Fans and Fan Controllers

[TW]Fox

[TW]Fox

[TW]Fox

Man of Honour
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
160,205
Hi all,

I just unplugged the 4 YSTech 'silent' fans in my Cooler Master ATCS201 and was absolutely staggered at how little noise my PC made afterwards.

So, I'd like to do something about them. I've considered three options..

a) Get a nice fan controller
b) Get some quiet fans
c) Get a nice fan controller and some quiet fans

I dont want to dispense with the fans becuase with an 8800GTS and an overclocked Core2Duo in there I want maximum cooling when I am gaming. But am I right in thinking there is simply no need for this when browsing the web?

Which fan controller, then? Want something that looks and feels high quality and perfectly blends with the ATCS201 Aluminium case.

Now - 3 of the fans are 4 pin and 1 is 3 pin. Will this cause an issue? Am I going to need to replace the 4 pin fans with 3 pin fans?

Can anyone give me the lowdown on which 3 pin fans are the best to get?

Thanks!
 
I'd have to say, option c is best, basicaly because it means you will have 4 fans that work with the controller, and they may aswell be much quieter than the YSTech ones.

I don't know what fans are good, I have Akasa Ambers, which are fairly quiet at half speed, but they can make lots of noise at full, nd like 3/4 speed.
I seem to remember people saying something like these are decent fans.

Try here, for an idea as to what is available. Something like this one can control enough, and it comes in silver too.

InvG
 
I would get either a Scythe KAMA Meter and some Scythe S-Flex 1600rpm fans, they are very very quiet but quite a bit of cash.

Or that above fan controller and some Yate Loons.

Or if you dont like the look of that fan controller go for the Sunbeam Rheobus.
 
Anyone got a Coolermaster Aerogate fan controller? Look very cheap and my thoughts are that with it being Cooler Master it'll blend with my case?
 
70611ag1.jpg


Might just replace all the fans with 3 pin ones for the moment and see how I go.

Best noise/CFM ratio 80mm fans? Have YSTech 'silent' ones at the moment..
 
The best 80mm fans I've ever used are Sharkoon Silent Eagle 2000's.

If you do go the fan controller route, check what the lowest voltage it can output is.

I've got a Scythe Kama Meter, and although it looks nice, it won't let you go below 7v, which means my Yate Loons at minimum voltage through the controller are still spinning at around 1000rpm.

The fans are quiet to start with, but I'd have thought the fan controller would be able to go lower to be honest.

The Zalman ZM-MFC2 controller goes down to something like 4v, so I would probably have gone for something like that now.
 
AH...I see your problem now...you have 80mm fans...they are notoriously noisey.

I'm guessing the case can't accocomodate 120mm fans.

Just don't get Deltas, they move loads of air...and that's only if you can stomach the noise of a jet next to you.

At a guess I'd say (from the OcUK range) the Noctua or the Acousti would be best.

But you will always have lots of noise on full speed with 80mm fans. :(

InvG
 
My current YSTech's are 27CFM and 20.5dba apparently.

What is there thats the same sort of airlfow yet quieter? Not bothered about 5v them - I am going to either run them at max or turned off totally.
 
Custom PC magazine did a massive test of fans last year, and they had the 80mm Sharkoon 2000's as the winners.

They measured 26cfm/21.5dBA.

They didn't test the YS-Techs unfortunately, but most fan manufacturers wildly exaggerate the cfm figure, and measure the noise from goodness knows what distance! So, can't really say whether the Sharkoons would be better than yours to be honest.

When I had the Sharkoons though, they were much quieter than the 80mm Akasa Ambers they replaced and some 'generic' 80mm fans that were in the case before the Ambers.
 
A fan controller first, and if that doesn't work, then some new fans.

I had a Coolermaster Aerogate and hated it, tacky and kept beeping at me for no reason.

I then moved to a Sunbeam Rhoebus. Apart from slightly 60's go faster murals, the build quality is much better. Lights are way too bright, but the trick is to push them into their recesses (which reduces the brightness a lot), or mod the faceplate.

The real upside of the Sunbeam is that the fan speed is truly variable - you are not just limited to 5v 7v or 12v steps, and you can stop the fan as well. So it provides you with the full range of noise/heat solutions for your various needs.

Recommended, but read up before you buy. Only 1 or 2 vendors in the UK too.
 
get some scythe 1600's and a zalman mfc1 fan controler

i swear by the scythes there so quiet

and the zalman fan controler is simple but effective and very well made
 
stinka said:
get some scythe 1600's and a zalman mfc1 fan controler

i swear by the scythes there so quiet

and the zalman fan controler is simple but effective and very well made
Click to expand...

Scythe do the S-Flex in 80mm?

I personally would go with some medium speed 80mm fans (so you can still get some nice airflow during games) and a rheobus fan controller.

Sunbeam do the best rheobus controller, means you can completely turn off the fans. It only has a simple bi-polar LED which changes colour as to when your fans are running above a certain voltage (9v I think).

The downside is the LEDs are bright, but they are just plugged into the PCB so can be unplugged. :)

I had the Karma bay and didn't really like it.
 
[TW]Fox said:
Hi all,

I just unplugged the 4 YSTech 'silent' fans in my Cooler Master ATCS201 and was absolutely staggered at how little noise my PC made afterwards.

So, I'd like to do something about them. I've considered three options..

a) Get a nice fan controller
b) Get some quiet fans
c) Get a nice fan controller and some quiet fans

I dont want to dispense with the fans becuase with an 8800GTS and an overclocked Core2Duo in there I want maximum cooling when I am gaming. But am I right in thinking there is simply no need for this when browsing the web?

Which fan controller, then? Want something that looks and feels high quality and perfectly blends with the ATCS201 Aluminium case.

Now - 3 of the fans are 4 pin and 1 is 3 pin. Will this cause an issue? Am I going to need to replace the 4 pin fans with 3 pin fans?

Can anyone give me the lowdown on which 3 pin fans are the best to get?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Scythe Kama Meter?

Not sure if it'll go well with the case, I've never looked at pictures of it, but it's worth a look.
 
jellybeard999 said:
IMO dont bother with a controller, get some Yate-Loon D80SL12s, 5v them, you wont hear them, and they're more than adequate for case cooling :)
Click to expand...

Even under load? Hmm, not sure I would want to be gaming on an overclocked rig, in the heat of next summer :) with just fans running on 5v for cooling!
 
I've got the Kama Meter, it looks great but I don't think it's as good as the Zalman it replaced, the annoying delay it has between turning the knob and anything actually happening really grates. I'm going to swap it out for the new ZM-MFC1-Plus.

zmmfc1plusblackje7.jpg
 
i have an origianl MFC1, and it is simple, cheap and damm good.

Drops my Sharkoon 2000s down to virtualy inaudible levels, and lets me control 6 of them (which is why i got it!).

Tempted by the PLUS though, the black would match my PC-A10 nicely, the only prob i have with the MFC1 is the blingy lights and the perspex front (thankfully i have a case door, but all the same.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom