External case fan speed controler

[Ben97]

I bought a new PC several months ago and one of my main priorities was it being very quiet. Switching to just SSDs has helped a lot, but the main issue now is my graphics card, which has 2 incredibly loud and irritating fans.

To give you an idea of the space I have in my case, this is the case I have:
Silverstone PS15
https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=822&area=en
It is rather compact, but does allow for a reasonable size graphics card. I have the EVGA GTX 1650.

The most irritating thing about this card is that when the card is at certain temperatures, the fans switch on and off in a consistent pattern and it sounds like a failing mechanical hard drive, though admittedly quieter. I would much rather the fans never turned off if they emit a click when power is taken away and re applied. I have since got an overclocking program suitable for Linux “GreenWithEnvy” which I have set a custom profile. It seems the fans can’t run at less than 1100rpm (33%), so I have set that to be the minimum all the time. The fans also seem to sound like an idling engine at certain speeds and don’t make a consistent noise. I ended up setting the percentage to 60% between when the GPU is at 50 degrees right the way up to 75, then a dramatic increase in speed, getting to 100% well before what this card says is critical, which is 88 degrees. The reason why I have it fixed at 60% for most of it is because the fans are so noisy and they seem to vibrate the whole case when the speed percentage or above. When gaming, the temperature seems to stay below 75 most of the time, which still isn’t as low as it should be I’d say.

Right, onto my case fans. I tried quite a lot, and have now learned I should have done things differently. I have a Be Quiet BL069 (140mm) fan on top extracting air, a Noctua NF-P12 (120mm) at the rear extracting air, then also a 120mm Noctua NF-S12A at the front as an intake. Due to the noise these make, other than the front one, I am using the low noise adapters. A 7v one for the top fan and Noctua’s own noise filter for the rear fan. I think this reduces to speed to around 800RPM from 1300.

I tried an experiment the other day and that was just having my top and rear case fan on full speed and then tried gaming only having my graphics card fan speed on 50% as a test. The GPU temperature didn’t even hit 70, and I usually have the graphics card fans working much harder than this. Basically, I realised I didn’t need the front fan and what I could do with is some kind of fan speed controller. I know that you can get the type of fans that are temperature controlled, but I prefer slightly more noise than an inconsistent fan that is changing speeds all the time. I like the idea of me being able to just turn the speed up to full on the two exhaust fans (of which that noise is far less irritating than my graphics card). I just wouldn’t want them at this speed all the time.


So, what are the best options? Are there anything that can just plug into a Molex connector or something that you can then plug your 3 pin fans into, then vary the speed a bit with a physical control? I’m aware you have much more variation with 4 pin fans, but going as low as 7V is already quiet enough for what I want when not gaming. I’m just not sure if these fans need a different method of reducing the RPM.


Long post, just thought I would explain what I have tried, and explain the reason why I didn’t want 4 pin fans.


Thanks.

 

[Chris Beard]

So, what are the best options? Are there anything that can just plug into a Molex connector or something that you can then plug your 3 pin fans into, then vary the speed a bit with a physical control? I’m aware you have much more variation with 4 pin fans, but going as low as 7V is already quiet enough for what I want when not gaming. I’m just not sure if these fans need a different method of reducing the RPM.

Long post, just thought I would explain what I have tried, and explain the reason why I didn’t want 4 pin fans.

Thanks.

Yes, what you describe exists - I own two of them; one that goes in an 5.25" bay slot and one that goes in an expansion card slot. I don't use either.

I use the motherboard bios fan control to adjust the fans. It has both DC (voltage, 3 pin) fan control as well as PWM fan control on every fan header. My motherboard has 4 fan headers, which is not unusual - however even on an older MATX budget board I was able to control multiple fans by using fan splitters.

