Fan controller

[BoxsterS258]

Any suggestions on a fan controller for at least 3 fans? I also have a question on how they work. Lets say I have a fan that goes 5000 rpm. If i hook it up and turn the knob on high, will it go a full 5000 rpm? and if i turn it all the way down, how slow will it go? Do any fan controllers actually turn off the fans?

[Bio-Hazard]

Fan contro;er work by regulating the voltage to the fan. Fan controlers are not created equal, they have different start-up voltages and different max voltages. You get what you pay for normally, I've seen some controlers limit max voltage to 11v instead of the normal 12v. Some have the low end so low that a fan won't start when set to that speed. When buying a controler, you need to know the specs on the fans you're running, total amp amd wattage draw, some controlers have a rather low limit on total power. add everything up that you plan on running on each channel and buy a controler that will exceed your needs.

[eric m.]

i have tried the the hardcano 12 and the cooldrive4. both seem to go up to 12v to give me max fan speed, but there are some better ones, and i think rich has a nice one that isn't too expensive that you might want to check out. i can't remember that name right now.

if you really want full speed at all times, you can wire in a bypass switch that would put the full power to the fan and still monitor temps. it kind of depends if noise is an issue for you. sometimes having 5 or 6 high speed fans going at once is acceptable, but sometimes you want it just fast enough to keep things from overheating. i noticed that when i crank up the big fan on my heat exhanger, i can see CPU temps drop within a few seconds. so it really makes a difference. this is when i'm overclocked and at 100% load, though.

[LVCapo]

I gave Jason the fan controller i had. it is a very nice setup. Digidoc makes it. It controls up to 8 fans and monitors up to 8 temps. It also has USB and firewrie adapters for the front og the case.

[Benny]

CPU Magazine reviewed fan controllers. The Cool Drive 6 from Cooler Master did well. You can put a hard drive inside, which uses one fan channel - internal fan.

I bought their Aerogate 3: No hard drive, all four channels for case fans. Comes with four temp sensors with alarms and fan rpm. Fans are manually adjusted.

CompUSA $39, Comes in black or silver

[Benny]

Has anyone burned out a fan with a controller?

[LVCapo]

I never have, and I have used 4-5 different brands. they all have one issue or another, the most common is that your fan will not run at 100% speed, top out at about 80-85% of max, but if you are looking to slow the fan down that shouldn't be an issue.
I use Panaflo whenever I can, Sunon is a very good brand as well, but Panaflo is the best fan out there in performance to noise ratio.