Fan controller burnt

[1ntegerByt3s]

Hey, hope y'all are having a nice day. Recently, I turned on my new system after putting in the tempered glass back and I noticed some smoke coming out from the top. I immediately took course of action and turned off the system and unplugged the power cable. I was worried one of my components were fried (mostly the motherboard), however it was not the case. I did some inspection and found the fan controller burnt out (I was very relieved it was not the other components ). Could I replace the controller or should I bother buying some proper RGB fans w/ hub (yeah... my case has this button to cycle some LED effects )? What could've caused this? Because this was all working fine before. The cable that powers the controller was a molex.

Edited June 21, 2021 by 1ntegerByt3s
Added more info

[Bombastinator]

Oooohh! Melty!  
 

I watched a video in the “what video are you watching right now” about making a bleep button by electro boom where he made a resistor smoke.  Could possibly be something similar.  I haven’t seen many six pin fans.  The only ones I remember seeing were these somewhat terrifying ones that turned out to be made in Bangladesh or something.  Had “moon” in the name.  I mostly remember my brain registering 37 different kinds of “oh hell no” and just went about my day.

Edited June 21, 2021 by Bombastinator

[1ntegerByt3s]

33 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

Oooohh! Melty!  
 

I watched a video in the “what video are you watching right now” about making a bleep button by electro boom where he made a resistor smoke.  Could possibly be something similar.  I haven’t seen many six pin fans.  The only ones I remember seeing were these somewhat terrifying ones that turned out to be made in Bangladesh or something.  Had “moon” in the name.  I mostly remember my brain registering 37 different kinds of “oh hell no” and just went about my day.

Oof. I suppose I should replace it, but... could I buy any fans and hub out there, like Corsair?

[thrasher_565]

38 minutes ago, 1ntegerByt3s said:

Oof. I suppose I should replace it, but... could I buy any fans and hub out there, like Corsair?

thows 6 pin fans are proprietary so buy new fans with a controller.

[thrasher_565]

1 hour ago, Bombastinator said:

Oooohh! Melty!  
 

I watched a video in the “what video are you watching right now” about making a bleep button by electro boom where he made a resistor smoke.  Could possibly be something similar.  I haven’t seen many six pin fans.  The only ones I remember seeing were these somewhat terrifying ones that turned out to be made in Bangladesh or something.  Had “moon” in the name.  I mostly remember my brain registering 37 different kinds of “oh hell no” and just went about my day.

coolmoon

 

ya its an connector with fan power and addressable led in one connector. they mostly sold with cheap fans and come with cheap cases or cases that want to add argb to it on the cheap.

[Bombastinator]

46 minutes ago, 1ntegerByt3s said:

Oof. I suppose I should replace it, but... could I buy any fans and hub out there, like Corsair?

Non rgb? Yes.  3 ad 4 pin fans are an atx standard.  You can get a good fan fairly cheap.  RGB? Nooooooooo… manufacturers seem to have a massive hate on for standardization. (Kinda weird since it literally made their companies) and intentionally broke the original rgb standard developed by the lighting companies that actually make the bulbs.  Various companies have various standards that are actually designed to be incompatible with each other.  Adaptors which should be simple to do, are not made.  (If I want to put rgb in a build I will first buy and learn to use a 3D printer.  I am sooo not up for that) They all appear to be hoping to herd consumers into their “ecosystem” where they can abuse them.  As if this whole thing wasn’t thought of a hundred years ago or something.  Anyway it got so bad at one point (may be worse or better now) where even some brand name stuff was incompatible with stuff from the same brand.  There seem to be two options.

1. Use no rgb at all or if you do make sure it’s seperate  let from your fans.

2. Do the homework necessary to find out which system works with what, and join one ecosystem.  Use caution with this one.  There’s generally one part that is always needed, difficult to get, and wildly overpriced for what it is.  It sort of sounds like that is the “dongle” in your scenario but I don’t know.  It’s part of that hundred year old thing I was talking about.  Used to be a thing with lawnmowers very long ago.  It didn’t work out well for them either.

Edited June 21, 2021 by Bombastinator

[1ntegerByt3s]

48 minutes ago, thrasher_565 said:

thows 6 pin fans are proprietary so buy new fans with a controller.

Recommendations? The pre-installed fans were 120mm.

Edited June 21, 2021 by 1ntegerByt3s
Some noteworthy info

[Bombastinator]

47 minutes ago, thrasher_565 said:

thows 6 pin fans are proprietary so buy new fans with a controller.

