Help With Fan Controller Decision

alphaomega16

alphaomega16

alphaomega16

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4 Jul 2006
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Heya chaps, I am looking to pick up some fans

4x120mm Akasa Apache
3x140mm Akasa Apache

Having trouble finding a decent fan controller for them, I was going to pick up the Aerocool F6XT since I cannot find any Fan Controllers that operate 7 fans.

But I was trying to find one compatible with the PWM thing, or can I still control the speed of the fans without a PWM 4 pin controller ?

I am a little lost but have decided I would want these fans though, just clueless on a suitable fan controller.

Any help would be appreciated :)

Its for a Zalman Z9+ Case

PS
Can the fan controller that comes with this case just be removed ?
 
Why buy PWM fans and use a fan controller to modify their speeds?

Use PWM splitter/s to feed power and PWM signal to your fans and let the motherboard control them.

If you must have fans on a fan controller then go with a 3 pin fan. I find the Apache poor on variable DC voltage, stalling at quite a high voltage when compared with its peer fans.

True PWM fan controllers are thin on the ground simply because they are not really necessary as motherboards already produce a good and valid PWM signal, as do graphics cards.
 
Are the fan connecters on a motherboard not limited ? I thought there was only a couple.

The only reason im picking up PWM fans is because they Apache's only come with PWM afaik

If they will work with standard fan controllers then thats fine.
 
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My Apache stalls at around 8v which is pretty poor considering that my other fans can go down to 3v or so. I would not recommend them for DC voltage control. Mine made a barely perceptible, but nevertheless annoying grinding sound when on low duty cycle. I replaced it with a 4 year old Noctua and it makes no such sound.

Motherboard fan headers are not limited in the amount of fans that can be controlled by their PWM signal. I've never tried but there's no reason why a dozen or so fans couldn't be controlled by the CPU header as the PWM splitters generally use a Molex for power, and they can handle around about 25-30 fans each.

The major benefit of motherboard PWM control is the automatic variation of speed based on actual temperatures. Why fiddle with a knob if the PC can do a much better job. I always forgot to ramp speeds up when gaming and had a few overheating moments because of that.
 
Man, Akasa suck for not doing these fans normally as well, everyone holds these fans in very high regard and are recommended by a LOT of people.

Id prefer manual control a lot more.

How would I go about making sure these go full whack when im gaming ?
 
Buy 3 pin fans and hook them up to a standard fan controller and then dial them up when you need. It just makes no sense to buy a PWM fan for your application. There are loads of fans considered decent and come in 3 pins, even black is a requirement.

I'm not quite sure why people regard Apaches so well. I certainly wasn't impressed and felt somewhat conned because I listened and believed the recommendations.

Or I suppose you could just bodge 4 pin PWM fans onto a 3 pin fan controller and live with the issues. Bitfenix Recon allows you to fit 4 pin fans and has 5 channels. You'll need to split off two channels into four though. Not sure what other controllers allow you to fit 4 pin fans by providing the 3/4 headers.
 
Is there a way of setting profiles for these in motherboard settings at all ?

Setting certain speeds for certain temps and such, or is it all automated.

I was thinking of having for my Zalman Z9

Front 1x14cm Intake
Top 2x14cm Outtake
Rear 1x12cm Outtake
Side 2x12cm Intake
Bottom 1x12cm Intake

Or having the Sides as outtakes as well.

I have an MSI Z77-GD65
 
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You can usually modify a PWM duty cycle %/degrees C setting in BIOS. The higher the number the more aggressive your fan response to temperature.

Some motherboard software also allows further tweaking of fan curve and the third party application, Speedfan, allows the same but with a much smaller footprint, although it is less pretty.
 
Tealc said:
You can usually modify a PWM duty cycle %/degrees C setting in BIOS. The higher the number the more aggressive your fan response to temperature.

Some motherboard software also allows further tweaking of fan curve and the third party application, Speedfan, allows the same but with a much smaller footprint, although it is less pretty.
Click to expand...

I tried updating MSI Control Center but after I did all I get now is "Driver Can't Load" message, I saw a youtube video that updated version of the software had the fan control screen but now it wont even run and MSI do not do older versions of their software.

Edit
Would bios version affect the newer version of Control Center ? My MSI Z77A-GD65 is still running A.00. Never updated my bios as im scared im going to screw it up and will have to end up reinstalling windows or just mess the whole system up.

Not having money to replace anything I break brings with it great paranoia lol
 
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I did send Akasa an E-Mail asking if they did non PWM versions or planned to and got this as a response.

Thank you for your email and interest in our Apache fans.

I'm afraid we don't do a non-PWM version of the Apache fan, but simply
omitting the PWM wire on the fan connector should do the trick and it'll act
as a 3pin fan.

We have no problems controlling the fan speed of the Apache fans on our fan
controllers.
Click to expand...

Think ill pick up at least 1 apache as a tester see how I get on with it in the standard controller I have now and on the motherboard headers over a couple of days before making a final decision.
 
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