Temperature controlled fans and fan controller

valkynaz · 29 Aug 2012 at 12:41

I am in need of some 120mm case fans soon (will probably order within the next week or so) and wanted to know if anyone has had any experience with how temperature controlled fans and fan controllers work together?

At the moment I was looking to buy some Arctic F12 120mm fans from OcUK next week but they have none in stock. They do however have some temperature controlled versions of these fans. However my thinking is that the temperature control on the fans will over ride the control put in place by the fan controller. Does anyone know if this will be the case?

Tealc · 29 Aug 2012 at 12:49

They probably will. It might be possible to short the temperature probe connections/cable together to force 100% fan speed but it would be a risk as it might be configured for a PTC thermistor and not a NTC thermistor, in which case you'd have to solder a 100k Ohm resistor across the connection.

Rik1254 · 29 Aug 2012 at 13:09

IMHO....avoid the F12's like the plague, unless you like your computer sounding like a fighter jet at full pelt.

Made the mistake of filling my computer with them because they were really cheap...now I wish I saved for some better fans.

valkynaz · 29 Aug 2012 at 13:17

Rik1254 said:
IMHO....avoid the F12's like the plague, unless you like your computer sounding like a fighter jet at full pelt.

Made the mistake of filling my computer with them because they were really cheap...now I wish I saved for some better fans.

There isn't any reviews on the OcUK website and it's hard to judge the fans noise levels off of youtube videos, so I didn't really know.

Would the Bitfenix Spectre plain fans be more appropriate? Extra £2 a piece but if they are quieter they are more preferable. But then again the F12's shift 70% more air than the Spectre's.

Tealc · 29 Aug 2012 at 14:15

Bitfenix Spectre fans are only 1000 RPM fans and are pretty quiet.

Don't believe what the manufacturers claim their fans can do regarding airflow. You'll probably find that an F12 and a Spectre will push similar amounts of air at the same speeds. Spectre's have a nice quiet bearing and rigid fan blades but I can't comment on the F12 as I've never owned one.