Need help finding fan controller...

lenin001 · May 20, 2009

Hey guys, new member here. I've been looking everywhere and I can't seem to be able to find a 5.25" fan controller with red l.e.d. lights. Any help will be appreciated.

MRCL · May 20, 2009

Heh buy a Zalman ZM-F1 controller and turn the knobs to max, then you have red LEDs

On the non-joking side, I don't recall ever seeing a fan controller with red LEDs...

King Wookie · May 20, 2009

Agreed.

I'm running one, and as soon as you turn up the knobs above the 10 o'clock position, then leds turn red.

Works well too.

http://www.zalman.co.kr/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=208

alexp999 · May 20, 2009

You could always change the colour of the leds if you wanted to, same way I swapped out the tri colour leds on my original xbox for blue/red/purple ones.

lenin001 · May 20, 2009

Thanx guys, ordering it right now. I wish product descriptions were a little more, hmm lets see, descriptive sometimes.

BumbleBee · May 20, 2009

i'll quote my self again.

BumbleBee said:
first of all the Zalman is a nice controller has good build quality and a beautiful finish however the control knobs don't have much retention, is incompatible with some fans and non fans and has some power loss issues with fans that do work.

by the way i'm talking about the ZM-MFC1 Plus.

if any fan controller needs it's leds switched out it's the Sunbeam Rheobus Extreme excellent fan controller another nice one is the Lamptron FC-2 which has the most wattage on a fan controller I believe 45 watts per channel.

MRCL · May 20, 2009

lenin001 said:
Thanx guys, ordering it right now. I wish product descriptions were a little more, hmm lets see, descriptive sometimes.

If you're ordering the Zalman controller, be assured you buy a good product. I have two and love them, they even come with expansion cables, so that you can route the wires anywhere. Noble looks and good build quality (heatsinks!).

BumbleBee said:
first of all the Zalman is a nice controller has good build quality and a beautiful finish however the control knobs don't have much retention, is incompatible with some fans and non fans and has some power loss issues with fans that do work.

Incompatible? Every fan I tried on it worked, from ancient 60mm ones till recent 250mm ones.

alexp999 · May 20, 2009

How can a fan be incompatible? :confused:

All a fan controller does is vary the voltage on said channel.

The only thing you maybe be thinking off, is that some fans needed 7v or more to start, and fan controllers often go below 6v.

@MRCL, edit you first post and copy the second post text in, save it, then delete your second post

BumbleBee · May 20, 2009

nope it's incompatible with some you will have to google for which ones I think it has a problem with PWM fans can't remember which, one guy in google says the unit takes up less power than if the fans were connected to the power supply and he lost 300rpm on his fan maxed I also noticed some of my fans looked funny when I had this in my Cooler Master 690. some people are going to argue about my points and thats fine but most of them haven't owned several fan controllers.

alexp999 · May 20, 2009

voltage goes into fan, fan spins. Lower voltage, slower fan spins. Sometimes not enough voltage, fan dont spin at all.

I have not heard of any 4 pin PWM fans that are not backwards compatible of being voltage regulated. Not to say there arent any, but I have never heard of them.

BumbleBee · May 20, 2009

I know how fan controllers work...

alexp999 · May 20, 2009

exactly, all fan controllers work the same, it may only be a fan that doesnt like being undervolted.

And most fan controllers output between 6-11v, never seen one that does 12v.

MRCL · May 20, 2009

alexp999 said:
exactly, all fan controllers work the same, it may only be a fan that doesnt like being undervolted.

180mm fans have their startup problems with the Zalman controller. However, turning the knob to max speeds gets them moving, and reducing to min speeds after that works flawlessly.

BumbleBee · May 20, 2009

no they share the same principles but they don't work the same there is build quality issue, overvolt protection, heatsink, how much power is loss the voltages are never going to be perfect they can be little over, a lot over, a little under or a lot under. anyways Lennin i'm not saying this is going to happen to you it may or may not but if you want something a little more industrial look to the two fan controllers I provided. the only issue with the Sunbeam Rheobus is the LED are very bright like starring into the sun bright and the Lamptron FC-2 is supposed to have 12 LED but only has 10 it's missing 2 nice cool feature is when you turn the knob to up the voltage the LED gets brighter.

it'sJesuslol · May 24, 2009

I'm planning to use 2 of the ZM-MFC1 (not plus) with a bunch of 230mm fans (HAF 932 stock) and some antec tricool led fans. I've got one question though.

If I'm not mistaken: the voltage regulates the speed of the fan, so why does the wattage matter?

