Do i need a fan controller?

cyberspacegenie · Post by **cyberspacegenie** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 2:44 pm

Hi, I'm planning on building a system on the following spec:

E6600
Antec P150
P5K-E/Wi-fi
TR Ultra 120 extreme
Sctythe S-Flex fans x 2 (120cm fans for case & HSF)
Asus EN8600GT passive
Asus DRW-1814BLT CD/DVD
Samsung HD501LJ Hard Drive

fan controller Zalman ZM-MFC1 Plus (Silver) ??????????

I have a couple of questions related to fans:

1. Can anyone recommend a good/quiet 92cm Scythe fan for the front of the case? Unfortunately Scythe fans are my main option here as things like Nexus etc are not available here in Japan. I have not seen a S-Flex at this size here.

2. Do I need a fan controller or can I control the fans using software? I've read that with the Asus P5K series that it is not possible to control fan speeds with Speedfan. The best fan controller I've seen here is the Zalman ZM-MFC1 Plus (listed above). Does anyone have any experience with this?

3. The S-flex fans come in 3 speeds 800, 1200, 1600. Which is the best option to get for my set-up.

In terms of ambients temps, they are currently getting up to about 32 degrees C.

Thanks in advance for your help. Its much appreciated.

continuum · Post by **continuum** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 7:09 pm

Depends how much noise is a concern; you don't need much airflow for your proposed setup. I would go with the 1200rpm SFF12E's if you're noise sensitive, although if you go with a fan controller then grab the faster 1600rpm ones and throttle 'em down as needed.,

Morten74 · Post by **Morten74** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 1:05 am

Hi Cyberspacegenie

Well, I'm no expert, but I have recently put a new PC with almost the same specs (see thread in the 'Advice'-thread).

I use Scythe S-Flex E (1200rpm) fans for case and HSF and no intake fan. When running at full speed, the case fan makes some noise - due the the airflow. Using Asus QFan in the BIOS, I have set it to Silent which gives approx. 800rpm. The one on the HSF I cannot hear at 1200rpm. However, in the interest of a better airflow through the case, I have put a Zalman Fanmate2 on the HSF fan and slowed it to 800rpm too. I imagine that having the HSF fan move more air towards the exhaust fan than it can blow out would result in the air cirkeling around in the case.

With both fans set to 800rpm my PC is completely silent.

For HDD I chose a WD SE 320AAKS which was a great choice - it makes no noise at all.

So based on my experience, I would recommend just getting S-Flex D's (800rpm) and no controller, but as your ambient temps are about 10 degrees warmer than mine, you might need some more airflow, so then the E's with a controller might be better...

Morten

cyberspacegenie · Post by **cyberspacegenie** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 6:07 am

Thanks Morten for the advice, it was very useful. I think I will go with a similar fan set-up, but will put on a 92mm intake/HD fan just because of the temps here are higher in the summer.

If anyone can recommend a good scythe 92mm fan (only scythe and random makes like Owltek available here) then it would be appreciated.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 11:24 am

Scythe MINBEA are said to be very quiet. They have 92mm versions.
And scythe advertises new: Kama PMW series with 92mm and 120mm fans.
http://www.scythe-usa.com/product/acc/0 ... etail.html