Another option would be to upgrade the cooler on your GPU, or to upgrade your GPU

Solution Option 1: BIOS Fan Control Free

Which motherboard do you have please? - I suspect BIOS fan control, which is free and OS agnostic, is likely to be most appropriate for you. Fan splitters may be an option to control 2 (but not more than 2) fans from one header.​

Solution Option 2: DC Fan Controller $

An option from OCUK for a fan controller, although I would not recommend this one:

Akasa 5.25" FC Six Channel Brushed Aluminium Fan Controller [AK-FC-08BKV2]= £29.99

A rule of these forums is that we are not permitted (quite reasonably I always thought) to link to or hint at competitors.​

Solution Option 3: GPU Cooler Replacement $$

There are no options at OCUK that explicitly list your graphics card as being compatible.​

Solution Option 4: Upgrade GPU $$$

I would not recommend this at this time; GPUs are selling for inflated prices and have been for quite some time now.
​

Solution Option 5: The 5v and 7v Molex Mods Free to $$$$

It is possible to use a cable to link a molex connector to a fan header, although I would not recommend this one:
OcUK Value Power Adapter 3 Pin Fan Power to 4 Pin Molex Adapter (RB-523)= £2.50

It is possible to switch the pins in the molex connector around to create a 5v or 7v power directly from the PSU. 7v is controversial as it could theoretically blow up your PC. There are tools for modifying molex connectors, but I always found a thin screwdriver to work well enough.​

 

[Ben97]

Thanks for this detailed response. I have spoken about your options and inserted my text in bold and underlined it with them and commented a bit below your post too. I just thought it may be easier.

Yes, what you describe exists - I own two of them; one that goes in an 5.25" bay slot and one that goes in an expansion card slot. I don't use either.

I use the motherboard bios fan control to adjust the fans. It has both DC (voltage, 3 pin) fan control as well as PWM fan control on every fan header. My motherboard has 4 fan headers, which is not unusual - however even on an older MATX budget board I was able to control multiple fans by using fan splitters.

Another option would be to upgrade the cooler on your GPU, or to upgrade your GPU

Solution Option 1: BIOS Fan Control Free

Which motherboard do you have please? - I suspect BIOS fan control, which is free and OS agnostic, is likely to be most appropriate for you. Fan splitters may be an option to control 2 (but not more than 2) fans from one header.​

I have the asus b550 wi-fi. It apparently has some issues with the BIOS regarding USB audio. I notice quite a bit of popping when the sample rate changes as well as on several programs, but although I know how to enter the BIOS, I have little understanding of what to do. I think there has been an update to fix this. On a related note, wouldn't BIOS controlled fans have to be controlled by software, or is this including a physical control? I think some of your other options look better for me. I also had this computer custom built by a similar place to overclockers and I would have to remove the CPU fan to access the motherboard fan headers which I would rather not risk.

Solution Option 2: DC Fan Controller $

An option from OCUK for a fan controller, although I would not recommend this one:

Akasa 5.25" FC Six Channel Brushed Aluminium Fan Controller [AK-FC-08BKV2]= £29.99

A rule of these forums is that we are not permitted (quite reasonably I always thought) to link to or hint at competitors.​

This looks to be a good option. My case is small so it won't fit in it, but the design looks like I would be able to create a box for it and sit it on top of my case. From the reviews, I would likely have to cover up the LEDs though. Wonder why manufacturers love sticking excessively bright LEDs on everything? That said, I think the same about gaming mice an keyboards, and most gamers love them! Will this alasa controller have a load of loose cables on it? I'm not sure of the connectors on it, but I likely would be able to get it to work and somehow feed the cables into the rear of my case. I'm also hoping this will be able to go as low as a 5v adapter would make the fans, as well as beign able to turn them off entirely.

Solution Option 3: GPU Cooler Replacement $$

There are no options at OCUK that explicitly list your graphics card as being compatible.​

Solution Option 4: Upgrade GPU $$$

I would not recommend this at this time; GPUs are selling for inflated prices and have been for quite some time now.

I only bought a new PC back in march which including everything was very expensive for me, and my graphics card is having big problems with the latest few driver versions in Linux, so I haven't really been able to use it for serious gaming lately, but I know the card isn't at fault, and it is capable. Would certainly like to avoid buying another as you imply!
​

Solution Option 5: The 5v and 7v Molex Mods Free to $$$$

It is possible to use a cable to link a molex connector to a fan header, although I would not recommend this one:
OcUK Value Power Adapter 3 Pin Fan Power to 4 Pin Molex Adapter (RB-523)= £2.50

It is possible to switch the pins in the molex connector around to create a 5v or 7v power directly from the PSU. 7v is controversial as it could theoretically blow up your PC. There are tools for modifying molex connectors, but I always found a thin screwdriver to work well enough.

