Best Fan controllers

[makari]

have a haf case with 3x120's on top, 1 bottom fan, 1 rear fan, and the stock 230 front and side fans...

am looking for a really cool fan controller to use, probably not to run all of them but would like to run cpu fans and maybe top 3 or rear

was looking at this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811992004

but am hearing all kinds of bad reports that it cant put out the juice needed by either large or high end fans... (something like a max of 5w per channel)

so using that as a point of reference... something that looks cool, and would really like for it to have an automatic setting... what is out there for me cause I'm finding it really hard to find these

 

[Ninja Pants]

Your determining factor here are:
1 - how many fans you want to control (Lamptron make an 8 channel controller, the most at the moment I think, someone may be able to clarify?)
2 - The power ratings of your fans (shouldn't be an issue unless you are running more than 1 fan per channel.

I personally would not recommend that NZXT but if you were intent on a touch screen consider this one: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=9_511&products_id=15093 its also 5 channels @ 10W/ch but is of better quality although it will consume 1 mobo slot. Handy if your case is not within easy reach also.

Something a bit simpler I recommend considering this: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=9_511&products_id=17216 (there is also an FV6) has 30W/ch which is more than enough and I find the knobs much easier to use than the touch screens which are generally cheap and non-responsive, not to mention the viewing angle is appalling on some models.

Sorry but I couldn't find either of these on newegg.

However the two points mentioned above will really limit you to what options you have to consider.

 

[Toxxyc]

It's not recommended to run your CPU fans from an add-on fan controller. Leaving it on the motherboard's headers is a much more secure choice. For the other fans though, something like the one you mentioned will work fine. I'm not quite sure if I will grab one so, well, huge, but if it works for you it's fine. I'd prefer a more known brand though, so something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999171 is what I'd look at. I couldn't find Lian-Li controllers too quickly on NewEgg, but they are pretty awesome as well.

 

[Ninja Pants]

I didn't see that, Toxxyc is right, I wouldn't use a fan controller for your CPU fan(s).

 

[Toxxyc]

Yeah some motherboards actually won't even turn on if the fans are running off a controller and not from the motherboard itself.

 

[huron]

Yep...agree about the CPU fan.

I will throw this one out there too:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998063

Have been using it on a box and really like it...easy to control, great temp gauges, nice LCD display.

 

[Lutfij]

take your pick - though I also stand by the no fan controller for cpu fan vote.

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=11&name=Controller-Panels&Pagesize=100

 

[makari]

thanks for all the input, had never seen that site before ninja

am looking at http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=9_511&products_id=17213

any comments about it? seems to have everything I want, nice look, plenty of power, auto / manual settings

 

[huron]

I've never heard of that controller, but it really does look cool. Let us know how it goes if you do get it.

 

[makari]

ok, any suggestions for lighting?

should I go all led fans and no other lighting? should I go plain fans with led lights inside? or both?

was thinking of changing out all fans for red led fans with good performance / noise (say less than 16dba)...

for this case it would be 3x120's on top, 1x140 on rear, 1x230 on side, 1x140 on bottom, 1x230 in front (already good red led fan here)

any suggestions for good fans with leds?

 

[Ninja Pants]

I considered purchasing that controller for my latest build but again was put off by the touch screen (you need tiny figures on this controller to get any accurate response), it is 6 channel @ 30W/ch with is great though. Check out this review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkahwEzVl8o

Fans are personal choice really, you pay more for more cfm and for less dBA. Personally on my HAF-X case I have LED fans top, side, front and cold-cathode lighting inside to add highlights from the bottom and far front side. Top and side fans are CM Megaflow's (19dBA but I find that acceptable).

 

[Toxxyc]

I love my CM fans. I have a few Antec fans as well, and they're just as great. Overall in my case I have a shitload of fans -

1 x 120mm on PSU (Generic Gigabyte fan)
2 x 120mm on CPU (Cooler Master R4-L2R-20CK-GP & R4-P2B-12AK)
1 x 80mm on GPU (MSI Cyclone)
2 x 120mm front intake (Antec TriCool 120mm)
1 x 120mm rear exhaust (Antec TwoCool 120mm)
1 x 140mm top exhaust (Antec TwoCool 140mm)
1 x 120mm side intake (Cooler Master R4-L2R-20CK-GP)

All of which are LED except the GPU, PSU and one CPU fan. Front fans have their own speed controller, as do the top and rear fans ("High" and "Low" speed settings). PSU, CPU and GPU fans are temperature controlled (motherboard, PWM and hardware controlled) and the side intake fan is on a controller. It generates a lot of noise when sucking air into the case, so I turn it down to about 20%.

All in all, the LED fans are pretty nice, but I don't think I'll go all-out LED again. You really do get tired of it, and when you use the PC for anything other than gaming the blue glow can be distracting (and downright irritating when you try to sleep with the whole room lit up like a Christmas tree).

I'd recommend LED fans with switches you can use to turn the LED's on and off. I'm considering selling my case at the end of the year and getting everything new with my Bulldozer rig, and then the only fans I'll get with LED's on will be the CPU fans. The cooler must glow...