PC fan controller - sensor mod

[lork]

Hi,

I have no idea about anything electronic related but I think this forum should be overkill for my thing.

I bought fan controller to boost my GPU. I spend some time trying to set it up, I know how it generally work. If temperature exceeds given threshold by 1°C it trigger fan and try to drop it to 1°C below threshold. Temperature changes are monitored so if temperature is not decreasing then RPMs increasing.

I have four performance fans. Three of them around GPU card @1000RPM keep it at lower temp. with less amount of noise than when card is on its own cooler. However, if left alone in semi-auto one fan will reach limit before others and when this happen it spin up and temps are not increasing anymore. After ~1minute @3000RPM one fan will drop temperature 1°C below threshold.

As i wrote at the beginning I am looking more for McGyver style than proper solution. I think I want help making one temperature sensor for three lines. Perhaps I'm not good enough to ask proper question.

Thanks in advance

 

[(*steve*)]

My guess is that if a single fan can remove the heat, you're better off with only one operating at a higher speed. Or maybe just one fan.

If the GPU keeps heating up, I would imagine another fan will start. This may provide some backup in case of bearing failure or dust build-up, or even a really heavy load on the GPU.

Are you doing it for effect, or for show?

 

[lork]

Well I am not. These fans @1000RPM are below 20dBA. @3000 over 45dBA. Faster fans use different more expensive tech and first of all they are even louder. Do you know how 6000RPM 120mm fan sound like?

GPU is not heating up anymore once one fan spins up. When it reach ~2000RPM temps start falling. Because temperatures stop increasing other fans don't start and I can't set sensors so they show same figures.

I want cool, quiet PC I don't care for look...

 

[CocaCola]

Speed (RPM) of the fan is not the measurement you are all that interested in when choosing one for cooling, you are interested in CFM...

Fan location and placement can also have drastic effects on their ability to cool... Blowing the same hot air over and over as it increases in temp is not efficient... Instead use push and pull fans that exchange the air inside the computer at a reasonable rate and it will make a world of difference... And using a push/pull two fan system you can dial them down and still get decent air exchanges without the higher dB...

Worse comes to worse this is why more and more people are heading toward liquid cooled systems,,,

 

[lork]

Hi.
If I need cooling advice I go to xtremesystems, but tell me how you do this push/pull on Ge-force with blower type cooler.

 

[CocaCola]

Hi.
If I need cooling advice I go to xtremesystems, but tell me how you do this push/pull on Ge-force with blower type cooler.

If you don't want 'our' advice go to that forum and asked for theirs...

 

[lork]

<deleted>

abuse of members is not the way to get help!! play nice


Dave
Moderator Team

 

[(*steve*)]

So, you've got 3 fans (not for show) and just one of them seems sufficient to keep the temperature down.

Explain (with pictures if necessary) why you still want 3 fans (is it because 3 fans at low RPM is quieter than 1 of them at moderate speed?

If you want quiet, then a larger, slower fan will be better. Perhaps your pictures will show that a larger fan cannot be used.

Are these 2, 3, or 4 wire fans?

What is the controller?

Is the controller providing PWM to the fan, or is it using the "fourth pin" to control the speed.

If the fans have 3 or 4 wires, are you monitoring the speed on any/all of them?

Please answer all questions and give me more information if you think I've missed out on anything.

If you can get some detailed information on the sped controller you have, that would also be useful.

Also, as a friendly reminder... be nice.

 

[CocaCola]

Push - Pull

Right now you have all your fans blowing IN, they are useless this way if there is no where for the air to go, as you create a positive pressure in the case and the air just goes stagnant...

Do something like this where the front and back fans work together to keep a constant exchange of fresh air in the case... Cooling performance will be much better and the fans can be turned way down in most cases...

Do note the direction of flow for the Powersupply fan, you can set the other 'back' fans to this same direction so that the air flows through the case vs getting stirred up...

 

[lork]

Push - Pull

Right now you have all your fans blowing IN, they are useless this way if there is no where for the air to go, as you create a positive pressure in the case and the air just goes stagnant...

Do something like this where the front and back fans work together to keep a constant exchange of fresh air in the case... Cooling performance will be much better and the fans can be turned way down in most cases...

Do note the direction of flow for the Powersupply fan, you can set the other 'back' fans to this same direction so that the air flows through the case vs getting stirred up...

Yeah, I should think about it before...
How about now? The positive pressure happens only on the surface where fan is aimed.
It's not blowing IN is blowing ON (well, english is not my tongue)
There is no positive pressure in the case. Case have some mesh on the bottom and top.
Fan on top of GPU blow in/thru Sounblaster and onboard radiator behind GPU.

Just a step before 3d modeling

 

[(*steve*)]

Given the way the GPU is already cooled, I would suggest that you would get a much increased benefit if you either

a) changes the integral fan so it draws in cool air from outside rathe than warm air from inside the case, or

b) ducted cool air to the fan inlet.

I don't believe you've answered the questions I have about the fans.

 

[lork]

I have four performance fans.

What would you like to know about fan that is not there?

Given the way the GPU is already cooled

Yes. I just wanted to make three lines with one sensor and stop using fan control manually.

 

[(*steve*)]

OK, you have 4 Scythe "ULTRA KAZE" 120 x 38 mm Case Fans and you want to control 3 from a single channel of your controller.

Unless you have the 3000rpm version, a single channel of your controller should be able to control all three fans.

The way to do this would be to connect all three red wires together and all three black wires together (so the fans are in parallel). Then connect a single RPM sense wire to the controller. The speed of only 1 fan will be monitored.

The other sense wires *may* be able to be connected to other channels, however the controller would not know when the fan was supposed to be on or off so its alarms would have to be disabled.

I would recommend you do this without cutting wires or removing connectors in case it doesn't work.

 

[lork]

Well, they are DFS123812H-3000.
And I don't think I can do this. This is why I came out with idea about joining sensors rather than fans. Check the specs. Two fans will exceed fan controller max. A.

And to be honest, with this fans radiators on the fan controller heat up enough to burn your skin.

 

[(*steve*)]

I'd probably advise getting the slower fans. <shrug>

Joining the sensors *may* work, but I'm not sure I know anything about them, and it still requires that whatever reference these are compared to is sufficiently the same that all will switch at once.

Perhaps you can get out your multimeter and determine if one lead of these temperature sensors is common to all of them. You *may* be able to connect the other connection together for all of them (placing the sensors in parallel).

This will only work if the sensors are something like thermistors. It won't work (or may not work) if they are something a bit smarter.

Again, I would suggest that you don't cut wires if you can avoid it.

 

[lork]

Heres a link for temperature sensors.
I doubt you can work with this (but maybe). I am still searching for anything moreover, but it doesn't look promising...

 

[(*steve*)]

At that price they're probably thermistors.

Try connecting them in parallel on three channels.

 

[lork]

Yep. Just got it confirmed.

temperature sensors are NTC-resistors (Thermistor).

 

[lork]

Hi.

I tried it and its good enough.
I have no tools. I used Q-connector to have one plug and metal tape to connect cables. Cables with plugs from front panel led.
Fan controller channels do not check temperature at the same moment so sometimes display show little bit different figures.


Thanks.