Fan controller - Gelids.

Leeroy123

Leeroy123

Leeroy123

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Just wondering if it's possible to use a fan controller with these fans which i have on my gtx460's .

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-002-GD

They run at there max speed all the time and you can't change the fan speed on them. Would be nice to be able to run them a little slower, anyone have a clue about these?

Tried running MSI afterburner but speed will not change, have yet to try plugging them directly into the mobo.
 
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You could plug into the motherboard but you may find it tricky to sync the speed of the fan against the GPU temperature. A fan controller might work but again the above issue may remain unless you can somehow attach a thermal probe to the heatsink and get reliable thermal transfer and updates from it.

Your card has PWM output and this is the ideal way to achieve control as you can modify the fan curve and speed based on the acual GPU temperature as measured by the graphics card itself. The problem is that Gelid cheaped out and used 3 pin fans (by the look of it) instead of 4 pins.

I'm making a converter that will take a 4 pin PWM connector, do some jiggery pokery with the PWM signal, and spit out a nice steady DC voltage at the other side. Take a look here. I've already built two and can easily make another with the small 4 pin GPU fan connector on it and a standard one on the other side, if that's appropriate.
 
Wow mate thats a really clever idea, these coolers ive put on are really good at keeping the temps low, just wanted the option of lowering the speed. Isnt there already somekind of converted you can buy? As for plugging them in the mobo, well 1 would reach the CHA FAN 2 which on my board is 12v, but the other can only reach CHA FAN 1 which is just 5v so thats not an option. The cables are actually pretty short.
 
I won't even pretend to understand how it all works, but Asus Fan Xpert lets me control 3pin non-pwm fans as long as they're plugged into a 4pin socket.
If you get a 2 way Y splitter, that should sort it.
I guess you wouldn't be able to sync them to your GPU temps though...

Btw, I was looking at that cooler for my 5870. How loud/intrusive do you find it at max rpm? Whatever it is, it can't be louder than the stock fan lol
 
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Leeroy123 said:
Wow mate thats a really clever idea, these coolers ive put on are really good at keeping the temps low, just wanted the option of lowering the speed. Isnt there already somekind of converted you can buy?
Click to expand...

I don't think there is mate. I've certainly never seen one. Phanteks offer one for purchasers of their cooler though. The whole reason I started the project was because I have loads and loads of 3 pin fans I want intelligently controlled by the actual hardware making the heat. Fan controllers are too dumb for this sort of cooling.

Anyway if you'd like me to make a converter for you let me know as per my thread. I even have a 4 pin XHP-4 connector somewhere.

Asus probably do something similar to what I've done, or perhaps a more intelligent DC-DC buck converter circuit. It still wouldn't be synced to the graphics card temperature though, would it?



H
 
No, it wouldn't... :(
Still, given that fan xpert (and it's equivalents) are truly terrible at displaying accurate temps, and considering the Gelid cooler should be fairly quiet and provide good cooling at say, 60-80%, then the easiest way to do it is to just use fixed rpm profiles via the software.
The only problem is remembering to activate them before you start a gaming session :D

Btw, I'm not trying to educate you or anything here Tealc. I have no doubt that your knowledge on this subject is vastly superior to mine :)
I just think it's just the quickest, easiest solution for the op, though not necessarily the absolute best.

PS, When I say terrible temp readings, I mean that mine will show pretty much the same compared to Real Temp when idling, but as soon as it's at load, FanXpert will show around 51c where Real Temp will show around 70c for example.
That's why I personally don't use the auto adjust. Yeah, I suppose you can take an educated guess and say 'well if it hits around 50c in FX, then I'll set the fans to hit 80% because I know that 50c report really means 70c'.
I know you know this, but it's worth mentioning.

Ultimately, I guess all that is moot considering we're talking about GPU temp, not CPU... Though you could argue that they kind of go hand in hand.

EDIT, would a fan controller with thermal sensors solve this?
 
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Heh yeah I hear you about setting a speed when going gaming but if you are like me you forget and only remember when your GPU crashes your PC because you've gone too hot, or it revs up to 100% when it hits 110 deg C.

It's almost like these aftermarket graphics card cooler makers punish you for wanting to have some peace and quiet while gaming. Even my Thermalright Shaman which came with a PWM fan was designed to run off the GPU fan header and I had to make my own cable. I think the Arctic accelero do though.

Hmm CPU and GPU do often go hand in hand, at least in my machine, so if a motherboard header is spare and it's curve can be referenced off CPU temp and it can control 3 pin fans then it could be made to work. Nice idea. It's a pity that so many boards come with just the one controllable header.
 
I have tried changing the fan speed on MSI afterburner and other software, nothing works like that. Tealc if you have spare time yeah i'd love a converter mate, will happily pay you whatever you want. ( Hope that breaks no rules on here )
Am actually considering getting somekind of fan controller for the gentle typhoons i have on my h80 too, seeing as i cant slow them down either.
 
Leeroy123 said:
Tealc if you have spare time yeah i'd love a converter mate. ( Hope that breaks no rules on here )
Am actually considering getting somekind of fan controller for the gentle typhoons i have on my h80 too, seeing as i cant slow them down either.
Click to expand...

Please contact me in trust and we'll have a chat about your needs.

I hope so too
 
Leeroy123 said:
I have tried changing the fan speed on MSI afterburner and other software, nothing works like that. Tealc if you have spare time yeah i'd love a converter mate, will happily pay you whatever you want. ( Hope that breaks no rules on here )
Am actually considering getting somekind of fan controller for the gentle typhoons i have on my h80 too, seeing as i cant slow them down either.
Click to expand...

Mate, no program would work if the fans are only plugged into the PSU...
Your motherboard software will do it if you plug them into the motherboard.

Try Fan Xpert seeing as you have an Asus Mobo.
 
That's where these come in:

2 into one? : http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CB-071-AK

4 into 1? (Ok, 5..) Try this: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CB-079-AK&groupid=1929&catid=153&subcat=

Or this: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CB-070-AK

Extra cable length (probably wouldn't need it with the above options): http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CB-049-AK

These are all 4pin, but it doesn't matter + most 3 pin ones are ugly as hell (except for the Bitfenix ones ;))
Get the 5 way splitter and control all the fans on both your GPU coolers as one. Plus, they'll receive power via molex or sata depending on which cable you choose which means you don't have to worry about the mobo headers taking the strain.

Download Fan Xpert from Asus if you don't have it (it's part of AI Suite) and at least try the one fan that does reach to see how it works.
 
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Yeah the 2 into one will do mate, ill give it a try thanks. Each cooler has it's 2 fans running off 1 connection. So ill order one of them and see if i can then slow them down.
 
Not all Asus board support the Fan Xpert + or Fan Xpert 2 3 pin calibration features.

It's about time Asus took back 3 pin support though, at least with a selection of some of their boards.

The electronics for calibrating and controlling a 3 pin fan using PWM isn't simple with up to 1 Ampere of power and that's probably why it's only on some boards.

Just noticed today that Speedfan can read my GPU temperature and can assign any fan speed to it.
 
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