I haven’t seen a non proprietary rgb connector in a long time.  Might exist in which case perhaps the industry is getting its thumb out

[thrasher_565]

5 minutes ago, 1ntegerByt3s said:

Recommendations? The pre-installed fans were 120mm.

well corsair 3 pack fan for $80 with controller is what i recomend

[thrasher_565]

4 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

I haven’t seen a non proprietary rgb connector in a long time.  Might exist in which case perhaps the industry is getting its thumb out

well the stander non pc connector is the jst-sm. and the stranded pc is rgb/argb is 2+1 pin and 4 pin connector (they dont have a name...)

 

but there are reasons to go proprietary not just locking you in to an eco system. same reason  modular power cables are proprietary to each psu. they dont what to be sued for plunging in the wrong cable.

 

rgb is still a shit show...

[Bombastinator]

6 minutes ago, thrasher_565 said:

well corsair 3 pack fan for $80 with controller is what i recomend

80\3= damn those are some pricey fans.

[thrasher_565]

1 minute ago, Bombastinator said:

80\3= damn those are some pricey fans.

sounds pricey but if you want to use icue witch is basically the best rgb software then its not.

[Bombastinator]

4 minutes ago, thrasher_565 said:

well the stander non pc connector is the jst-sm. and the stranded pc is rgb/argb is 2+1 pin and 4 pin connector (they dont have a name...)

 

but there are reasons to go proprietary not just locking you in to an eco system. same reason  modular power cables are proprietary to each psu. they dont what to be sued for plunging in the wrong cable.

 

rgb is still a shit show...

Exactly.  The reason for the cable thing is the PSU is considered a single piece of the atx standard, and the cables used to be part of that.  PSU cables weren’t always modular.

[Bombastinator]

5 minutes ago, thrasher_565 said:

sounds pricey but if you want to use icue witch is basically the best rgb software then its not.

ICUE is famous for being buggy and randomly causing problems with other things.  Might very well still be the best though. 

[thrasher_565]

4 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

ICUE is famous for being buggy and randomly causing problems with other things.  Might very well still be the best though. 

compared to other it might be buggy and need an bible to use it but it still the best. some day ill test out aquacomputer, razer, i dont have ek so i cant test that yet.

 

tt is more simple. zalmen dose not work. dont have lian li, cooler master stuff is shit.

[Bombastinator]

2 minutes ago, thrasher_565 said:

compared to other it might be buggy and need an bible to use it but it still the best. some day ill test out aquacomputer, razer, i dont have ek so i cant test that yet.

 

tt is more simple. zalmen dose not work. dont have lian li, cooler master stuff is shit.

Zalman stuff always seemed more concerned with visuals than functionality to me. Had a rep for making really cool looking stuff that didn’t always actually work that well. I’m not surprised.

Edited June 21, 2021 by Bombastinator

[1ntegerByt3s]

One more question: after I threw away the fan controller, I noticed some wires were stick together and peel a small bit of the coating. Would that be an issue later on?

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, 1ntegerByt3s said:

One more question: after I threw away the fan controller, I noticed some wires were stick together and peel a small bit of the coating. Would that be an issue later on?

That coating is electrical insulation, so It’s damaged insulation for that one wire.  I don’t know what that wire is or does so I can’t tell you how bad it is or might be.  The controller seems to be toast, and the impression I got was that pictured rosewill stuff was likely rebranded coolmoon.  Can you even buy a controller without also buying replacement fans?  It might not matter if it’s likely going to be thrown away anyway.
 

 

[thrasher_565]

imo reoswell sould send you an replacement controller and fans

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, thrasher_565 said:

imo reoswell sould send you an replacement controller and fans

Does look like a manufacturing defect issue. Proving it might be expensive.  They might just replace it though.  Probably worth a shot.  Rosewill won’t be hit as hard by RMA issues as some other companies.

[thrasher_565]

8 minutes ago, Caroline said:

oh dear if the collection of bugs and glitches called icue is considered the best I don't even want to imagine what the rest are... 

 

$80 on fans makes sense if you have a $3000 build, otherwise it's a bad deal but what do I know, I just use regular black fans.

ya can buy cheap fans but dont no if op want to gable again of it not working or catching fire...

 

i haven't deep dived with the controller software yet but i will some day. i no icue is confusing...

 

it all depends on how much control you want of your fans. if you want each led to have its own color you need a good controller. if not then any controller

should do.

