How to control case fans speeds?

[xpdashxp]

I just purchased the Antec Sonata III case with 500W Earthwatts PSU at Buy.com for $68 (after MIR). It comes with a single rear 120 mm fan, and I plan to add a 120mm fan at the front. The main selling point of the case is obviously low-noise, so I am looking for a way to control fan speed automatically to keep the fans quiet and then ramp them up as needed.

I am looking for more information on how this is done and cheap/easy ways to implement.

Software?
Hardware?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

 

[Evilonigiri]

I know a cheap way to control the fans manually.

Use the Sunbean Rheobus: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998808

 

[sweetpants]

I know a cheap way to control the fans manually.

Use the Sunbean Rheobus: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998808

I used a 5-fan rheobus controller in my system that I bought from frozencpu.com. I felt lazy and had them mod it with yellow LED's instead of blue which was standard. (I was going for a silver/purple/yellow theme)

 

[ausch30]

Do you want the fan speed to change manually or automatically? There are motherboards which have several fan connectors and allow you to set automatic fan speeds in the BIOS as well as PSU's which have fan only cables which control the speed depending on tempurature, you might have all the tools you need to do it for free. What motherboard do you have? I have one of these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813999903 sitting in my spare parts box, it's a good unit and solidly built and for manually setting speeds works very well.

 

[xpdashxp]

I'd prefer the speeds to adjust automatically based on heat load. I just purchased this board:

GIGABYTE GA-MA69VM-S2 AM2 AMD 690V Micro ATX.

Thanks,

 

[evongugg]

Antec 92MM FAN W/ HEAT SENSOR-DBB 3PIN MON 4P SMARTCOOL

Thermally controlled Antec 120mm SmartCool case fan is up to 80% quieter. RPM increases as the temperature rises. It features double ball bearing design for extended life.