T-Balancer - bigNG the best choice?

[SiGfever]

I have been searching the archives reading up on fan controllers and it appears that the T-Balancer - bigNG is the best choice. I have two Sunbeam Rheobus controllers but would like to automate the fan control in my U2-UFO build.

Is there any place in the USA that sells the T-balancer and IS it the best choice for automated fan control?
Thanks...

http://www.mcubed-store.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=169

[nop]

not sure this'll suite you but worth to check it out?
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=201&products_id=4501

[mtl_hed]

Make sure to look at the MAX wattage ratings per channel.

I have that case as well, with 7(not counting your rad fans) 120mm fans and 4 80mm fans, it REALLY depends on what fans your going to buy.

If they pull 10+ Watts each, those controllers are going to be pushed to their limits.

[SiGfever]

Does anyone have experience with this setup?

[mtl_hed]

I have that case and I have gone both water and air cooled with it.

I used a rheobus style fan controller for a while before I blew a channel on it(18W MAX).

Now I run 12V all the time, its in a location where noise is of no concern.

For this many fans, you have many options:

1) run 12V(or 24V depending on fans) all the time, and buy fans that are quite AT THIS VOLTAGE. This would be the best solution if you have not already bought the fans

2) Run 7V or 5V all on fans that are not quite at 12v. This can be accomplised by simply using the wires off a 4 pin Molex connector. black + yellow = 12V
black + red = 5V
black(from red side, -5v) + yellow = 7V
This would be an OK solution for lower voltage, but would be a pain to switch.

3) Buy multiple fan controllers. There may be 1 that can handle this much wattage, but I could not find it when shopping. It would seem that 2-3 good contollers would be neccassary.
This would be the most elegant solution, if wire management is kept under control. It may seem easy with this much space in the case, but it is actually harder. Difficult to hide wires when they are visible through 3 different windows.


My suggestion would be to strive to use the 1st setup, if you buy fans that are to your liking(noise wise) @ 12V then the problem is solved without needing any extra complication.

[creidiki]

I love my T-Ban SL4. My bigNG hasnt arrived yet.

Its by far the best automated fan controller, nothing comes even closer to it.

And frankly, I find the idea of having to manully turn knobs to change fan speeds on a computer fast enough to fly ICBMs to be risible.

As for wattages, itll do up 20W in analogue and 80W in PWM. If thats not enough you can hook additional miniNGs to it for more fan channels.

[SiGfever]

I love my T-Ban SL4. My bigNG hasnt arrived yet.

Its by far the best automated fan controller, nothing comes even closer to it.

And frankly, I find the idea of having to manully turn knobs to change fan speeds on a computer fast enough to fly ICBMs to be risible.

As for wattages, itll do up 20W in analogue and 80W in PWM. If thats not enough you can hook additional miniNGs to it for more fan channels.
I appreciate your feedback, it really caught my eye and I thought this was the one that you and Radical_53 had been talking about. Yea the idea of manually adjusting them when it can be automated just doesn't make sense. Now to find somewhere in the states that sells it.
Thanks again.


How's that 140mm upgrade coming?

[creidiki]

Gotta go pickup a packet at post office, its either the RD-30 or the BigNG, then I have to wait for Eddy's delrin tops and my DC-DC Converter (fareast forgot to pack it so its on its way now).

I'll probably need to order a MiniNG as well, in order to run my 3x D14SM-12s(0.7A) and 2x D12SL-12s(0.3A) in analogue mode.

[ReD.SkY]

can someone tell me why there is a point to running your fans thermally controlled?

if they are silent already why screw with them?

[creidiki]

this way theyre run 5v idle (quieter) and 12v load (better temps).

best of both worlds.

[qdemn7]

Now to find somewhere in the states that sells it.
Thanks again. 3DCool (http://www.3dcool.com/index.php?cPath=111_112) sells the T-Balancer stuff. Maybe they can hook you up.

[[XC]Atomicpineapple]

My T-Balancer BigNG turned up a few days ago, its brilliant, the option to select between PWM and analogue for each channel removes the problem of some fan motors making annoying clicking noises at low speeds. Add the ability to monitor 4 analogue temp probes, 2 digital probes, add an extra sensor bus for more analogue sensors, water temp probes etc, and set custom fan speed profiles its just great. I'm using it to control 3 102.5CFM Sanyo Denkis on my radiator (1 per channel although I could put 2 of them on 1 channel) and 2 case fans (both on the 4th and last channel).

[lowfat]

I've had problems with my T-Balancer. It died once, and mCubed repaired it again, now my Analog sensor hub doesn't work, and they support hasn't been so nice lately.