Btw, the Zalman site says the following:
"- Maximum Adjustable Range: +6.5Vmax (=Vfan(max) - Vfan(min))"
Does this mean you can overvolt to a maximum of 18.5 volt (12 + 6,5)?

lenin001 · May 29, 2009

Wattage is the max power each channel will provide safely. For example, this Coolermaster fan I have in my case is rated for 12V 0.20A, totaling a 2.4W draw, well below the 7W per channel for the ZM-MFC1. You could connect 2 of these fans in parallel to a single channel and still not exceed the channel's power capacity. I hope that helps.

lenin001 · May 29, 2009

BTW I got my ZM-MFC1 Plus earlier this week, and got it installed this morning.

Loving it so far.

Naekuh · May 29, 2009

alexp999 said:
How can a fan be incompatible?

All a fan controller does is vary the voltage on said channel.

PWM vs standard 3 pin. :laugh:

BumbleBee · May 29, 2009

correct.

Naekuh · May 29, 2009

alex u can not connect a PWM fan into a 3pin socket.

PWM is 4 pins.

So trying to fit a 4 pin fan in 3 pin socket is not recomended. Because that 4th pin is the load sensing wire. Without it, you will have no load, and your fan shouldnt spin by definition of PWM.

3 pin fan in a 4 pin socket is another story tho.

alexp999 · May 29, 2009

Naekuh said:
PWM vs standard 3 pin.

I dont understand your point, I have never had a PWM fan which is not backwards compatible with being voltage regulated.

Naekuh · May 29, 2009

alexp999 said:
I dont understand your point, I have never had a PWM fan which is not backwards compatible with being voltage regulated.

so your saying if you plug in a pwm fan into a fan controller it will work and disable that 4th sense wire?

EDIT: Ack your right I plugged in a stock intel fan into a controller and it works.

JATownes · May 29, 2009

Back to the Red LED situation...I think FrozenCPU will make a fan controller with your choice of LED colors...www.frozencpu.com

And here is a premade:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/7...ol_Panel_-_Black_w_Red_LED.html?tl=g34c17s286

BumbleBee · May 29, 2009

for a extra $15 Performance-PC will change out the LED (color of your choice) on the Sunbeam Rheobus which is definitely a wise choice unless you like starring in to the sun it's because the LED are at 7v lol

lenin001 · May 29, 2009

That's pretty sweet. I wish I've known that before I ordered my ZM-MFC1 Plus.

System Name	PabloHoney
Processor	Phenom II 965 @ 3.8Ghz 35C idle 44C load
Motherboard	Asus M4A78T-E
Cooling	CPU CoolerMaster V10, 7xYate Loon D12SL Red L.E.D.,PowderCoated Sunbeam Rhoebus
Memory	2Gb x 4 G.Skill DDR3 1066
Video Card(s)	2x XFX 5770 CF
Storage	OS Drive: 4x WD Back Caviar 640Gb Raid 5. Storage Drive: 1 Seagate Barracuda 1.5Tb
Display(s)	Asus VW266H, Toshiba Rezga 47"
Case	Cooler Master Cosmos S (painted/powdercoated), Logitech G19, G13, G9x
Audio Device(s)	USB Bose Companion 5
Power Supply	HEC 1k watts
Software	Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
Benchmark Scores	http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dmv=1921944 http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=13

System Name	Fractality 1.0
Processor	Intel Core i7-860 @ 3.6GHz
Motherboard	EVGA P55 SLI
Cooling	Prolimatech Megahalems and four Fractal Design 120mm fans, sleeved
Memory	16GB Kingston Hyper RAM
Video Card(s)	PNY GeForce 580 XLR8
Storage	64GB and 180GB SSDs / 1TB and 2TB HDDs
Display(s)	24" Acer V243W
Case	Fractal Design Define R2, sleeved all I/O cables
Audio Device(s)	onboard
Power Supply	Corsair HX750W modular, sadly only stock sleeving
Software	Win 7 64bit

System Name	Blackbox
Processor	Intel i5 750 @ stock for now
Motherboard	EVGA P55 LE
Cooling	Corsair H50 with 2 x Zalman ZM-F3 push/pull
Memory	2 x 2g team extreem DDR3 2000
Video Card(s)	Asus GTX 460 Top
Storage	Seagate 500.12, Seagate 320.11
Display(s)	BenQ FP222W - 22 inches
Case	CM 590 with 5x various fans (Thermalright/Noctua)
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Corsair HX620
Software	XP home SP3

