The purpose that one buys a PWM fan foris to provide speed control.....
automatic speed control. Do you really want to be using a fan controller to manually adjust fan speeds all day ling as your system load changes ?
The Aerocool fan controller basically makes YOU the fan controller... just a series of "knobs" to turn or buttons to push. So sitting here typing on THG, turn all knobs, sliders, whatever down to slow speed... one adjustment for each of the 4 fans. Playing an old game that you like, turn them up a little ... another 4 adjustments .... playing Witcher 3, there's another 4 adjustments.
In this era, fans are controlled automatically and provide speed control automatically in response to system temps. You would be better served by using something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA85V3N90439
1. Use the provided PWM cable to connect from your MoBos PWM connector (Note: All 4 pin headers are NOT PWM) to the red connector on the Swiftech PCB.
2. Connect all your fans to the other black connectors on the PCB.
3. Connect the power cable from the PSU to the PCB.
4, Open the provided MoBo utility and set up your fan curve.
Never make another adjustment again
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/aerocool-f6xt-fan-controller-review/3/
Also note that the Aerocool unit has no ability to provide PWM control of the PWM fans... as there is no PWM signal between the fan and the controller. The review linked above shows that each of the fans is being connected using just two pins... it doesn't even have an input to receive a PWM signal.
The Aerocool F6XT is probably the simplest fan controller we have seen in many years. It is simple to install, simple to use, but maybe it is simply too simple. We consider it to be expensive for the resources if offers.
•Incompatible with fans with three-pin connector
•Cannot turn off a fan
•Doesn’t have an alarm if a fan stops
•Doesn’t have any kind of automatic fan control
•If you have fewer than six fans controlled, you cannot remove the unused cables
So all your investment in PWM fans is for naught as the Controller is just sending a DC voltage signal tot he fans which is NOT RECOMMENDED. Both Swiftech (for their own PWM pumps, fans and other devices) and Nidec (a fan OEM for popular brands) warn against doing so.
http://www.swiftech.com/pwmcontrollers.aspx
There are PWM controllers and there are PWM fans, but the way in which PWM is implemented in each differs greatly: a standard PWM controller modulates the 12 V supply line of an “ordinary” 12 VDC motor. Conversely a PWM controller for PWM fans – such as the one featured in this article – doesn’t modulate the 12V supply line but instead sends a PWM signal along a different supply line (the magic “fourth wire”) to a more advanced 12 VDC motor, leaving the 12 V supply line uninterrupted. Designated PWM fans not only have internal circuitry which differs from that of standard fans, but because they are designed with speed control in mind the motors themselves are usually more advanced (and expensive). So, PWM speed control of a standard fan is indeed very different from PWM speed control of a PWM fan… Nidec even goes so far as to say that modulating the main supply voltage is not advisable:
Pulse-width modulation of DC operating voltage to modify fan speed [edit: in PWM devices] is not recommended. Transients generated by that approach can irreversibly damage motor commutation and control electronics and dramatically shorten the life of a fan.
As we can see above, it is critically important to distinguish between PWM fan controllers designed to manage regular 3 pin fan, and PWM fan controllers specifically designed to manage 4 pin PWM fans. In the first type, the 12v supply line is modulated by the fan controller and in the second type the controller sends a signal thru the 4th wire to the fan, and the fan motor modulates its speed according to this signal by using its onboard controller.
What is important to understand above is that PWM fans, and the Swiftech PWM pump, are designed to receive a fixed 12 v supply. While the voltage may vary somewhat, the range is usually limited; we’ll publish the safe operating range for our pump upon release.
Therefore, if you have a PWM fan controllers it does not necessarily mean that you will be able to control our pump. You need to make sure first that your controller is designed to manage 4-pin PWM devices.
Obviously Swiftec here is mostly concerned about their PWM Pumps, but Nidec (italicized text) is quite clear on the subject also.
As the reviews says, you are paying a lot of money for a very limited controller ... a controller that requires you to do all the work, and is detrimental to useful life the PWM fans being used. Many will argue against the fan manufacturers published advice say they have done it and their fan(s) didn't die ... my grandad lived to 85 smoking 2 packs of unfiltered cigarettes a day for his whole life .. that doesn't make it a good idea.
When the manufacturer if the fan says "don't do this", best to take their advice
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