This is similar to what I am using now. I'm using a bequiet adapter that goes from a power connector for hard drives (not sure of the name) and splits to 3pin connectors with 5v, 7v and 12v. 5v especially makes my fans as quiet as I would want them for when I want the whole PC to be quiet, but it obviously is difficult to get them to go at full speed at the moment.
​

I will also take any advice about fan position. Here is the inside of my PC:
http://www.wetherby.me/wiki/pub/Sandbox/RandomImages/P1200185.JPG

The piece of from is to dampen vibration and resonating from the whine of the graphics card fans. It helps quite a lot, but I will likely remove it if I can get this other solution to work well. The fan you can see to the bottom right was very expensive as it is incredibly quiet, but I'm now thinking it isn't needed (plus it just collects dust on the front of the case) and having the other 2 at full speed instead will draw more than enough air in. I could do with some way of seeing the path of the flow of air so i know how well it is working. I do know that it is far better how I explained though.

 

[Chris Beard]

A picture is worth 1000 words. I see the cramped conditions you are working with!

Fan positioning is a complicated thing. Mostly people recommend balanced airflow, or positive airflow for dust management (as all the dust that front fan is pulling in could otherwise start caking all you heatsinks and components!).

I'll try to find time for a more complete reply later, however if you favour a fan controller approach I'd look to see if you can find one that does fit inside your case. I don't believe OCUK sell any.

I found my fan controller for DC control by searching for a "Fan Hub 4 Knob 8 channel" as I wanted to control up to 8 fans with 4 knobs out the back of my PC. I don't know if this might be useful to you.

 

[Ben97]

I'm happy to wait for another response. been testing another few hours with just my top and rear fan on full. Even with my graphics card fan set to 40%, it didn't go over 75 degrees. This makes me thing I should be perfectly safe to set the graphics card fans to stay around 60% until it gets much over 70 degrees. I now just need to think of an external controller. I think I could use one of the cheaper ones by Akasa and simply have it on top of my case. I could fix it to my pc shelf easily enough. Would just need a fair few extensions to get to the inside of the case.

 

[Elfmeister.]

Hi, Nice tidy build.

I would look at bringing the front beige Noctua internally, switch the grey Noctua from the back to the front so it's above the beige Noctua, giving it it's best chance of a cool intake. I'd then flip the psu, so the fan draws air from the gpu with the cooler mixed air from the front. Hopefully creating a nice flow of air out the top and bottom.

In regards to the Asaka fan controller, it's a steady durable product, I've had one years but it didn't sit flush with the front of my case and the cables are ugly mustard and red colour and would spoil the look of your build.

 

[Chris Beard]

This makes me thing I should be perfectly safe to set the graphics card fans to stay around 60% until it gets much over 70 degrees.

Agreed - that makes sense to me too. The trick will be to configure the case fans to keep it under 70 degrees C @ 60% fan speed.

I also had this computer custom built by a similar place to overclockers and I would have to remove the CPU fan to access the motherboard fan headers which I would rather not risk.

I quite understand your aversion to the risk. I think you will be able to access the fan headers without removing the CPU heatsink - I wasn't able to work out exactly which model of motherboard you have to look in the manual where the fan headers are. Please don't do anything you're not comfortable with, but if we are going to propose you flip your power supply then I think it might be worth thinking again about using the motherboard headers at the same time.

I now just need to think of an external controller. I think I could use one of the cheaper ones by Akasa and simply have it on top of my case. I could fix it to my pc shelf easily enough. Would just need a fair few extensions to get to the inside of the case.

If you settle on an external controller look at something like the Kingwin Four Channel Turn Knob Multi-Fan Cooling Controller FPX-001. It's not a controller I have direct experience of (mine are all no-name generic ones I imported from China), but it looks to be well recommended and is significantly cheaper. It only works for 3-pin fans, but I think you mentioned earlier you only have 3-pin fans?