 

if you want to do rgb cheap ied recommend just adding strips

 

Edited June 22, 2021 by thrasher_565

[Bitter]

My best guess would be that you pinched a wire when putting the back panel on and caused a short to ground that was enough to burn the fan controller but not enough to trip the PSU protection. Examine all your fan wiring carefully for damaged wires.

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, thrasher_565 said:

ya can buy cheap fans but dont no if op want to gable again of it not working or catching fire...

 

i haven't deep dived with the controller software yet but i will some day. i no icue is confusing...

 

it all depends on how much control you want of your fans. if you want each led to have its own color you need a good controller. if not then any controller

should do.

 

if you want to do rgb cheap ied recommend just adding strips

 

price of fans is usually not about fire safety. That’s poor manufacture.  Even cheap fans shouldn’t do what this thing did.

 

The RGB thing I have no counterpoint to.  I can only talk about air movement stuff.
 

The price of fans is not uncommonly merely marketing, but there are some actual features to look at.  
 

air movement wise things depends heavily on their construction. There is the blade and the bearing.  What the blade is made of can matter.  I know little about that other than there was something of a revolution some years ago where new stronger materials made for blades impossible to build before.  Rigidity and resistance to vibration are what matter materials wise.  As a general rule bits on the blades such as feathering or dimples or bumps or other things do very little. The blade shape can matter though.  A fan with a heavily curved blade can behave like a blade that spins faster than it does making for more air movement before the speed where noise starts to become a thing.  Bearings I am more conversant in.  There are more or less three general types  sleeve, ball, and maglev.  Sleeve type bearings make less noise at first but more at the end. Also they’re a lot cheaper to make.  Ball type bearings make more noise at first.  Long ago they were preferred because they lasted longer.  This is no longer the case.

there are 3 types of ball bearings: 1 ball, 2 ball, and 3 ball.
ball:

 3 ball fans have the balls in the middle.  They’re fairly expensive though and are almost no longer made for desktop PCs they can handle more raw force though so are still a thing for more powerful fans.  Desktop computer use extremely and intentionally weak fans for noise control.  2 ball has a ball on each end with a sleeve in the middle.  They’re sort of like a louder, cheaper FDB bearing in that they can be set in any direction. 1 ball are like 2 ball except they’re missing a ball and can only be put in 2 directions.  AMD stock cooler fans are single ball. 

Sleeve:

sleeve bearing fans are simple sleeve, rifle bearing, or “FDB” which I prefer to call modified rifle because Fluid Dynamic Bearing is actually a brand name.  There are a bunch of bearing types that may be called FDB or something else that are workalikes of FDB but are not called FDB.  One is apparently LLS which is what arctic cooling often uses. 
Rifle bearings are rarely seen anymore being replaced almost entirely by FDB

Simple sleeve is kind of like a single barrel bearing where the barrel is plastic and quite large. The low end hyper212s use sleeve bearings.  Simple Sleeve bearing fans can be very very cheap.  They have a caveat though: if they are placed vertically either up or down, they wear very very fast because they lose lubrication. They have to be placed horizontally only.  Because of this they are often sold as case fans. And occasionally as cpu fans.  You won’t see them on a radiator though.  The difference between simple sleeve and rifle/FDB is they have various groove to carry the lubricant around.  Because of this they can be placed vertically in either an up or down configuration and can be quieter and last longer than double ball.  theyre sometimes also cheaper to make. 
Maglev:

maglev is also called enlobal. In thes there is no bearing technically because the parts never touch.  They are held up by a magnetic field.  These bearings require rare earth magnets and tend to be quite expensive, but they last even longer than the other types. 
 

So if all one needs is vertical case fans simple sleeve bearings aren’t that bad.  As long as they stay in correct orientation a simple sleeve fan can last 80% as long as a more expensive fan while costing half as much.  If you point one up or down though there can be problems.  Single ball fans can point up OR down depending on how they are built but not both.  Double ball and FWB fans can point up down or sideways with FWB lasting slightly longer and being slightly more quiet.  It used to be maglev had the same limitations as sleeve but that may have changed.

Edited June 22, 2021 by Bombastinator

[thrasher_565]

7 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

price of fans is usually not about fire safety. That’s poor manufacture.  Even cheap fans shouldn’t do what this thing did.

 

The RGB thing I have no counterpoint to.  I can only talk about air movement stuff.
 

