Fan Controller

[boxerown]

Hello guys,
im about to buy this fan controller: Enermax 3.5" UC-A3FATR2 Fan Controller
(link: http://www.modthebox.com/review179_1.shtml)
and i dont know if i will be able to control (the fan speed i mean) fans which have 3pins connectors to motherboard.
can anyone tell me if i will be able to control 3pins connectors?
thanks!

[xMrBunglex]

it looks like the controller has 3-pin connectors. besides, worst case scenario is that you'd have to buy a couple Molex to 3-pin adapters. that is a crappy controller that costs a lot of money. it only controls two fans? i have a NZXT Sentry in mine and like it better. look for a different brand.

[boxerown]

can u gimme a link for ur controller?

[koc]

I recently bought Zalman ZM-MFC1 Plus

http://www.quietpc.com/files/images/products/zmmfc1plus-black.jpg

the controller is great and it has 3pins connectors

[MaXXimus]

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=rheobus+Extreme

[Lloyd]

If i was u i'd buy a mCubed T-Balancer BigNG! They are awesome
http://www.t-balancer.com/english/index.htm
4x 3pin fan conectors
2x Digital temp sensors (u can add more)
You can add a flow meter for water cooling
can't remember how many analogue sensors
u can mount it anywhere PCI backplate 3.5" bay or just the bottom of your case
They are simply superb

[xytrius]

To answer the OP's question, the Enermax does come with adapters and has 3 pin connectors.

However, I cannot agree more with MrBunglex. I own this controller and it is pretty bad (I had to remove it). Low fan speeds are not low enough, and temperature readings are not very accurate. To beat it all, it is pretty ugly and the blue LED illumination for the display is not uniform. I'd stay away from it just because it makes a computer ugly.

[nullface]

If i was u i'd buy a mCubed T-Balancer BigNG! They are awesome
http://www.t-balancer.com/english/index.htm
4x 3pin fan conectors
2x Digital temp sensors (u can add more)
You can add a flow meter for water cooling
can't remember how many analogue sensors
u can mount it anywhere PCI backplate 3.5" bay or just the bottom of your case
They are simply superb

Sorry to bump this, but i figured it would be better that starting a new thread, no?

This BigNG thing, is it worth it? How does one controle the fans, via software?
I never realy cared about temp censors and fan controle, i just allways ran 100% but now im becomming a noisefreak and am looking for a sulution that allows me to run a good OC but with minimal noise, and even less noise when idle.

[hoax]

I remember reading a bunch of threads about it on the liquid cooling section last year, but I never owned one, I find it has too many features for my noob needs. but anyway, about those threads:

Here's some good info about bigNG:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=114624

This thead was the reason I choose bigNG two years ago and I never looked back. :)

I also chose bigNG exactly from this thread as well. :yepp:

So did I...

this is something to keep in mind that I wasn't aware of (same thread, but much more recent post):
You'll need to ask mCubed for some assistance....errrr Sorry, forgot they don't support the BigNG/miniNG anymore..:down:

That's why I went with the Aquaero...:up:

Sorry if you had already seen those threads. :)

source(http://www.xtremesystems.org/Forums/showthread.php?t=162333)

[RandomSuffix]

I've been looking at Fan Controllers for when I'm going to revamp my rig in a few months, and a few things to note,

You need to know how many fans you want to control and how much power they'll need. Fan controllers such as the ZM-MFC1 Plus are excellent, but they have relatively low power output when compared to those of Sunbeam or Scythe, but if you're just going to be running regular fans on them it isn't much of a problem - There's also the advantage that you'll be able to run more than one fan per channel with higher powered controllers and still have the fans running at max speed.

The next is, do you want to be able to turn the fans off? Some controllers have a range of 0-12V, and others will have something ~3-12V. In both cases this is likely to stop your fan, but in the latter cases your fan will still be recieving power. The ones that go down to 0 allow you to turn your fans completely off.

What features do you want? If you're looking for a simple controller, then really I would recommend either the Zalmans or Sunbeam. The only problem with the Sunbeam controllers are their horrible LEDs. This isn't so bad on their regular, 4 fan controller as you can just push the LEDs back, but on the Extreme you have to really like your blue glows.

If you want a temp monitor, and a RPM read out, I have to suggest the Scythe Kaze Master, it has a fairly high power output on each channel (Not quite as much as the Sunbeam controllers however.), 4 temp monitors and RPM reading for fans.

Finally there's the problem of LCDs. A few fan controllers have LCDs, the ones I looked at mainly were the NZXT Sentry and the Zalman MFC2. The Zalman wasn't too bad, but the NZXT had a horrible viewing angle, becoming unreadable if you weren't looking at it head on. This isn't a huge issue, you just have to move your head, but it's one to bear in mind.

--

Most fan controllers have 3 pin attachments, infact I was unable to really find one that didn't which is pretty handy.

I'm still debating which fan controller I'll go for, but I may end up getting two of the Sunbeam regulars, which have 4 channels and allow the fans to be shut off. I would go for the Scythe, but for the cost of the Scythe I can get two of the Sunbeams, which allows me greater control (As I have more than 4 fans), but I may change my mind.

Soooo... anyway. Depending on the level of control you want and the look, I'd suggest the following:

Scythe Kaze Master
Sunbeam Rheobus / Extreme
Zalman ZM-MFC1 Plus
Zalman ZM-MFC2