It comes with mustard and yellow cables, but I think you'll be able to make the fan cables reach the controller, rather than using the cables that come with it - and the same for the molex power (direct from the PSU cable).

I would look at bringing the front beige Noctua internally

I agree with this, having it further from the front panel so it is 'open' on one side can reduce noise for the same airflow.

Switch the grey Noctua from the back to the front so it's above the beige Noctua

I also agree with this in conjunction with flipping the PSU. It may help to move the airflow path so that fresh air is supplied to both the CPU and GPU. You can always experiment with different configurations until you get something that works best.

I'd then flip the psu, so the fan draws air from the gpu with the cooler mixed air from the front. Hopefully creating a nice flow of air out the top and bottom

I agree with this as well - I was toying with making this suggestion earlier.

 

[LuckyBenski]

If you settle on an external controller look at something like the Kingwin Four Channel Turn Knob Multi-Fan Cooling Controller FPX-001

I've got one of these somewhere and seem to recall it's very small if you take the case off. Ideal for modding into a custom mount.

 

[Ben97]

That is a lot of responses!

Hi, Nice tidy build.

I would look at bringing the front beige Noctua internally, switch the grey Noctua from the back to the front so it's above the beige Noctua, giving it it's best chance of a cool intake. I'd then flip the psu, so the fan draws air from the gpu with the cooler mixed air from the front. Hopefully creating a nice flow of air out the top and bottom.

In regards to the Asaka fan controller, it's a steady durable product, I've had one years but it didn't sit flush with the front of my case and the cables are ugly mustard and red colour and would spoil the look of your build.

I first bought the beige and brown noctua fan (NF-S12A - love the colour!), with the intentions of being quiet, but it is very weak. I planned to have it replace the stock case fan, but it resulted in my graphics card temperature increasing a little. I then bought the grey fan, making sure it had better airflow, and this is more powerful and effective than the brown fan even with a noctua low noise adapter. From the experiments I've done, having this rear fan (Noctua NF-P12) and my large high speed BeQuiet fan (BL069) on full speed is rather effective even without a front mounted fan in use.

I also first tried mounting a fan where you suggest - further inside the front of the case. But this seems louder strangely, relating to resonating and then the other problem is dust. The dust filter is on the front of the case - pretty much flush with the front of the fan, then is the metal grill on the other side. When I tried mounting it on the inside, while it didn't collect as much dust at the front of the case, it did bring noticeably more into the case, so I would rather avoid placing fans here. I think I plan to either keep my Noctua one where it is, and just turn it on full manually when i need to. Otherwise, I could buy a cheap 140mm (which will fit at the front), more powerful fan that certainly should make a difference, and only use it when it is critical.

Agreed - that makes sense to me too. The trick will be to configure the case fans to keep it under 70 degrees C @ 60% fan speed.




I quite understand your aversion to the risk. I think you will be able to access the fan headers without removing the CPU heatsink - I wasn't able to work out exactly which model of motherboard you have to look in the manual where the fan headers are. Please don't do anything you're not comfortable with, but if we are going to propose you flip your power supply then I think it might be worth thinking again about using the motherboard headers at the same time.



If you settle on an external controller look at something like the Kingwin Four Channel Turn Knob Multi-Fan Cooling Controller FPX-001. It's not a controller I have direct experience of (mine are all no-name generic ones I imported from China), but it looks to be well recommended and is significantly cheaper. It only works for 3-pin fans, but I think you mentioned earlier you only have 3-pin fans?

It comes with mustard and yellow cables, but I think you'll be able to make the fan cables reach the controller, rather than using the cables that come with it - and the same for the molex power (direct from the PSU cable).



I agree with this, having it further from the front panel so it is 'open' on one side can reduce noise for the same airflow.



I also agree with this in conjunction with flipping the PSU. It may help to move the airflow path so that fresh air is supplied to both the CPU and GPU. You can always experiment with different configurations until you get something that works best.



I agree with this as well - I was toying with making this suggestion earlier.

I have a manual for my motherboard, and i could get to one of the fan headers quite easily in fact, but I still prefer the idea of just using molex or another form of power and just a fan speed controller.

