First WC Loop - PWM fans, Splitter PCBs and other questions!

Brian18741

Brian18741

Brian18741

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24 Apr 2012
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Location
Carlow, Ireland
Hey Guys,

I'm going to put this here;

----tl;dr----Best fans for quiet watercooling set up and how to controll them without 5.25" fan controller?!


Anyhoo. Planning my first loop at the moment. Have it pretty much speced out but need help with the fans.

Vital statistics:

  • 3570k and R9 290 crossfire.
  • XSPC Raystorm and two EK FC gpu waterblocks.
  • EK-D5 Vario X-RES 140 pump/res combo.
  • Tubing will be acrylic, unsure about diameter and fittings, something like 1012mm ID/OD and Bitspower Black Sparkle.
  • Aplhacool XT45 360mm rad push/pull and ST30 240mm rad push config.
  • 8 SP120 quiet edition*

Now, how to control the fans? Before we get too into it, I will have no 5.25" bays so no option for 3rd party fan controllers.

Can I connect all fans to something like a Swiftech 8 way PWM fan controller PCB and have all fans PWM controlled by the CPU? The Swiftech PCB takes power from a molex connector so that should take the load off of the CPU fan header and eliminate the risk of the header burning a hole in the motherboard, correct? :eek:

But is it ok to have the fans PWM controlled my the CPU temps when there will be two GPUs in the loop as well? Will the GPUs suffer as a result as their load may be a lot higher than the CPUs.

Or is the fact the GPUs will be connected to a 45mm thick 360 rad and a 30mm thick 240 rad mean they are going to be substantially cooler regardless as long as the CPU is being cooled?


-----OR-----


I have an NZXT Phantom 410 with inbuilt fan controller. If I use something like a Mod My Toys fan splitter PCB, can I regulate the voltage with the inbuilt fan controller in the case? This PCB is also power by molex so how could I use that in conjunction with the inbuilt fan controller? Realistically I would only need two steps, low and high.



----FINALLY----

About the fans. I've heard of problems with PWM SP120s when several are used, see quote:

The reason not to use the Corsairs, is that they do not conform to the Intel PWM standard, and once you have more than a few of them on a mobo CPU header, they loose lower speed control, and with enough of them, they just ran at max no matter what the pulse width percentage is.
Click to expand...

If not SP120s, what fan to use? I was also looking at eloquently named Noiseblocker Eloop B12-PS or the Alpenföhn Wing Boost Plus PWM.

Noctua NF-F12 PWM 120mm Focused Flow PWM and the Sythe Gentle Typhoon PWM are regularly recommended but that will require painting them as I'm going for a black and white theme. So I'll do it if I have but would like to cut down the work load a bit as I'll be making all custom cables, an acrylic PSU cover, not to mention the acrylic loop and modding the bejeebus out of the Phantom 410 to get everything to fit in! :)

Thanks for your help in advance!
 
Hmm, not sure.
I had mine bios controlled via fan profile, not very precise option tbh. Usually its just 3 speed modes, quiet/normal/performance.
Or you could try the Enermax Manual series, these fans have a speed controll knob attached to each of them - they are normal 3 pin fans though. Still you can power them via molex and set to desired speed and leave it like that.
 
Would that be an option? To just set the 8 fans on a low to medium setting and forget about them? Will the amount of rad cool the components enough in that kind of set up? I'm not going for record low temps, I want it cool and quiet so a nice balance. I'd even be happy with every so slightly higher temps in favour of quiet operation but obviously I'd want it as cool as possible as well.
 
Wow, no doubt an excellent deal. I gave them a quick google and while performance seems good, they seem to be noted for being loud. Will do more research and pull the trigger tomorrow or Monday if I'm happy with them.

Anyone handy with wiring? Could I wire a resistor(?) switch in between the molex and the splitter PCB that will allow me to change voltage from 5v to 12v? Dunno if resistor is the right word.
 
Would avoid powering a ton of fans through a single header. I have seen motherboard headers blown with single pumps and multiple high power fans before.

Why not something like this?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-011-AQ

Dont see the need for push/pull on decent rads if you have the right fans. Money would be better spent either on more radiator if you can fit it, better radiator if you cant IMO.
 
Avenged7Fold said:
Would avoid powering a ton of fans through a single header. I have seen motherboard headers blown with single pumps and multiple high power fans before.
Click to expand...

