Fan controller/temperature sensor question

Control: management of fans, temp/rpm monitoring via soft/hardware

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8300ati
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Fan controller/temperature sensor question

Post by 8300ati » Tue Aug 24, 2004 1:22 pm

Due to replacements I am about to make to my Dell 8300 fan and heatsink setup, I wish to monitor CPU and case temperatures in case things start to get too hot ! The HDD is already monitored by a free utility called HDD Thermometer which is working well. (Motherboard Monitor and Speefan do'nt work on a Dell.)
To avoid warning messages, about fan failure at start up, the two fans will be wired directly to the motherboard rather than PSU so long as the max. wattage output is not exceeded.
I have looked at a couple of temperature monitors :Lian Li T-04 and icute but these don't have alarms built in.
Would a fan controller, such as Super Flower allow the temperature sensors to report temperatures and set alarms, based on max temperature set, even though no wire is connected to any of the fans through the fan controller ? If not is there a way to fool it to think that a fan is connected ? :?

MikeC
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Post by MikeC » Tue Aug 24, 2004 4:46 pm

I am not familiar with the temperature monitors mentioned (no URLs), but have been toying with one from Enermax that combines fan speed control RPM monitoring and 4 independent sensors that you can set trip alarms to go at specified temps. http://maxpoint.com/products/perph/spec ... /index.htm

There are probably others more suitable (from Enermax) or similar from other makes.

Having said all that, it could be overkill. As long as you have a relatively unrestricted path between intake and CPU and exhaust, and reasonably good airflow through this path (say at least 2 Panaflo 80L at 7V or thereabouts), you will probably be safe.

But not knowing details about any of your components, it's hard to say.

Is there no temp monitoring in the BIOS? That would give you some idea of current temps anyway...

Jordan
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Post by Jordan » Tue Aug 24, 2004 7:14 pm

The Akasa AK FC-03 Fan Control Pro is the best controller I have seen out there.

Pro's:

- 4 fan controll with RPM monitoring
- 4 thermal probes with temp monitoring
- 7 different coloured facias
- 7 colour LED screen
- 5V min to 12V max fan voltage feed
- Critical temperature alert which can be set to anything between 0-99C for each probe!
- Displys temps in either C or F
- Low fan alert (good for reproting fans that don't start at 5V)
- The best looking fan controller I have seen

Cons:

- Low fan alert (if fans go blow 600RPM alarm sounds, annoying!)
- Doesn't go below 5V (I use a variable resistor in betwee to get below 5V on the CNPS7000-Cu)
- Cost (all these features come at a price)
- That's it!

I recommend you also have a look at this Mike if you ever get the chance.

Ralf Hutter
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Post by Ralf Hutter » Wed Aug 25, 2004 6:17 am

MikeC wrote:Is there no temp monitoring in the BIOS? That would give you some idea of current temps anyway...
It's a Dell. ;)

8300ati
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Post by 8300ati » Wed Aug 25, 2004 11:03 am

Jordan, does this fan controller of yours still give you temperature readings on the display and allow you to set the alarms if you remove the cable to the fan. What happens ? (But don't blow your machine up just to answer this question !) :oops:

Jordan
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Post by Jordan » Wed Aug 25, 2004 12:06 pm

If I pull out one of the fans while it's on it bleeps like mad at me, it also does this if RPM goes under 600. If there are no fans attatched to it when it's powered up it doesn't do anything though. The thermal probes and fans are independant. You could have it as a temp monitor for the 4 probes and not as a fan controller at all.

Is this what you mean?

8300ati
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Post by 8300ati » Wed Aug 25, 2004 1:29 pm

Yes, thanks very much for that.I didn't mean you to pull the cable out while the fan was running ! Still, at least you know the warning system works now !
So it should work as a fancy temperature monitor. :D
(Only I am going to keep my fans wired up to the motherboard, not connected to the fan controller via the power supply unit, to prevent a fan failure message coming up in the BIOS, which cannot be disarmed. The fan controller will be used to keep an eye on temperatures and set alarms.
The Dell I have has just one case fan which is also the CPU cooler fan. A shroud is fitted over the heatsink which I will remove.
I am going to fit the Zalman 7000AlCu heatsink which has it's own fan drawing air onto the heatsink(the Dell fan sucked it away) and a SilenX 14db,40cfm to replace the noisy temperature contolled 100cfm max. case fan. Only through temperature monitoring under different ambient temperatures and loads can I tell whether this is sufficient or not. I am also going to fit an Arctic Silencer for the VGA card which will extract the heat generated directly out of the case which should help compensate for the lower cfm.)

