Automatic Fan Control

fabre · Post by **fabre** » Tue May 24, 2005 3:25 pm

In prevision of the summer I am looking into getting something to control my fans automatically.

Atm I am already using speedfan to control the cpu fan, sadly my motherboard doesn't allow to control the case fan.

I'd like to control both case fans, 2 x 120mm silentblades.
And the gpu fan a Zalman VF-700
Right now the silenblades are controlled manually by a fan controller which allows a min voltage of 7v, they use to be on fanmates but I like to increase their speed when I play.
The VF-700 is currently running at 5v.

I have looked at the different options and my main issue is price.

- The best option is obviously a T-balancer but at around $90 Can it doesn't come cheap
- The LIS2 is another options, nice LCD less options than the t-bal and even more expensive $120 can
- The Aerocool Gatewatch, limited in it's rpm capability and $80 Can

As much as silence is important I can't justify a $90 Can to have Automatic Fan Control.
For that kind of price I might as well get a new socket A motherboard with more fan headers but again I don't think it would really be justified, but that definitly something I will take into account the day I upgrade to 64-bit.

Meanwhile am I missing a cheaper option to dynamically control these 3 fans? or rather 2 since the 2 cases fans could be on the same channel.

Cheers

Gholam · Post by **Gholam** » Tue May 24, 2005 7:52 pm

Gatewatch control range isn't as limited as it sounds at first - the 3000rpm VF-700 fan goes down to ~1500-1700, below that it isn't really useful anyway. Your case fans are rated at 950rpm, so Gatewatch will turn them down to around 600 when the system is cool, and turn them up when necessary. You can hook up the CPU fan to it as well.

frankgehry · Post by **frankgehry** » Tue May 24, 2005 8:07 pm

I went to google and entered automatic fan controller and got this great review
http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/2004 ... er-06.html

Automatic fan controllers -
Akasa
Thermaltake Hardcano 13
Silverstone

http://www.xoxide.com/3fanco.html

There were a lot more links. I have a thermaltake hardcano 13 that I've replaced with a tbal. I didn't think they were that expensive but I guess they are. Did you check the price at www.mcubed-tech.com. All that you need is the basic kit with 2 sensors and you will be able to control 4 fans. Its really worth it. Some of these automatics are not cheap by any means.

fabre · Post by **fabre** » Tue May 24, 2005 9:17 pm

Thank you for your relies,

@ Gholam, I actually ruled out the gatewatch based on your review where you said

The main noisemakers are the 80mm fans in VF700 VGA cooler and HEC-400TR-TX power supply, both of which spin at fairly high speeds and cannot be brought lower without major modification of the existing cooling setup

,and @ 7v the VF-700 is to noisy for me.

@ frankgehry, The t-bal price I came up is actually based on the price of the basic t-bal from the mcubed shop + shipping converted to $ Can

I had also already seen the Lian-Li and Logisys fan controller http://www.xoxide.com/3fanco.html, I really like the Logisys fan controller but informations are a bit to vague and I don't want to buy something to realize it won't go down to 5v (I emailed Logisys to get more infos), for information the same controller can be found rebranded from directron under the name Case Arts 3.5" Bay Fan Controller CAFP35BK, also I could find a reseller for the logisys or Lian-Li in Canada.

- The Akasa from the review doesn't go lower than 7v which is an issue for the VF-700
- For some reason I am a bit weary of the Thermaltake products.
- As for the Silverstone, if you rely on this review: http://www.fastlanehw.com/reviews.php?i=85&page=1
Voltages being supplied at each speed.
Low: 9.50v
High: 10.31v
Full: 11.62v (used as a point of reference)

frankgehry · Post by **frankgehry** » Tue May 24, 2005 11:26 pm

Have you looked at the DigitalDoc5 or the enermax stuff? I think most people around here use very simple manual controllers. There have been some discussions about the Hardcano 13. There's not a lot of circuitry in the hardcano. I still use it to display temperatures and its always worked ok. Its still kind of pricey for what it does, but it looks nice.

VL System LIS at xoxide
Kingwin - I saw a review for this one

Xoxide really has a lot of them. You could probably give them a call and find out which one is the most reliable.

Here's a review of the casearts digital thermal thing
http://www.hardwaremods.com/reviews/fan ... oller.html There are a lot of pictures but its still kind of hard to find out exactly how it works. What kind of rpm/temp. curve does it have? Anyway maybe some of the other readers will have some ideas. No need to go through all of these. I'll just follow the thread and see what happens. - FG

Gholam · Post by **Gholam** » Wed May 25, 2005 8:32 am

Fabre, isn't X800XT PE a little hot to run VF700 at 5V? I myself have a 6800GT, and at 7V, it idles at 55-60 (ambient 30+, but still...), and I always turn it up to 12V when I'm gaming, or it can go into 70+ range, and I just don't feel comfortable with that. It does get quite noisy (nowhere near the original cooler, but still quite noisy), which is why I'm considering watercooling it to a single or dual 120mm radiator.

