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2 PCs 1 Fan

EmaRacing
By EmaRacing
in Cooling
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I'm building a silent pc into a custom wooden case, the idea is to make it look like a fake drawer, similar to the Ultimate Ikea gaming desk, but containing 2 Computers.
One is a gaming rig, Ryzen 3600, G1 1070 and so on, the other is an I7 3770 using the onboard graphics for kind of an office use.

I bought 2 140mm Noctua fans for intake, and 2 120mm for exhaust. 

Is there a way to have all the fans ON even if only one of the 2 PCs is on?(And have no conflicts when both PCs are on)

-First option: powering the 4 fans with a wall adapter or something, with some kind of manual speed controller, you forget to turn on the fans, everything inside cooks, meh...
-Second option: Each computer controls one intake and one exhaust fan, will it be enough for my gaming rig? Less meh but still not the perfect solution.
-Third option: ?

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3 minutes ago, EmaRacing said:

-First option: powering the 4 fans with a wall adapter or something, with some kind of manual speed controller, you forget to turn on the fans, everything inside cooks, meh...

This is the better option...

 

4 minutes ago, EmaRacing said:

-Second option: Each computer controls one intake and one exhaust fan, will it be enough for my gaming rig? Less meh but still not the perfect solution.

Instead have the main pc control both intakes and 1 exhaust, flip the second exhaust and use it as an intake for the office pc 

At me or quote me, I want to hear your opinion.

 

Hopefully anything I say is factually correct. Sorry for any mistakes in advanced.

 

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You can get an AC to molex power supply, similar to a laptop's brick psu just smaller. I have one for testing fans and running pumps outside the pc, cost maybe 10.- or 15.- on amazon. Either add a simple fan controller or make them fixed speed or get a fancy 5.25 fan controller with temp probes and such.

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Tonight I was thinking about the fans powered by a 12v adapter, but using a relais switched on by both motherboards, with diodes to avoid interference between the 2 different PSU.

This sounds like a cool option to me, no idea which type of diodes to use though.

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33 minutes ago, EmaRacing said:

This sounds even better!
 

Pay attention to ratings and specs. Some have adjustable "trip points" for sensing different levels of amp draw. Some are digital on/off and some give an analog signal for monitoring. You want digital, yes/no, and pay attention to contact amp rating. If it's low or is labeled as pilot duty, you'll need it to trigger a relay that actually powers the fans.

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