Good fan controller?

[Stardar1]

I'm looking at both the Bitfeinx Recon and the Grid+ v2 from NZXT. 

 

I have a Phanteks Enthoo pro (white), and the white Recon would look awesome.

I also already have a Kraken x61 and a Hue Plus, so the Grid+ could be controlled via the same software, which would be kind of convienient, I just don't know where to mount it, as it is an odd form factor. 

 

Both are comperable in price. 

 

as for my fans:

 

Front: 200mm x1 (Phanteks) (might switch with 2 140s, depends how much i love the NZXT Aers)

Top: 280mm Radiator (not controlled by fan controller) and a spot for one potential 140mm

Back: 140mm x1 (Phanteks)

Bottom: 120mm x1 (Corsair)

Drive cages: spots for 2 120mms, currently empty. 

 

I might change out some of the fans, but as of now I am unsure. 

 

if anybody has owned the Grid + before, I would love an explanation of how it is mounted. 

[flibberdipper]

Seriously go with the Grid+ V2. It's dope as all hell.

 

Also it's held in with velcro strips (included with it).

[Stardar1]

1 minute ago, tmcclelland455 said:

Seriously go with the Grid+ V2. It's dope as all hell.

 

Also it's held in with velcro strips (included with it).

no screws at all?

 

Do you know how large it is?

[flibberdipper]

Just now, Stardar1 said:

no screws at all?

 

Do you know how large it is?

Nope, no screws. And stolen straight from NZXT's site:

 

Dimensions   73mm x 18mm x 73mm

 

So it looks like you might have to put it where the HDD caddies go. But I never had a reason to measure the backside of my Enthoo Pro, so you might be able to shove it down in the bottom (like where the secondary 2.5 mount is).

[Stardar1]

Just now, tmcclelland455 said:

Nope, no screws. And stolen straight from NZXT's site:

 

Dimensions   73mm x 18mm x 73mm

 

So it looks like you might have to put it where the HDD caddies go. But I never had a reason to measure the backside of my Enthoo Pro, so you might be able to shove it down in the bottom (like where the secondary 2.5 mount is).

Currently the area behind my motherboard is a complete mess (using the built in PWM hub). 

 

The fans it would be controlling would be front, back, top and bottom, so there is not an ideal mounting space... i guess it could fit under the PSU shroud. 

 

Currently my Hue+ is in a HDD sled (as it cannot go in the 2.5" slots as the Hue+ only has screws on the bottom), and those wires are a mess as well. 

 

Assuming the cables going into the Grid+ are the same as the Hue+, it might make the most sense to place it in a sled under the Hue, which gives it easy access to the HDD cage fans and the fron/top fans. 

 

Can the Grid and Hue work together with the Aers?

[flibberdipper]

3 minutes ago, Stardar1 said:

Aers

What the actual dicks is an Aers?

[Stardar1]

2 minutes ago, tmcclelland455 said:

What the actual dicks is an Aers?

Ooooooh, you're in for a treat

 

https://www.nzxt.com/products/aer-rgb

 

 

[flibberdipper]

Just now, Stardar1 said:

Ooooooh, you're in for a treat

 

https://www.nzxt.com/products/aer-rgb

 

 

SO THAT'S THE NAME OF THOSE

So it needs the Hue+ from what I've heard (duh) and I'd imagine it would work with the Grid+. Y'know, since fan.

[Stardar1]

Just now, tmcclelland455 said:

SO THAT'S THE NAME OF THOSE

So it needs the Hue+ from what I've heard (duh) and I'd imagine it would work with the Grid+. Y'know, since fan.

I have a Hue+, and the Kraken x61. 

 

Why not add the Grid+ and the Aer fans?

 

I know why!

 

BECAUSE CAM IS A PIECE OF SHIT

[flibberdipper]

9 minutes ago, Stardar1 said:

I have a Hue+, and the Kraken x61. 

 

Why not add the Grid+ and the Aer fans?

 

I know why!

 

BECAUSE CAM IS A PIECE OF SHIT

CAM one of the main reasons I'm going to get an H110i over the X61. It's such a resource whore, it likes to crash... And this way I can have literally every piece of Corsair software installed.

 

Super wish my M40 would have been rolled into CUE but it still wants its own garbage.

[Stardar1]

1 minute ago, tmcclelland455 said:

CAM one of the main reasons I'm going to get an H110i over the X61. It's such a resource whore, it likes to crash... And this way I can have literally every piece of Corsair software installed.

 

Super wish my M40 would have been rolled into CUE but it still wants its own garbage.

It's not that resource intensive, and I've never had it crash while running

 

getting it to start can be a hastle (I've begun to suspect it is my boot disk and windows install more than CAM itself)

 

and it can be weird about using Google to sign in, but it's not as bad as i may have made it sound. 

[Stardar1]

6 minutes ago, tmcclelland455 said:

CAM one of the main reasons I'm going to get an H110i over the X61. It's such a resource whore, it likes to crash... And this way I can have literally every piece of Corsair software installed.

 

Super wish my M40 would have been rolled into CUE but it still wants its own garbage.

And besides, it's hard to argue with having all that lighting and colling controlled in one convienient place. the software is intuitive to use, when it works. 

