12 Fan Controller?

[Tithonius]

Ok, so very soom I will be embarking on a new build, that will be using a TON more fans then Im used to. I will be using the Maximus 7 Formula motherboard that has a total of 8 fan headers. I will be using Two of them for two watercooling pumps. But I have aproblem. I will be using a mix of PWM and 3-pin fans for the build as corsair doesent make all their fans PWM...

 

I will have a total of 12 fans in the case and I was curious what would be the best way for me to control all the fans? The board only has 6 headers available? I want to be able to make all of the fans run on custom curves if i can. There also may be a total of 2 watercooling loops in the system, so the ability to control them all individually would be amazing, or at least in a couple of sets.

[GzeroD]

If you have 2 PWM Fan headers you can use 2 swiftech 8 way PWM splitters.  http://www.swiftech.com/8-WayPWMsplitter.aspx and adjust the curves for them in software from the PC.

 

Matter of fact you can probably do it with one PWM header if you plug the second PWM splitter into the second.

[Aniallation]

If you have 2 PWM Fan headers you can use 2 swiftech 8 way PWM splitters.  http://www.swiftech.com/8-WayPWMsplitter.aspx and adjust the curves for them in software from the PC.

 

Matter of fact you can probably do it with one PWM header if you plug the second PWM splitter into the second.

I wonder that'll be able to control non-PWM fans, as OP is looking to do a mix of PWM and regular 3-pin fans, or is it only able to do PWM control?

[W-L]

I wonder that'll be able to control non-PWM fans, as OP is looking to do a mix of PWM and regular 3-pin fans, or is it only able to do PWM control?

It's PWM only if you connect 3 pin fans on it it will run at fill 12V.

 

@Tithonius if you get some 3 pin splitter cables or distribution blocks you can control the 3 pin fans as a group, the rule of thumb is 3-4 fans per header as to not overload the 1Amp capacity of most fan headers:

[Tithonius]

If you have 2 PWM Fan headers you can use 2 swiftech 8 way PWM splitters.  http://www.swiftech.com/8-WayPWMsplitter.aspx and adjust the curves for them in software from the PC.

 

Matter of fact you can probably do it with one PWM header if you plug the second PWM splitter into the second.

 

I like the idea, but if i set a fan curve for the fans that are on this block does that mean that all of the fans that are plugged in will all work on that one fan curve?

It's PWM only if you connect 3 pin fans on it it will run at fill 12V.

 

@Tithonius if you get some 3 pin splitter cables or distribution blocks you can control the 3 pin fans as a group, the rule of thumb is 3-4 fans per header as to not overload the 1Amp capacity of most fan headers:

 

I like the idea of the swiftech one mentioned above, but I got a coupel of questions about it. If i were to plug 3 pin fans in to that header will they still be controlled and increse and decrese their speed?

[Tithonius]

what I can do tho is to put all of my PWM Radiator fans on the block and then run all of the rest of the fans in my system off of motherboard headers. I should have enough to do the 8 PWM fans for the Rads on that PWM block linked above, then the rest off of the motherboard

[W-L]

I like the idea, but if i set a fan curve for the fans that are on this block does that mean that all of the fans that are plugged in will all work on that one fan curve?

 

I like the idea of the swiftech one mentioned above, but I got a coupel of questions about it. If i were to plug 3 pin fans in to that header will they still be controlled and increse and decrese their speed?

 

Yes the fans connected to one distribution block will act as a group and will all speed up or slow down as a whole with both the PWM swiftech one and the 3 pin one. The only difference is inside the BIOS you will need to set the header the 3 pin fans are on to DC voltage control instead of PWM control.

[Tithonius]

Yes the fans connected to one distribution block will act as a group and will all speed up or slow down as a whole with both the PWM swiftech one and the 3 pin one. The only difference is inside the BIOS you will need to set the header the 3 pin fans are on to DC voltage control instead of PWM control.

