Controlling fan speed based on coolant temperature - Commander Pro or alternative?

[SonicSW20]

Hi all,

Looking at changing my fan system for an upcoming watercooling loop. At the moment I have Thermaltake Riing Trio 140mm's and a Ring Duo 120mm, and Thermaltake Z-One RAM so its all the same ecosystem for the lighting. While the fans are nice, the connectors are proprietary for the fans and the software is lacking.

I'm considering moving to a Corsair system (already use iCue for keyboard and mouse), and one of the features I'm particularly interested in is the Commander Pro's temperature control options with the thermocouple inputs and using that to control the fans.

Are there any alternative systems to the Commander Pro out there? I'll likely go with LL140 and LL120 fans, and change the RAM out for Corsair as well.

 

[SonicSW20]

I guess for either of those I would need a separate solution for lighting? Part of the appeal of the Commander was a single hardware / software solution for both coolant temp fan control, and the RGB stuff. Happy to go with two separate bits of kit though, if either the Octo or 6LT are objectively better.

 

[SonicSW20]

I have a Commander PRO and it does let you map fan speeds to a temperature input. I've only used the included Air temp sensors of the Commander PRO thus far though. I assume any temp sensor will be compatible? I'm planning to use a water temp sensor with the commander soon.

I *think* you can use any 2 pin thermocouple on it. You can get G1/4 "pass through" sensors, I was planning on putting one after the last hot component in the loop (highest temperature point in the loop) and another after the last radiator (coolest point in the loop). The hot one would be the reference for fan control, the cool one to be able to see the temperature delta - not needed but a nice addition for the sake of a simple fitting.

 

[SonicSW20]

I'm already using iCue for keyboard and mouse and PSU. Those recommending the Octo, please give objective reasons as to why it is better. I'm not totally adverse to running both bits of software but less startup software / background applications the better.