Jordan
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Post by Jordan » Wed Aug 25, 2004 1:47 pm

"Yes, thanks very much for that.I didn't mean you to pull the cable out while the fan was running ! Still, at least you know the warning system works now !"

I didn't have to, I've experimented in the past. I can run passive on idle for a decent while before things start getting too hot for comfort.

Since that SilenX is quiet at 12V can't you hook it up to the CPU fan header and hook the Zalman up to the fan controller? I don't suppose it will make any difference anyway since you will have the fan-mate.

8300ati
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Post by 8300ati » Wed Aug 25, 2004 2:52 pm

I have previously opened the case up and wired the fanmated Zalman heatsink to the motherboard at about 2000rpm (which I have read on Frostytech review is about the "sweet spot") and booted up and got the fan failure message from the BIOS.Similarly, when I connected the SilenX up to the motherboard the same occured. But when I used a Y- splitter and connected them both to the motherboard no message came up. I don't know whether the motherboard is set up to expect a certain amount of Watts or a certain level of RPM.
(My knowledge of electrics is limited to W=VxA)
So it looks like I have to go this way. But I have to be careful not to overload the motherboard connector. I don't know what the max. is but 4W is a figure I have read about generally.The SilenX fan is rated at only 1.2W. But I don't have a clue about the Zalman fan on the 7000AlCu because Zalman don't give this specification on their website.(I am waiting for them to reply to my e-mail and have posted on the Zalman forum.) Presumably if I've got it fanmated down to 9V then this will reduce its' rated power pull and the two together will probably be O.K
I could just ignore the warning message on boot up but it could become annoying.
Admittadly, Dell fitted a replacement fan which is quieter than the original but it is still too noisy and I've now caught the "even quieter please" bug !

8300ati
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Post by 8300ati » Wed Aug 25, 2004 3:01 pm

duplicate :oops:
Last edited by 8300ati on Thu Aug 26, 2004 1:15 am, edited 1 time in total.

8300ati
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Post by 8300ati » Wed Aug 25, 2004 3:05 pm

and again :oops:
Last edited by 8300ati on Thu Aug 26, 2004 1:18 am, edited 1 time in total.

Jordan
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Post by Jordan » Wed Aug 25, 2004 3:55 pm

That would be P=IxV (power = current x voltage) ;)

Did you mean to post that 3 times? :p

How about hooking up a higher power fan the the CPU fan pins and removing the blades? There has to be some way around it...

8300ati
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Post by 8300ati » Thu Aug 26, 2004 1:46 am

Yes I know , was using the unit of measurement Watts=VoltsxAmperes
No, only clicked submit once.
If the SilenX is already quiet at full wack then there is probably no point in controlling it. Not at the moment anyway because then the power supply fan will probably become the noisiest thing. Then it would be nice to replace that with this
http://www.digital-daily.com/editorial/ ... ndex11.htm 8)
Anyway had a reply from Zalman re. the 7000AlCu wattage/ampere rating:
"Hello,

Thanks for your enquiry. No specific spec is required for the cooler since it does not need any electricity. and its warranty period is 1 year as you mentioned.

Best regards,

Support/ Zalman"
Well there you go, it doesn't even need plugging in :lol:

Update : 2.76W +/- 10%
Last edited by 8300ati on Tue Aug 31, 2004 8:49 am, edited 1 time in total.

rperezlo
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Post by rperezlo » Tue Aug 31, 2004 2:26 am

Take a look at this one. It has a passthrough port to feed the fan rpm to the MB and avoid the alarm and you will be able to control the fans in addition to monitor the temperatures.

http://www.mcubed-tech.com/eng/index.htm

BTW, I've tried the software in my Dell without the hardware (it's installed in another computer) and it works. You can download it from the web and try the software before buying the hardware.

8300ati
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Post by 8300ati » Tue Aug 31, 2004 8:54 am

Thanks, it looks to be a top performer :P

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