GateWatch with VF700 ran at ~2500rpm idle (50-52C), and went up to full speed under load. However, the sensor was REALLY close to the chip (sandwiched between NV40 core on one side and HSI bridge on the other), and if you move it away a little, measured temperature (and speed) can be reduced.

fabre · Post by **fabre** » Wed May 25, 2005 10:56 am

@ frankgehry

Don't know about the DigitalDoc5, I have 2 issues with it, the small fan and the color.
I'd rather avoid manual, I am a plug and forget kind of guy

(even if takes me 2 weeks to get the settings right)

The LIS are really nice but they rely on mbm for the temps so if windows crash I don't think the fans will rev up if needed

I need to look deeper in the kingwin.

Thanks for the review on the casearts controller, right now the Logisys/casearts controller is the one I like the most, nice LCD and fit in a 3.5" bay, which is definitely a plus, and cheap.
On the downside it has an alarm that sounds when the fan RPM drops below 600 RPM, and the silenblades and cpu fan do go under 600 @5v,
so if this can't be deactivated or lowered it will be an issue.
And of course the minimum voltage that can be fed to the fans is unknown, I emailed Logisys about it and I am waiting to hear from the them.

@ Gholam

Actually my X800XT PE temp idle with the VF-700 @ 5v is in the 40C range, right now it's actually 39C with a case temp of 28c and an ambient temp of about 22C
After some HL2 the highest temp I saw was 64C
eventhough I foamed the case I left the the video card intake open on the SLK3000-B door so I helps greatly to cool the card.
I could foam that intake and feed 7v to the VF-700 but I wouldn't be surprise if the idle temp end up being higher.

frankgehry · Post by **frankgehry** » Wed May 25, 2005 12:52 pm

I think the guy who did the logisys review just disconnected the alarm. He didn't like it either.

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Wed May 25, 2005 1:56 pm

I'm using an LIS2 on my newest computer. The latest software for it is completely stable. It'll run fans down to very low rpms, using PWM. The newest software adjusts fan speeds automatically, without steps, 0-100%, depending how it's setup. Controls four fans independantly, but does rely on MBM for temps. It does default to 100% if the program crashes.

I like mine a bunch...

FWIW...the newest DD5 does not have a small fan. Behind the little door, now it has ports.

And it still cannot adjust fan speeds. It can only turn fans on/off at set temps.

philmoune · Post by **philmoune** » Wed May 25, 2005 2:12 pm

fabre wrote:In prevision of the summer I am looking into getting something to control my fans automatically.

I bought and tried many controlers, automatic and manual ones but for almost one year I've turned to Tbalancers with a great satisfaction.
I wanted the best silence while ensuring a safe cooling whatever is running on my PCs, this is Tbalancer... I used them with Nexus and Papst fans and everything runs smoothly. the software is only used to configure the hardware to your needs so nothing runs in the background once you're done and the digital or analog sensors can be placed anywhere you need to even if your processor sensor is not exactly on the chip since you can adjust the sensor precisely to reflect the inside temp of your die.
True they are a bit more expensive than some bare manual controler but if what you need is peace of mind, silence and automation, go for it...

metalac · Post by **metalac** » Wed May 25, 2005 3:32 pm

fabre wrote: Don't know about the DigitalDoc5, I have 2 issues with it, the small fan and the color.

say hello to DigitalDoc5+, they replaced the fan with usb/firewire connectors and changed the color of the LCD to that MUCH nicer blue. Check it out, there are few reviews if you google for it.

fabre · Post by **fabre** » Wed May 25, 2005 6:03 pm

I got a reply from Logisys and I must say I am a bit puzzled by it.

Asking about the Model #: FP206BK 3.5" BLACK DIGITAL THERMAL CONTROLLER http://www.logisyscomputer.com/viewsku. ... FRONTPANEL
http://www.xoxide.com/logisys-35-digita ... black.html

Reply from Logisys: This model only reads fan speed and temperature, it will not
control the fan. The fan fed voltage is 12v.

???
Why do they call it a controller then?

fabre · Post by **fabre** » Wed May 25, 2005 7:05 pm

Noticed VL System also offer a T-bal SL4 clone the Zephyrus

http://www.xoxide.com/vl-system-zephyrus.html

Found a review here: http://www.extrememhz.com/zephyrus-p1.shtml

Xoxide is selling it for roughly $61 Can (before tax, shipping, and broker fee)

ultraboy · Post by **ultraboy** » Thu May 26, 2005 5:05 pm

I have a Zephyrus and did post some of my experience here.

To be fair, since that time VL System the maker of Zephyrus has issued a few versions of updated software which should solve the problem. But since I'm now using T-Balancer I have not yet tried those and can not offer comment.

If you search the forum using Zephyrus as key word, you should find a few threads from Zephyrus users here at SPCR, ask them for their recent experiences. IMHO, Zephyrus should be a good candidate for automatic fan controller as it offers a sufficient funtionality with not too bad a price.

Umm..may be I should try putting it back in my son's system to see how it behave now with their new software...once I have time and my son's consent to touch his computer.

Automatic Fan Control

Automatic Fan Control

Re: Automatic Fan Control