System Name	Gaming Rig \| Uni Laptop
Processor	Intel Q6600 G0 (2007) @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.45625v (LLC) / 4 GHz Bench @ 1.63v \| AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-62 2 GHz
Motherboard	ASUS P5Q Deluxe (Intel P45) \| HP 6715b
Cooling	Xigmatek Dark Knight w/AC MX2 ~ Case Fans: 2 x 180mm + 1 x 120mm Silverstone Fans
Memory	4GB OCZ Platinum PC2-8000 @ 1000Mhz 5-5-5-15 2.1v \| 2 x 1GB DDR2 667 MHz
Video Card(s)	XFX GTX 285 1GB, Modded FTW BIOS @ 725/1512/1350 w/Accelero Xtreme GTX 280 + Scythe sinks\| ATI X1250
Storage	2x WD6400AAKS 1 TB Raid 0, 140GB Raid 1 & 80GB Maxtor Basics External HDD (storage) \| 160GB 2.5"
Display(s)	Samsung SyncMaster SM2433BW @ 1920 x 1200 via DVI-D \| 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050 resolution)
Case	Silverstone Fortress FT01B-W ~ Logitech G15 R1 / Microsoft Laser Mouse 6000
Audio Device(s)	Soundmax AD2000BX Onboard Sound, via Logitech X-230 2.1 \| ADI SoundMAX HD Audio
Power Supply	Corsair TX650W \| HP 90W
Software	Windows 7 Ultimate Build 7100 x64 \| Windows 7 Ultimate Build 7100 x64
Benchmark Scores	3DM06: 19519, Vantage: P16170 ~ Win7: -CPU 7.5 -MEM 7.5 -AERO 7.9 -GFX 6.0 -HDD 6.0

System Name	PabloHoney
Processor	Phenom II 965 @ 3.8Ghz 35C idle 44C load
Motherboard	Asus M4A78T-E
Cooling	CPU CoolerMaster V10, 7xYate Loon D12SL Red L.E.D.,PowderCoated Sunbeam Rhoebus
Memory	2Gb x 4 G.Skill DDR3 1066
Video Card(s)	2x XFX 5770 CF
Storage	OS Drive: 4x WD Back Caviar 640Gb Raid 5. Storage Drive: 1 Seagate Barracuda 1.5Tb
Display(s)	Asus VW266H, Toshiba Rezga 47"
Case	Cooler Master Cosmos S (painted/powdercoated), Logitech G19, G13, G9x
Audio Device(s)	USB Bose Companion 5
Power Supply	HEC 1k watts
Software	Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
Benchmark Scores	http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dmv=1921944 http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=13

Processor	Intel Core i5-3570K
Motherboard	Asus P8Z77-V Pro
Cooling	Noctua NH-D14
Memory	8GB Mushkin Blackline DDR3-1600
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte GTX 670
Storage	Intel 520 60GB, Seagate Barracuda XT 2TB
Display(s)	BenQ 24" XL2420T
Case	Corsair 550D
Audio Device(s)	Sennheiser HD600, Audeze LCD-3F, Mytek Stereo 192 DSD, La Figaro 339, Burson HA-160, Geek Pulse X
Power Supply	Corsair AX650
Mouse	steelseries Sensei MLG edition
Keyboard	Cooler Master QuickFire Pro
Software	Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium

System Name	does it need a name? O.o
Processor	Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650
Motherboard	Asus P5Q Deluxe
Cooling	Intel Stock, HAF 932 stock
Memory	Kingston HyperX 2x 2Gb DDR2-800 (4-4-4-12)
Video Card(s)	Gygabite GV-N285-1GH-B (GTX 285)
Storage	Samsung Spinpoint F1 HD103UJ (1TB)
Display(s)	LG Flatron W2261V (21.5" 1920x1080)
Case	Cooler Master HAF 932
Audio Device(s)	none/integrated
Power Supply	Thermaltake Toughpower Q-Fan 650W
Software	Windows Vista Ultimate (SP1+) 64-bit

System Name	Nadeshiko
Processor	i7 980X @ 4.2ghz /w HT ON 24/7
Motherboard	eVGA Classified E759
Cooling	Custom H2o
Memory	Corsair Dominators 6 x 2GB
Video Card(s)	2 x HD4870X2 in Xfire
Storage	3 x X-25V in Raid 0 (OS) + 3 x Raptors in Raid 0 (Game)
Display(s)	Dual Gateway 2485
Case	MM U2
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Ultra 1.6KW
Software	Win7

System Name	Mr. Reliable
Processor	Ryzen R9 5950x
Motherboard	MSI Meg X570s Ace Max
Cooling	D5 Pump, Singularity Top/Res, 2x360mm EK P rads, EK Magnitude/Alphacool Blocks
Memory	32Gb (4x8Gb) Corsair Dominator Platinum 3600Mhz @ 16/19/20/36 1.35v
Video Card(s)	MSI 3080ti with Alphacool Block
Storage	2 x Corsair Force MP400 1TB Nvme; 2 x T-Force Cardea Z340; 2 x Mushkin Reactor 1TB
Display(s)	Acer 32" Z321QU 2560x1440; LG 34GP83A-B 34" 3440x1440
Case	Lian Li PC-011 Dynamic XL; Synology DS218j w/ 2 x 2TB WD Red
Audio Device(s)	SteelSeries Arctis Pro+
Power Supply	EVGA SuperNova 850G3
Mouse	Razer Basilisk V2
Keyboard	Das Keyboard 6; Razer Orbweaver Chroma
Software	Windows 10 Pro

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