I'd looked at quite a lot of other models of fan controllers. Many unbranded ones look identical to the Kingwin one, and one thing that concerns me is not having the ability to disable those party lights on the front! I can imagine these will be overkill like most LEDs are and my PC is in my bedroom and sometimes will need to be on over night.

If the power supply was flipped, wouldn't that fan fighting with the graphics card fans? They will be face to face both pulling inwards in air and then isn't there a chance both will have to work harder - or result in extra noise? While it will have a grill, I do here a USB 2.0 header under the graphics card fans with the cables resting on the power supply (out the way as much as possible).



Will try a few more things.


The difficulty I may run into is the sort of extensions I have to find. The only spare cut out I have on the back of my PC is that above the graphics card. To use this, and get to where I plan to put the fan controller on top of my case, I would need at least a 2 foot cable. Obviously for power and the 3 pin extensions. It would be nice to have the ability to turn the fans off, which many of the cheaper controllers don't have. But I have to say, I'm impressed with the price of the Akasa AK-FC-06SL. Doesn't look to have any lights too which I like. Just not sure about the cables. Given it's price, I may accept that that I can't turn the fans totally off.

Any more help would be appreciated,


Thanks.

 

[Chris Beard]

LEDs can be taped over with masking tape or just painted with nail polish to black them out.

With that said you can look at other controllers, I'd be aiming to spend between £7 and £12 - but I'm a cheapskate!

A 14cm fan moves a lot more air than a 12cm fan at the same noise level.

I've had very good experience with 2nd hand fans, which can be extremely cost effective.

I actually have some spare and will happily send you one for free if you ping me on trust. I have one in my system and cannot hear it at minimum rpm from the motherboard control, which is surprising as it didn't get fantastic reviews.

The PSU fan may compete with the graphics fans and may even be noiser, but my guess is that what is happening right now is that the same air is being recirculated through your graphics card again and again causing it to heat up. By adding an exhaust it helps to draw fresh (cool) air into that part of the case. I think this is also why your negative pressure model worked better - you were likely drawing fresh air from the PCI slots over the GPU sink.

 

[Ben97]

LEDs can be taped over with masking tape or just painted with nail polish to black them out.

With that said you can look at other controllers, I'd be aiming to spend between £7 and £12 - but I'm a cheapskate!

A 14cm fan moves a lot more air than a 12cm fan at the same noise level.

I've had very good experience with 2nd hand fans, which can be extremely cost effective.

I actually have some spare and will happily send you one for free if you ping me on trust. I have one in my system and cannot hear it at minimum rpm from the motherboard control, which is surprising as it didn't get fantastic reviews.

The PSU fan may compete with the graphics fans and may even be noiser, but my guess is that what is happening right now is that the same air is being recirculated through your graphics card again and again causing it to heat up. By adding an exhaust it helps to draw fresh (cool) air into that part of the case. I think this is also why your negative pressure model worked better - you were likely drawing fresh air from the PCI slots over the GPU sink.

LEDs that have a ring diffuser around dials are always a nightmare to hide. If it is just a simple hole and a light, black PVC tape works brilliantly. The model that got mentioned looks hard to cover the lights. The akasa model I mentioned, I've found new for under £5. Only thing that puts me off that is having no way of disabling the fans totally. The majority of the time, I would rather the front fan is off, so I don't get dust build up.

If I was going to choose a new 140mm fan, I certainly would go for another BeQuiet BL069. That though is ignoring that it is not cheap. But it is impressively quiet given it runs at 1600RPM at full speed. I am really sensitive to the sound of fans. If they vibrate too much or resonate the case, I can't stand them. I also notice even on some brand new fans, it sounds like the magnets are brushing together slightly. Funny after it being called brushless. I actually brought an old computer case fan home from work yesterday. A 120mm 0.35A Dell model. It sounds like a jet engine in comparison to the bequiet model! I think I will probably find some other use for it. Maybe to cool something where noise doesn't matter.

Will send you a PM about this other fan then. Thanks!

Edit, However you do PMs, I'm not sure.

 

[Chris Beard]

Will send you a PM about this other fan then. Thanks!

Edit, However you do PMs, I'm not sure.

Trust is done so we need to do PMs - let me try one now.