DIY fan control ? . howto?

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ComradE_BeaN

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Can someone guide me to make a DIY fan controller kind of thing..

How abt those regulator thing tat we get with some fans..(TT blue led 120mm fans).. the rotation thing. . . can we make like that ? ..

This is the scenerio..all the components in my PC except for the GPU is well cooled..even the NB wont go above ~37 no matter wat..:)

The issue is with the GPU..a eVGA 8600GT.
The damn thing sometimes goes upto a lil more than 80C. . . some on the net tell tat its fine for the card...but i want to cool it as much as possible..but not to spend a fortune on it.:P

So i did remove the coverplate on the Heatsink on the GPU & placed a 120mm directly blowing on the Heatsink..

The fan used was Panaflow High Speed.

1) when the fan was at full speed (connected to 12V) the temps (OCED ) never passed 62 degrees.

but then again the sound was too much for me to bear for long term.

2)When the fan was @ ~45% ? (connected to 5V) the temps were like ~77C.


So i was wondering if there was a way to step the volts in between like 7V or 9V . . . any ideas welcome. :)

p.s: cost as low as possible..lol
 
Try doing a 12V -5V or 12V-3V setup to run the rail at 7 or 9V

Not sure if it would effect the other connectors though.

You can also do a 3+5V for a total of +8V
 
Technically a 5+3 V adding up of rail shouldn't pose any problems.

But to be sure, you can use a rheostat on the +12V line and adjust the resistance as per the requirement.
 
hmm..or i can use a potentiometer/rheostat to control the 12V input right ? ..

Correct me if wrong...but isnt the Knob in the pci slotpf the TT blue led fan just a small rheostat ?..
if yes..then i could just get a small rheostat & connect it to 12V input & slide it as & when required. . . what say ? .. worth it ?

how much would a small potentiometer cost? ..

EDIT:

looking at this..

Sidewinder Rheostat Kit

i think just a rheostat shd do the work..:D..

now where do i get one...? .. how much could it cost me ? .
 
Yeah, just a rheostat would do the trick...

Potenitiometer should also achieve the same result. About the cost and all...hmmm no idea.

Wait, shouldnt a Rheostat keep the voltage common and reduce the amount of current flowing into the device. If thats the case, only a pot. can help you out as that would reduce the voltage.

EDIT : Cancel that, a pot. and a rheostat function similarly. If you need to reduce the voltage from 12V to 9V then you need a small transformer. Should cost about 40bux.
 
Its either that or you need to have a high resistor value...

Consider this V=IR.

For us V is constant at 12V

R for now is the value of resistance offered by the fan for the current to flow into it.

The current used by a fan would be say 1A for a total of 12W usage.

Since the current provided by a SMPS is variable upto say 15A adding up a resistor should do nothing as only the power reqmt. increases.

This is just a theoretical eg. though and I may very well be wrong.
 
Make this yourself.:cool2:
pic courtesy Sidewinders.:P
Get a 5W or more pot as per need, 18AWG wires and some appropriate molexes.
Drill holes into a 3.5" or 5.25" bay cover and fit- u have your own fanbus.:hap2:



Edit:
Just noticed you thinking about the same thing- totally worth it and the best way to control fans.:)
Most Electronics shops at LR here can provide the same.
Maybe you can search your local electonics market- SP road??:)
 
^went to sp road just now .. none of the shops have any idea wat i'm talking abt. , , ,

i told them rheostat...voltage regulator . . potentiometer...

& all were numb..:(

Most Electronics shops at LR here can provide the same.
Click to expand...

u sure u get there...i could ask someone to send me few..:)/
 
dude simply use a Rheostat, the pot resistance on the 12 volt input, not the best way to do thing but easiest and perfectly works.

Go to a electronics spare parts shop and ask for 'pot resistance' dont tell them you want a rheostat....
 
@super_saiyan ... there is a thread at Anandtech forums titled "Plain old resistors an alternative to fan controllers?" which I was trying to link for you - but - the Anandtech forums at the moment seems to be unreachable from my Internet conx. From what I remember this thread had some good info on how to build your own fan controller. If you can open that forum search out that thread.
 
Any electronic spare part store will have it. Only make sure you get a "wire wound potentiometer". Ordinary carbon based ones like those of volume controls are meant to handle very small signal current and will get burnt if used for this purpose.
 
I made two controllers for my old PC.
You need one of these.


A 3W one will handle a heavy duty fan (or two) easily.

First you need to solder two wires to the first (input) and middle (output). You would need to cut the fan wire, solder one end (current in) to the first wire, and the output to the other part of the wire. That's it, when you twist the potentiometer, it will speed up or slow down the fan.
Get a knob to make it look good! (I drilled two holes in one of the CD/DVD slot covers), and then installed the controller there.

Be careful - if you don't know what you're doing - don't try it.
 
super_saiyan said:
what local name shd i ask it ? . . . shd i ask for "3-5W POT" ? . .
wat cost ? ..

thnx.
Click to expand...

"Wire Wound Potentiometer" as I said earlier and as shown in the photograph shown by AK3D. 3W or 5W if available.

@AK3D

What resistance one did you buy? 1K ohms? or lower? (i think lower)
Also there are linear and logarithmic ones available. I think we should buy only linear potentiometer. Don't know about cost but it should be very cheap, may be > Rs.50/-. (Several years since handling such things)
 
^ @ Janitha

Its a 3W linear and 50 ohms. Its more than enough to handle a couple case fans in series. :)

I forgot about the cost - been 3 years or so since I bought these, it was a spare one lying around just in case I needed it sometime. I think it came to 75 rupees or so - YMMV .
 
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