Simplest "mod" ever?

assalino · 9 Oct 2011 at 14:16

Hi guys,

I recently bought a Corsair 600T, which comes with a fan controller at the top (the dial on this image):

If I turn it all the way down (left), the fans slow down but I can still hear some noise.

So I'd like to find a way to add an on/off switch, to completely turn off the secondary fans.

Any ideas if it could be done and if so, how?

I thought it'd be cool to integrate a pressure switch, so if you pressed the dial down, it would toggle the active state.

Tealc · 9 Oct 2011 at 15:05

Not simple at all.

You'd need to replace the dial with a similar dial with switch function and wire the switch into all the fan's wiring.

It probably all depends on how the fans are wired up to this dial and whether you really want it working off one dial/switch rather than a separate switch elsewhere.

KiiYzOo · 9 Oct 2011 at 15:06

would be easier to swap the fans for better ones

assalino · 9 Oct 2011 at 15:45

If I was to go with a normal on/off switch, maybe hooked at the back of the case, which should I use?

Is there something I can get that would interface with these pin sockets?

pgi947 · 9 Oct 2011 at 16:45

You could easily snip the cables and route them into an external switch, but you would still have to mod the case in some way to fit the switch. Seems allot of hassle for what you want, might be easier just to buy some silent fans.

Fan------Cable--------Switch-----Cable------Fan Controller

Remember you only need to route the live(s) to the switch. Ground can run direct.

Using something like this might require the least modding:

Raikiri · 9 Oct 2011 at 16:49

You can buy 3 pin extension cables with an on/off switch inline, although it would require opening the case every time you wanted to turn them off.

I would just run 12-7v inline resistors (Phobya make some for £2 each), that way you won't have to open the case up and the lowest speed on the controller should be enough to slow the fans to a stop.

assalino · 9 Oct 2011 at 17:33

Yeah, I had considered the resistors and the switch.

The fans are silent already, but the PC is in my room and I like to watch TV on it to fall asleep, so I want it to be deadly quiet and more importantly, NO LEDs

The fans have white LEDs on them, so it can be slightly annoying. Not that annoying that I really must do this mod, but I thought it could be a cute project.

Meanwhile, I found a perfect example of how to do what I wanted, here:
http://www.silentmods.com/section2/item272/part2

I'll probably attach the switch at the back, so it's externally accessible, but I'll figure out the ideal place later on.
Meanwhile, time to find a cool switch

Thanks all.

pgi947 · 9 Oct 2011 at 18:04

Alternatively, if you used a round switch you could use one of the existing water cooling feed holes on the rear, seen in this pic below the rear fan mount.

This way your not physically changing the case, and it leaves your warranty in tact

But yeah you would wire the switch exactly how it is in your link, red/yellow to the switch and ground (black) is continuous. Just make sure to use fully insulated terminals.

assalino · 9 Oct 2011 at 18:24

Exactly what I was thinking!

Cheers

pgi947 · 9 Oct 2011 at 19:37

This seems to be something corsair are starting to implement into their cases, I noticed the new 400R has a button on the front I/O for turning off the LED's of fans.

Tealc · 9 Oct 2011 at 19:37

Make sure the current rating of your chosen switch exceeds the total current rating of your fans as it'll need to cope with it. Those miniature switches posted earlier might not be good enough but the large rocket switches will be ok.

Installing a switch inline on the power cable to one fan is easy but to multiple fans could be trickier. Remember you only need to switch the 12v cable (yellow or red depending on how they are wired) or the 0v cable (black) and not both at once.

What you'd do is cut the power cables at a common point. You'd then attach a length of cable sufficient to reach the grommet hole with a bit to spare for cable tidying, to each end. You'd then solder each of those new wire's bared ends to the switch points. Switching would now make or break the circuit and start/stop as desired.

This would also turn off the LEDs of course. You can snip the led wires if you want them always off. Without on board switches it's tricky to turn LEDs on and off.