 

Okay, so if i set all of my PWM fans onto that 8 way PWM splitter, they would all work together, and then I could just run all of my other 3-pin fans off of the motherboard headers

[W-L]

Okay, so if i set all of my PWM fans onto that 8 way PWM splitter, they would all work together, and then I could just run all of my other 3-pin fans off of the motherboard headers

 

Yes that should be no problem I've currently got 6 Corsair QE editions on the swiftech splitter no problems but some others have said they have issues with controlling all 8 fans, I haven't tried more than 6 however.

[Tithonius]

Yes that should be no problem I've currently got 6 Corsair QE editions on the swiftech splitter no problems but some others have said they have issues with controlling all 8 fans, I haven't tried more than 6 however.

Hmm i wonder why you would have issues with 8 of them? idk, hopefully everything just works

[W-L]

Hmm i wonder why you would have issues with 8 of them? idk, hopefully everything just works

 

From what I've read it had to do with the Corsair fans requiring a stronger PWM signal compared to other fans, hopefully those are isolated cases but if you have two extra headers you can always plug them into the motherboard directly.

[Tithonius]

From what I've read it had to do with the Corsair fans requiring a stronger PWM signal compared to other fans, hopefully those are isolated cases but if you have two extra headers you can always plug them into the motherboard directly.

 

yeah, I very well could. or I could get two of the splitter blocks and just run 4 on each block. that way each radiator can be controlled seperately but it would be nice to find a PWM splitter that had like 4 ports instead of 8..  

[W-L]

yeah, I very well could. or I could get two of the splitter blocks and just run 4 on each block. that way each radiator can be controlled seperately but it would be nice to find a PWM splitter that had like 4 ports instead of 8..  

 

There are theses 4 way ones but I don't think they come with the cable for the proper 12V molex power and connection for PWM control.

 

Also note this is just a reference FCPU is out of service still:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/23519/ele-1299/4-Pin_PWM_Power_Distribution_PCB_4x_Way_Block_MMT-PCB-4P-44P.html?tl=g34c17s424

[Tithonius]

There are theses 4 way ones but I don't think they come with the cable for the proper 12V molex power and connection for PWM control.

 

Also note this is just a reference FCPU is out of service still:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/23519/ele-1299/4-Pin_PWM_Power_Distribution_PCB_4x_Way_Block_MMT-PCB-4P-44P.html?tl=g34c17s424

 

yeah that would be the same as just using a Y cable..

[Tithonius]

I honestly might go with somthing other then corsair.. they seme to not really be the best fans.. I may look into something like BitFeenix or something else.. got any suggestions?

[W-L]

I honestly might go with somthing other then corsair.. they seme to not really be the best fans.. I may look into something like BitFeenix or something else.. got any suggestions?

 

Noctua fans are awesome but do cost a pretty penny to get, if you still have Scythe GT or can source them they are awesome, EK Vardar fans seem good but some people debate them to be so, so.

 

Bitfenix fans aren't the best they lack good build quality, performance is decent on some of their stuff.

[Tithonius]

Noctua fans are awesome but do cost a pretty penny to get, if you still have Scythe GT or can source them they are awesome, EK Vardar fans seem good but some people debate them to be so, so.

 

Bitfenix fans aren't the best they lack good build quality, performance is decent on some of their stuff.

 

Yeah, its not that I dislike corsair fans, but IDK i keep ruunning into things liek how you cant do all 8 of them off one splitter, but IDK i think im gonna get those 4 way splitters and see if that works. If the 4 way splitters dont work then ill just have to find another way to do it!

[W-L]

Yeah, its not that I dislike corsair fans, but IDK i keep ruunning into things liek how you cant do all 8 of them off one splitter, but IDK i think im gonna get those 4 way splitters and see if that works. If the 4 way splitters dont work then ill just have to find another way to do it!

 

Just remember FPCU is still closed if you haven't heard so try Performance PC's they should carry most of the stuff you need. And GL, love to see a build log 

[Tithonius]

Just remember FPCU is still closed if you haven't heard so try Performance PC's they should carry most of the stuff you need. And GL, love to see a build log 

 

Yeah, once i finnally get the cash saved up that im going to need for this beast ill definitly be doing a build log. Its just gonna be a while until then. gotta save up the money i need! But im super excited to do a few videos as well as do a written build log!