[flibberdipper]

6 minutes ago, Stardar1 said:

It's not that resource intensive, and I've never had it crash while running

 

getting it to start can be a hastle (I've begun to suspect it is my boot disk and windows install more than CAM itself)

 

and it can be weird about using Google to sign in, but it's not as bad as i may have made it sound. 

Granted, I have a much humbler CPU, but at any given time, it'll be whoring up at least 5% of the poor thing, and when I'm changing settings it likes to bump up to 10-15%.

 

Add that on the fact that it likes to crash at least once per day... Meh.

 

Oh and it sure takes a decade to start. God damn. My second PC (Q6600 and 120GB 840 EVO on SATA II) will boot, login AND be ready (excluding BIOS because that takes a bit) before CAM on my main PC.

[Stardar1]

Just now, tmcclelland455 said:

Granted, I have a much humbler CPU, but at any given time, it'll be whoring up at least 5% of the poor thing, and when I'm changing settings it likes to bump up to 10-15%.

 

Add that on the fact that it likes to crash at least once per day... Meh.

 

Oh and it sure takes a decade to start. God damn. My second PC (Q6600 and 120GB 840 EVO on SATA II) will boot, login AND be ready (excluding BIOS because that takes a bit) before CAM on my main PC.

Mine has been acting really weird, like, I'll start it, the auto-auth window pops up, and then... nothing. it launched, it's on my taskbar, but i cannot open the window. 

 

I don't think that is CAMs fault though

[SpaceGhostC2C]

55 minutes ago, Stardar1 said:

I'm looking at both the Bitfeinx Recon and the Grid+ v2 from NZXT. 

 

I have a Phanteks Enthoo pro (white), and the white Recon would look awesome.

I also already have a Kraken x61 and a Hue Plus, so the Grid+ could be controlled via the same software, which would be kind of convienient, I just don't know where to mount it, as it is an odd form factor. 

 

Both are comperable in price. 

 

as for my fans:

 

Front: 200mm x1 (Phanteks) (might switch with 2 140s, depends how much i love the NZXT Aers)

Top: 280mm Radiator (not controlled by fan controller) and a spot for one potential 140mm

Back: 140mm x1 (Phanteks)

Bottom: 120mm x1 (Corsair)

Drive cages: spots for 2 120mms, currently empty. 

 

I might change out some of the fans, but as of now I am unsure. 

 

if anybody has owned the Grid + before, I would love an explanation of how it is mounted. 

Do you only want to control fans? The main limitation on the Grid+ to me is the lack of thermal probes, but if you don't plan on using them anyway it will be irrelevant to you, and it becomes more about hardware controlled vs software controlled (I don't have a final opinion on that).

[Stardar1]

Just now, SpaceGhostC2C said:

Do you only want to control fans? The main limitation on the Grid+ to me is the lack of thermal probes, but if you don't plan on using them anyway it will be irrelevant to you, and it becomes more about hardware controlled vs software controlled (I don't have a final opinion on that).

What are thermal probes? I have never used a fan controller before.

[SpaceGhostC2C]

Just now, Stardar1 said:

What are thermal probes? I have never used a fan controller before.

A thermal sensor like this:

Spoiler

that you can place wherever you want to monitor the temperature at - provided is not inside a component  I used them to monitor temps at particular parts of the motherboard, because I overclock FX chips with all known drawbacks, like risk of frying mobos, etc  

If all you care is GPU / CPU temps, you won't have much use for them these days.

[Stardar1]

Just now, SpaceGhostC2C said:

A thermal sensor like this:

  Hide contents

that you can place wherever you want to monitor the temperature at - provided is not inside a component  I used them to monitor temps at particular parts of the motherboard, because I overclock FX chips with all known drawbacks, like risk of frying mobos, etc  

If all you care is GPU / CPU temps, you won't have much use for them these days.

I wanted a fan controller to keep them quiet more than anything else. My CPU is liquid cooled...

 

idk, it also feels silly to me to have manual control, and i like the software interface that CAM gives. 

[SpaceGhostC2C]

1 minute ago, Stardar1 said:

I wanted a fan controller to keep them quiet more than anything else. My CPU is liquid cooled...

 

idk, it also feels silly to me to have manual control, and i like the software interface that CAM gives. 

I haven't used CAM, but I had a great experience using Corsair Link, which inclines me towards software-managed. Then again, sometimes is easier to just turn a knob up or down than editing profiles or clicking around, which a hardware-managed gives me (but touch screen devices aren't really better than software at that), plus when the PC itself is at constant risk of crashing/becoming unresponsive, an independent monitor and controller can come in handy.

 

So re-reading myself, I guess I'm saying go for software unless you are me  

[Stardar1]

2 minutes ago, SpaceGhostC2C said:

I haven't used CAM, but I had a great experience using Corsair Link, which inclines me towards software-managed. Then again, sometimes is easier to just turn a knob up or down than editing profiles or clicking around, which a hardware-managed gives me (but touch screen devices aren't really better than software at that), plus when the PC itself is at constant risk of crashing/becoming unresponsive, an independent monitor and controller can come in handy.

 

So re-reading myself, I guess I'm saying go for software unless you are me  

haha. I see the advantages, and the Recon would look great, but I already have the Hue+ and Kraken x61 which are controlled by CAM, so the Grid+ looks better for me.