The price of fans is not uncommonly merely marketing, but there are some actual features to look at.  
 

air movement wise things depends heavily on their construction. There is the blade and the bearing.  What the blade is made of can matter.  I know little about that other than there was something of a revolution some years ago where new stronger materials made for blades impossible to build before.  Rigidity and resistance to vibration are what matter materials wise.  As a general rule bits on the blades such as feathering or dimples or bumps or other things do very little. The blade shape can matter though.  A fan with a heavily curved blade can behave like a blade that spins faster than it does making for more air movement before the speed where noise starts to become a thing.  Bearings I am more conversant in.  There are more or less three general types  sleeve, ball, and maglev.  Sleeve type bearings make less noise at first but more at the end. Also they’re a lot cheaper to make.  Ball type bearings make more noise at first.  Long ago they were preferred because they lasted longer.  This is no longer the case.

there are 3 types of ball bearings: 1 ball, 2 ball, and 3 ball.
ball:

 3 ball fans have the balls in the middle.  They’re fairly expensive though and are almost no longer made.  2 ball has a ball on each end with a sleeve in the middle.  They’re sort of like a louder, cheaper FDB bearing in that they can be set in any direction. 1 ball are like 2 ball except they’re missing a ball and can only be put in 2 directions.  AMD stock cooler fans are single ball. 

Sleeve:

sleeve bearing fans are simple sleeve, rifle bearing, or “FDB” which I prefer to call modified rifle because Fluid Dynamic Bearing is actually a brand name.  There are a bunch of bearing types that may be called FDB or something else that are workalikes of FDB but are not called FDB.  One is apparently LLS which is what arctic cooling often uses. 
Rifle bearings are rarely seen anymore being replaced almost entirely by FDB

Simple sleeve is kind of like a single barrel bearing where the barrel is plastic and quite large. The low end hyper212s use sleeve bearings.  Simple Sleeve bearing fans can be very very cheap.  They have a caveat though: if they are placed vertically either up or down, they wear very very fast because they lose lubrication. They have to be placed horizontally only.  Because of this they are often sold as case fans. And occasionally as cpu fans.  You won’t see them on a radiator though.  The difference between simple sleeve and rifle/FDB is they have various groove to carry the lubricant around.  Because of this they can be placed vertically in either an up or down configuration and can be quieter and last longer than double ball.  theyre sometimes also cheaper to make. 
Maglev:

maglev is also called enlobal. In thes there is no bearing technically because the parts never touch.  They are held up by a magnetic field.  These bearings require rare earth magnets and tend to be quite expensive, but they last even longer than the other types. 
 

So if all one needs is vertical case fans simple sleeve bearings aren’t that bad.  As long as they stay in correct orientation a simple sleeve fan can last 80% as long as a more expensive fan while costing half as much.  If you point one up or down though there can be problems.  Single ball fans can point up OR down depending on how they are built but not both.  Double ball and FWB fans can point up down or sideways with FWB lasting slightly longer and being slightly more quiet.  It used to be maglev had the same limitations as sleeve but that may have changed.

i no that rgb adds like 30% to the price and probably cost like %5 to add so everything has rgb.

 

ya i heard different fans can make different nose well mounted vertical or horizontal but most people dont take note of that or there no easy place to get the info. probably why my $5 fans failed after a year...

 

sound is alos subjective as all people can hear at different degree and serten pitches sound better even if the db is higher.

 

the specs on fans has be proven to be fails but no onw has realy way to test em. gn is trying to do it but that a few years down the road.

 

im not saying cheap fans cant be good or cant cool. there arguments back then the gt vs yatloons fans an $5 vs an $20-25 fan witch works better for rads and whats the best per dollar.

 

some how my dad got gelid silent 12 fans for $4.99 each from ncix so i got 6 and he got 6 and zero problems with them. why they were that cheap dont no. that was at the time when pwm was new too and we lucked out.

 

ive picked up some cheap fanner f120 fans and hopping to pick some more that look like the gt fans and they push alot of air and are quiet but i only have 2 of em so far. but i got em at $11ish each. also looking at the 140mm fan too as i got cheap 140mm argb fan grills. they also sell an argb of the 140mm fan but at $25 each not worth it.

 

on my extreme build i got 6 gt fans on my rads running push pull with corsair hd fans for looks on the out side and they intake outside and out the top so zero air will go in the pc area. over kill yes.  buy all means dont build a pc im me...

 

 

 

 

 

[1ntegerByt3s]

6 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

That coating is electrical insulation, so It’s damaged insulation for that one wire.  I don’t know what that wire is or does so I can’t tell you how bad it is or might be.  

I've already placed an order for new fans, but to answer your question, it appears to be one of the wires that go in the POWER SW....