat quality.

Any recommendations are appreciated

 

[andrewmchugh]

Lamptron Touch or FC2

Really good controlls built to last they just look really tough, and have very good ratings per channel, 30W on the Touch and 45W on the FC IIRC.

 

[ginger_nuts]

Stay away from NZXT sentry 2 I have one which I NEED to change, it has so many issue's, but I will be following this thread for sure, need an upgrade.

 

[Irocing]

Hi,

Been running the FC-2 for over a year and really works as it
should.

Run 9 hi speed fans plus a couple of light setups off it.
Have a couple poles double and triple ganged with all of them
.333a and above.

Handles load start up pretty well also.

Good for 45w per channel and knob led lights are not overpowering as some of them are. Slight glow.

Good product.
I'd recommend.

Later

 

[voodoo71]

Lamptron make excellent controllers. They all have the ability to control multiple fans. I love my FC-5. Really dont need bling for a fan controller just one that does the job and does it well.

 

[adanmtxt1]

I was in the same position this summer - wanted an attractive but capable controller. With five channels each handling at least 30 watts, the FC-5 is what I went with. Bonus: you can change the display color, and the faceplate is thick, machined and brushed aluminum. Not cheap though ($70), and make sure you get the "v2" revision which addressed a display concern.


DSC_1772 by Lunitic, on Flickr

 

[ShortySmalls]

sunbeam rhombus extreme?

 

[Doming0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by adanmtxt1;15229768
I was in the same position this summer - wanted an attractive but capable controller. With five channels each handling at least 30 watts, the FC-5 is what I went with. Bonus: you can change the display color, and the faceplate is thick, machined and brushed aluminum. Not cheap though ($70), and make sure you get the "v2" revision which addressed a display concern.


DSC_1772 by Lunitic, on Flickr

Wow, that looks really nice. Now.. I'm not exactly understanding how the power situation works. In order to run a fan controller like this, would I have to make sure I have extra power from my psu? OR If all my fans work already, should I be good to go?

 

[GizmoDuck]

Sounds like I should stay away from any of the AeroCool flashy fan controllers.

 

[Zensou]

What do you guys think of this fan controller?
NZXT Sentry

I like how it looks, it looks minimalistic and no LEDs to keep me awake at night.
Also, I think it will look good in a Fractal Arc Midi case.

 

[adanmtxt1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doming0 Wow, that looks really nice. Now.. I'm not exactly understanding how the power situation works. In order to run a fan controller like this, would I have to make sure I have extra power from my psu? OR If all my fans work already, should I be good to go?

You should not have a problem; the controller is just routing the existing current through a convenient interface. It has a single 4-pin molex connection at the back, along with five 3-pin fan connections - one for each channel. If you want to run more than one fan per channel, you can buy a y-harness or solder up one on your own as I did. If you do split, make sure you understand the implications of wiring in parallel v. series; parallel will run all at a single voltage but push current higher, while series is easier on the controller but will drop the fan speed for each with each subsequent fan you add.

 

[Doming0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by adanmtxt1 You should not have a problem; the controller is just routing the existing current through a convenient interface. It has a single 4-pin molex connection at the back, along with five 3-pin fan connections - one for each channel. If you want to run more than one fan per channel, you can buy a y-harness or solder up one on your own as I did. If you do split, make sure you understand the implications of wiring in parallel v. series; parallel will run all at a single voltage but push current higher, while series is easier on the controller but will drop the fan speed for each with each subsequent fan you add.

Thank you for the informative reply. I upped your rep! =)

 

[GizmoDuck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by adanmtxt1;15229768
I was in the same position this summer - wanted an attractive but capable controller. With five channels each handling at least 30 watts, the FC-5 is what I went with. Bonus: you can change the display color, and the faceplate is thick, machined and brushed aluminum. Not cheap though ($70), and make sure you get the "v2" revision which addressed a display concern.


DSC_1772 by Lunitic, on Flickr

That one looks pretty nice. 30 wats per channel? Whats the max number of fans it can control?

 

[thx1138]

That lamptron looks really nice.

I have this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998063

And after using it for over a year no complaints here. Although I wish mine could handle 30w per channel, then I couldve kept that delta fan I sold.

 

[adanmtxt1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GizmoDuck;15237255
That one looks pretty nice. 30 wats per channel? Whats the max number of fans it can control?

Depends on what type of fans you're running. If the fans you run pull .5A each, use the identity (P = I*V), where P is the number of watts pulled, I is current, and V is voltage, to realize the fan will pull 6 watts each at 12 volts, so you can run 5 fans per channel at load.

I think a review site tested up to 37 watts per channel with no trouble, so you have plenty of headroom.

 

[jfigg]

Are there any fan controllers out there that can also display your cpu and gpu temps?

 

[thx1138]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfigg Are there any fan controllers out there that can also display your cpu and gpu temps?

Well the one I linked to a few posts up has temp sensors which you can stick to things to view the temps. Physical temp sensors on fan controllers will never tell you the true temp of the device since you have to stick it to the surface of something like the heatsink. It's good for general temps though. I have the 4 sensors on mine sitting between my ram sticks, in my northbridge hs fins, one on top of my hdd and one sitting behind the mobo tray to get an idea of ambient temps. You never ever want to stick them between the cpu and heatsink or where they might obstruct the cooling capacity of the device. I once bought a system with a fan controller with temp sensors and the guy who built the computer literally stuck the sensor between the cpu and the heatsink.

I kept wondering why the cpu idled so high. It was an intel core 2 quad and it was idling at like 65-70c. I took one look in the case and noticed the wire and that's when I decided to take the entire computer apart and assemble it the right way.

 

[BeerPowered]

You could get Corsair Link. It lets you control fans/lighting via Software. You can do so much more with it. You link up all your fans to a node, which connects to a small SSD sized controller and that plugs into your mobos USB header. You can program ramp ups, group fans etc. Each node supports 5 fans and the controller supports several nodes. It also has temperature sensors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imGTFp43lGM