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Case fan on/off switch

Discussion in 'Building a new PC' started by Knuck1ez, Feb 17, 2009.

  1. Knuck1ez

    Knuck1ez Regular member

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    iIs there a such thing as a Case fan on/off switch or maybe a fan controller that turns a fan all the way off because my extra led fans are nice but are too bright when trying to sleep if I want to keep my computer on. would using the inverter that comes with cold cathodes work with fans because those have of on switches built in.
    one more question, would a fan controller lower the brightness of a fan? (logisys)
     
    Last edited: Feb 17, 2009
  2. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    Yes, but it would turn the fan completely off as well. Can your system run without it?
     
  3. Knuck1ez

    Knuck1ez Regular member

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    yeah, this is just an extra case fan. my computer is too cool, Im going to overclock it. what would be a good 3.5 or rear panel fan controller?
     
  4. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    For a 3.5" bay, the Akasa Fan controller Jr. is quite good. I tend to prefer 5.25" bay controllers myself, but they usualy have absurdly bright LEDs themselves, so are best covered by a case front door.
     
  5. Knuck1ez

    Knuck1ez Regular member

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    I think I made up my mind. I want to use rocker switches to power off my fan. I would also be able to turn of the extremely bright case light and even the side fan easily. when my computers on it idles around 38C with the freezer 64 and the max ive seen it at is 42C. I only plan to turn the fans and leds off at night when only utorrent is active, so its not consuming alot of power and heat.

    I just cannot figure out how to install rocker switches.. very complicated. what are some recommendations for switches and the required cables, and maybe a tutorial if anyone can find one...
    Thanks Alot...
     
  6. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    Are you turning off all the fans in your case, or is there one you're going to leave running? As good as your CPU cooler is, with no case fans you'll get heat problems.
     
  7. Knuck1ez

    Knuck1ez Regular member

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    yeah, I have 4 case fans: a 80mm side, 80mm exaust, and 2 120mm intakes.... I'll leave the exaust and one 120mm on all the time... the other 2 (which both have leds) and the cold cathode kit I want to be able to turn off with switches...
     
  8. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    That's fine, you can probably fashion your own switched molex kit.
     
  9. Knuck1ez

    Knuck1ez Regular member

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    Yeah I know.. its just very confusing and I have no idea how to connect the cables or even what cables to use..
     
  10. ILL-C

    ILL-C Member

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    fan controller
     
  11. Knuck1ez

    Knuck1ez Regular member

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    Would it be possible to hook a cold cathode or case led up to a fan controller to dimmer or turn off the lights?
     
  12. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    Turn off yes, dim not recommended.
     
  13. Knuck1ez

    Knuck1ez Regular member

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    Turn off is exactly what I wanted to do. would any fan controller do this? im really more focused on turning the case led off. I bought the zalmans fanmate2 and it only dimms my led fan. is there a controller that turns off fans and case leds? I know im asking for the impossible though... thanks.
     
  14. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    Sunbeam Rheobus will do it, but as I say, you will need to cover up or unplug (not hard) the LEDs.
     
  15. Knuck1ez

    Knuck1ez Regular member

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    I figured out what I want. I need a 3.5" fan controller that sets the volts from 0v-12v instead of 7v-12v, so I can turn my leds all the way off. I was looking at the vantec nxp-305 but I cant find anyone that sells them..
    one more question, if I use a 4 pin splitter could I control 2 fans using one controller slot? keep in mind that I only have a 400w corsair psu and I dont want to overload it with too many fans.
     
  16. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    That's exactly what the Sunbeam Rheobus is, a Switchable 0-12V fan controller, but for a 5.25" bay. The only 3.5" one I've seen is the Vantec.
    Also, what difference does it make what power supply you have? Even a dozen fans don't use as much power as a Seagate HDD does, and where do you think fan controllers get their power from?
     
  17. Knuck1ez

    Knuck1ez Regular member

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    Oh.. good, I was thinking too many fans + a controller could overload a PSU. I thought turning up the speeds on a fan (overclocking..lol) would increase the wattagge like a Gpu or cpu would..

    I think I found a good controller http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811997010
    Just one question, would using a 4pin splitter on 2 fans to one fan slot work? because I wanted to control 3 fans Plus my extra bright 4pin case light..
     
  18. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    I'd only recommend dropping the brightness of LEDs. If it's a cold cathode, you should only turn it on/off.
    Upping the speed of a fan does increase its power usage, and in the same way as a CPU or Graphics card. The difference is, most fans use less than 1 Watt.
     
  19. Knuck1ez

    Knuck1ez Regular member

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    wait.. so overclocking a cpu or gpu actually dosent use alot of watts?
     
  20. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    Overclocking a GPU and CPU uses loads of watts, but Fans just use such a tiny amount of power in comparison that they only use about 1 Watt at maximum speed.
     

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