Question on fan control

[Slurred]

I'm in the market for a fan controller either 3.5 or 5.25 and was wondering if a fan controller would be compatable with the fans I already have. My Antec p180 came with 3 "TriCool" fans that have speed controllers on them, but I have to open the case just to get to the controllers. Would I have to buy new fans for this? Any recommendations for a good 120 fan?

Also I'm looking for a decent 80mm x 15mm fan to help cool my video cards, as the p180 comes with a side exhaust duct, but a standard 80 x 25 doesn't fit with my dual 6800's. This panaflo is the only one i've found. Noise isn't an issue as it'll only be on when i'm gaming, but airflow is.

Any suggestions on fans or controllers is much appreciated here.

 

[Bobthelost]

Don't waste the time with the VGA duct, the verdict is that it's a waste of time.

You could always extend the wires for the fan controllers so they can be routed to the front if you wanted. I swapped two of the tricools out for akasa 1200 rpm ones and i control the speed via software.

 

[suszterpatt]

I'm using a CoolerMaster Aerogate II (mainly to monitor temps), but its build quality isn't all that great, I just applied some duct tape to it today because it snapped out of place again. However, the Aerocool Coolpanel 2 looks nice. 4 fan controls, 4 thermal sensors, and a 20 in 1 card reader.

 

[DBSX]

If you hook up the Tri-Cools to a fan controller you need to consider and do a couple things: First the Tri-Cools (at least the ones I got) use 4 pin molex connectors, you would need 4 to 3 pin adapters for most fan controllers. If you go this route just set the Tri-Cool's controller switch to Hi and then adjust with the fan controller when you need to raise or lower fan speeds.

I used very quiet low speed fans for my P180:

I have these for my top rear exhaust, my CPU heatsink (XP-120) as well as the lower cage fan (total of 3).

I use one of these for the hard drive cage. It moves only a small amount of air, but it is silent and moves enough to keep my hard drive reasonably cool.

And finally, one of these for the top exhaust (under the "spoiler") and let Cool n' Quiet ramp it's speed up if needed. My CPU temps are not "super cool" but then I don't really care. At load I stay around 50C and that suits me fine.

I also agree, that the VGA duct is pretty much useless, but this one will fit there if you are determined to use the duct.

\Dan

 

[Zepper]

Yes as others wrote: adapt your fans to 3-pin, set any fans with integrated controllers to high (or bypass the control entirely) for use with a front panel controller. You may be able to find fan extensions that also adapt from 4 to 3 pin - may need something like that depending on how far your fans are from the controller.

.bh.

 

[Bullhonkie]

Originally posted by: Zepper
Yes as others wrote: adapt your fans to 3-pin, set any fans with integrated controllers to high (or bypass the control entirely) for use with a front panel controller. You may be able to find fan extensions that also adapt from 4 to 3 pin - may need something like that depending on how far your fans are from the controller.

.bh.

:thumbsup:

Exactly what I've done with my P180. I was ready to replace the two top 120x25mm fans with Yate Loons but they seem to undervolt well enough that I don't hear any motor noise, so I just left them in. I got various cable extension/adapters from SVC and run them to a Sunbeam Rheobus in one of my 5.25" bays and keep the integrated controllers to high.

 

[potato28]

Opps... maybe you should buy a fan controller.