Will they be taking power from the header though if they the PCB is powered via molex?

Why not something like this?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-011-AQ
Click to expand...

What ..... is it?!

Dont see the need for push/pull on decent rads if you have the right fans. Money would be better spent either on more radiator if you can fit it, better radiator if you cant IMO.
Click to expand...

I can't fit more rad but as for better rads, and again I'm open to correction, my research indicates that the Alphscool rads I mention above are very good for low RPM fans? Ids there something better I should be looking at?

Thanks for your help!
 
If they are good for low RPM, i doubt you will see any performance gain by going push/pull. Would just keep the money and spend it on rotary fittings to make the loop easier. The radiator benchmarks i have seen indicate that it is on par with other entry level decent radiators but offer's good flow performance. IMO radiator restriction is not really worth fretting about, since pumps now are too powerful to be hindered by an extra radiator or two.

I would probably save on the three fans by just going push and grabbing a XSPC RX radiator instead.


This Is the Aquaero PCB version. It is an advanced fan controller powered directly by the PSU but allows for software to manage fan speeds, temperature alarms and also lets you control pumps as well as see temperature's if you hook it up to sensors. It can also be hooked up to a flow sensor, so you can measure your flow rate. I don't use one because i personally feel a cheaper, standard, high power per channel fan controller suits me better. It is a cool gadget but also a lot of money to spend on just a fan controller and not worth it if you don't plan on using any extra features.

As for your resistor question, if you want to be able to change the speeds manually, you would be looking at variable resistors, which is the way the vast majority of manual fan controllers work. Is there no way you can chop up a place in your case to take a bay fan controller?

I don't really know what you mean by powering the fan via a molex but controlling it via the CPU fan header.
 
You can run PWM fans off the VGA fan header with a suitable adaptor. It spits out a PWM signal just like the CPU header. Same rules apply in not loading too many fans on the cards power rail but molex powered splitter PCBs would be fine.

Ideally you'd have a PWM pcb that amplifies the PWM signal to allow so many fans. Is there even such a thing available? It's simple to implement so I'd be surprised if it isn't on some products.
 
Avenged7Fold said:
If they are good for low RPM, i doubt you will see any performance gain by going push/pull. Would just keep the money and spend it on rotary fittings to make the loop easier.
Click to expand...

This^

You really don't need push/pull on an XT45 rad :)
I saw little to no difference using push/pull with Monsta rads fwiw. They have the same fin density.

Just grab one of these (and maybe a 4pin extension for neatness) and run the PWM fans of your choice from the mobo :)

YOUR BASKET
1 x Akasa FLEXA FP3S 3 Fan PWM Controller (AK-CBFA06-30) £3.98
Total : £6.26 (includes shipping : £1.90).

 
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Thanks guys. Much to think about. It will be another month at least before I have the funds so plenty of time to research! The Noctua NF-F12 fans are getting a lot recommendations and at £16 each, saving on three fans will definitely help!
 
If going push only of the 360mm rad I have room to upgrade it up to 75mm thick. Is this worth it or would I actually need push pull for the ticker rads? Someone mentioned mo real difference one a monsta which is 60mm isn't it? (on phone, can't look up this second!) would there be much performance gain by doing so?
 
Brian18741 said:
If going push only of the 360mm rad I have room to upgrade it up to 75mm thick. Is this worth it or would I actually need push pull for the ticker rads? Someone mentioned mo real difference one a monsta which is 60mm isn't it? (on phone, can't look up this second!) would there be much performance gain by doing so?
Click to expand...

For thicker rad you will need push or pull only.

Apparently you would not benefit push/pull configuration on thinner rad either according for MartinLab research.
 
TBH, i dont feel push/pull is needed on any thickness of custom loop radiators if you choose good enough fans.

My top choices for premium 360mm's are the RX360 and the monsta. Personally i prefer the RX. There currently is a radiator benchmark floating about this sub forum but tbh, there is not all that much difference between the entry level radiators and their double price premium counterparts in terms of cooling. If the extra cash is burning a hole in your pocket, the best performance boost would be given by more radiator if you can fit it in rather than spending it on more fans. If you cant fit more, then going for more expensive rads will make a small difference but only wills have a max of 3/4 degrees under load over their cheaper counterparts.
 
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