Fan Controller Confusion. Need Help

JamesEW

JamesEW

JamesEW

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20 Oct 2013
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I am currently using a Zalman ZM-MFC1 Plus 6 Channel Multi Fan Controllerhttp://www.zalman.com/global/product/Product_Read.php?Idx=208

Maximum power 7.0W per channel
Input voltage 12VDC
Output voltage 5VDC - 11VDC 5%

I am controlling 2x 140mm Noctua NF-A14 FLX Fan (top case)
1 x Noctua NF-F12 IndustrialPPC 2000RPM 120mm High Performance Fan (intake)

and 2 x Corsair SP120 Performance Series fans on a Corsair H80i in push pull setup.

These are all using 3 pin.

Do I need a better fan controller, and with more wattage per channel? each fan has its own channel / knob control as there are 6 channels on the controller.

I want to be able to run each fan at their respective maximum rpms when gaming (knobs turned full) but i'm sure that my Gigabyte Z87 OC motherboard's Bios fan settings still had an affect on the Corsair fans.

For example, Bios set to fan turbo would really drive these fans loud, much more than when the fans were set to maximum on dials (Bios set to normal fan mode)

I don't get this behaviour as I would have thought the controller set to maximum dials would be driving the fans as hard as they can physically go.

Could you guys help me clear this confusion?

If I do need a new fan controller, can you guys recommend a decent 5 or 6 channel 3 pin, dial only controller? The Akasa looks good but not sure how well it will fit a Lian-Li PC50 with toolless installation.

Cheers guys.
 
Is it possible a fan controller can't output a maximum rpm of some fans e.g 2000rpm, so that at maximum dial, it might only be spinning fans at say 1000rpm? Would this explain the behaviour?
 
Sounds like it cant power the fans to their potential where the motherboard can. I use a bitfenix recon with 3rd party software phobetria, have a look into it, once its setup I will control your fans in stages depending on how warm the inside of your pc gets. I'm not sure if it will power 2000rpm fans though so make sure you check that out first
 
er i normally do the maths on these things haha

so if you say its 7W per channel....

if you wanted full power (i.e. 12V) you would be drawing 7/12= 0.58333A

so you should be alright unless you are splitting fans on each channel as IIFC most fans draw about 0.2

maybe i screwed the maths :(
 
I did a similar calculation and assumed the same that even at max it wouldn't be drawing more than half of 7w potential wattage as each fan is on own channel.

Noctua 2000rpm draws Max. Input Power: 1.2 W. Max. Input Current: 0.1 A

Corair Power Draw: 0.18 A

so this would make buying a new controller pointless then?

Why would motherboard turbo fan profile be affecting this then unless mate has wired them wrong
 
It is quite common that fan controllers drop some voltage as part of their regulation processes. The drop out voltage in these cases can get larger as the current draw increases.

Back when I tested the Bitfenix Recon I noticed that with one fan I had no significant drop out voltage but this increased to 2 or 3 volts once I loaded up the channel towards its 7W limit.
 
Thing is I don't think i'm nearing the controllers maximum wattage on each channel even when fans are at max. I don't see why it should drop out or hinder maximum rpm

I just bought the Akasa FC 6, hopefully it works better as my current Zalman operates 5v to 11v DC and the new one operates from 0-12v DC. Judging by my fan specs, that should mean these fans (12v max operating) can run at their true maximum, same as if directly connected to motherboard and profiles set to turbo (I think)

It would be a shame to lose their max rpm capability just because i decided to do it via manual control and not let the bios control them automatically.
 
ah that would explain it.

if its not getting 12V it will never be able to hit full speed. you said its a 3 pin right? the speed of these is directly controlled by volts it can draw. 12V=full speed. your motherboard will easy be able to give this whereas it looks like only the better controllers actually give 12V.

I've never used these controllers as most decent motherboards have really good software that allow you to set fan curves for different temps. hence why i got confused :(

hope that helps
 
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