[SOLVED] fan control: 2 noob questions

coyote2

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Oct 29, 2009
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I'm about to build my first system, and I know nothing about fan control; googling Guides/Tutorials didn't help much, so please help me. I want to swap the stock fans, and populate other positions, with alternate fans.

1.
The manual of my case (Thermaltake Core V71) says
"Fan speed and light controller are only compatible with built in 200mm LED fans. To avoid on damaging the circuit board, please do not connect it with other fans."
Does this mean that I'll be using a separate fan-controller to control all my chosen fans (including those I replace the stock ones with), and that the case's fan controller and buttons must be useless to me?
2.
I've started looking at fan controllers.
Would it be a bad idea to (and can one?) use some kind of adapter to connect more than one fan to the same connection on a fan controller?
 
Solution
It appears that your link in your post #5 is to this thread and not a thread from a year ago....

========

"I hear you asking me to think about scaling down my wishes; I'm curious how I could benefit from that? For example, would support for faster 128GB RAM kits somehow result from settling for less than 8 SATA ports? (I honestly haven't even checked since I'm guessing they aren't connected; but FYI what I actually want are twice as many as 8 SATA ports, I'm just picking 8 because that's the most that x570 boards have, I plan to supplement with one or more SATA expansion cards.) "

Fair question(s):

I have not worked with such builds and will have to defer to others who have indeed done so. Much more server like as I...

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
My thoughts and suggestions:

Great that you are planning to build your own system.

However, I recommend that you simplify a bit with respect to your first build.

Set aside fan control and focus on building a solid, stable system that achieves your desired performance requirements.

PCs have/were built for many years without fan controllers. Or RGB, overclocking etc..

Certainly plan ahead as you deem applicable.

Address the question (or perhaps the requirement) for fan control.

Why do you need it? What do you expect to achieve?

Doubt that there will be any immediate downsides to not having fan control.

That said, my next suggestion is that you post your planned build specs. Hardware, OS, etc..

There may be other issues of greater concern.
 
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coyote2

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Oct 29, 2009
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My thoughts and suggestions:

Great that you are planning to build your own system.

However, I recommend that you simplify a bit with respect to your first build.

Set aside fan control and focus on building a solid, stable system that achieves your desired performance requirements.

PCs have/were built for many years without fan controllers. Or RGB, overclocking etc..

Certainly plan ahead as you deem applicable.

Address the question (or perhaps the requirement) for fan control.

Why do you need it? What do you expect to achieve?

Doubt that there will be any immediate downsides to not having fan control.

That said, my next suggestion is that you post your planned build specs. Hardware, OS, etc..

There may be other issues of greater concern.
Thank you very much for your reply, Ralston18!

I guess you're right, the worst thing that can happen is that I'll be running my fans at 100% without needing to. In time I'll want to address that because I value the option to quiet my system to carefully listen to the audio editing I'll be doing.

After doing quite a bit more googling, I see I'l not really ready to pick a fan controller since I might change my choice of motherboard.

I already got a lot of help and piked a x570 motherboard about a year ago when I was about to get a 3950x; but now (since my less-lame PC died recently), I need to get a 5950x the minute I can order one.

But now I'm eagerly awaiting details on new X570 motherboards.

The one I picked was the ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming X because I wanted 8 SATA ports, support for the fastest 128GB of RAM, and multi-gig Ethernet.

Now I'm wondering if one of the new x570 boards might best it and/or better support a 5950x.

I wonder if the new ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero will have the same Memory QVL as the rest of the ROG Crosshair VIII Series if so it's 128GB RAM support will not exceed 2666 (whereas the Phantom Gaming X suports 3000).
 

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
I would rephrase a bit.

Understand that you "want" 8 SATA ports but do you really need/require them?

Likewise for RAM - 128 GB is pretty hefty.

What software applications do you wish to run with respect to audio editing? Look at the application's recommended hardware requirements.

Likely listed in some form of "minimal", "recommended", and "best". You do not want "minimal" and you do want as much "best" as you can afford.

As for the new motherboards do as much research and reading as possible. Visit the respective manufacturer's websites and look for User Guides/Manuals, FAQs, Forums, and as you mentioned QVLs. Read online reviews/previews.

Overall, the details matter and very likely there will be a few "caveats" or "otherwise subject to change" like wording found in the fine print and footnotes.

Perhaps a "new" board would be a good choice for now and in the future.

However, there is always a degree of risk with new products - production and/or shipping delays for example. Especially in our Covid-19 world....

Also if you need a stable/reliable motherboard (do you do audio editing for a living?) then "new" may not be the choice to make. A known motherboard with good history may be more suitable.

If there are problems, the problem is more likely to be related to your build and configuration. Not some undiscovered issue with the new motherboard.

For the most part, no matter how high end the system is, there is likely a point where audio editing performance will simply not noticeably nor functionally improve.

My sense is that you really want to make music versus scrambling and struggling to figure out the technology problems of a new build.

Again, just my thoughts and comments. There may be other suggestions and ideas. I have no problem with that.
 

coyote2

Distinguished
Oct 29, 2009
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I would rephrase a bit.

Understand that you "want" 8 SATA ports but do you really need/require them?

Likewise for RAM - 128 GB is pretty hefty.

What software applications do you wish to run with respect to audio editing? Look at the application's recommended hardware requirements.

Likely listed in some form of "minimal", "recommended", and "best". You do not want "minimal" and you do want as much "best" as you can afford.

As for the new motherboards do as much research and reading as possible. Visit the respective manufacturer's websites and look for User Guides/Manuals, FAQs, Forums, and as you mentioned QVLs. Read online reviews/previews.

Overall, the details matter and very likely there will be a few "caveats" or "otherwise subject to change" like wording found in the fine print and footnotes.

Perhaps a "new" board would be a good choice for now and in the future.

However, there is always a degree of risk with new products - production and/or shipping delays for example. Especially in our Covid-19 world....

Also if you need a stable/reliable motherboard (do you do audio editing for a living?) then "new" may not be the choice to make. A known motherboard with good history may be more suitable.

If there are problems, the problem is more likely to be related to your build and configuration. Not some undiscovered issue with the new motherboard.

For the most part, no matter how high end the system is, there is likely a point where audio editing performance will simply not noticeably nor functionally improve.

My sense is that you really want to make music versus scrambling and struggling to figure out the technology problems of a new build.

Again, just my thoughts and comments. There may be other suggestions and ideas. I have no problem with that.
Hi Ralston18!

I'm gonna link to the post where I explained what my plans are for the PC (from that thread a year ago).

Yes I am aware that it would be better to wait (say a few months) before purchasing a newly released CPU or motherboard. I'm willing to take that risk however because my need for a PC is pressing and I don't want to purchase a year-old CPU. I tend to hang onto hardware a long time and my usage demands for system resources are very high; I need a system that I won't kill (a trail of dead motherboards litter my long computing past).

I'm retired, the work I do is for fun. (Incidentally I'm not a gamer.) But you're right I don't want an unstable system; so I don't plan to mess with overclocking the CPU (though in that thread a year ago I learned I can feel comfortable with some RAM OC.

I understand that I could probably save money on a system, but I don't really care to. I understand that I could live with less than 128GB (but I couldn't live with as little as 64GB so I don't see a need to). I understand that by building a high-end system I'll be both spending more money and inviting more complexity (such as WRT cooling), but I feel capable of navigating both.

I hear you asking me to think about scaling down my wishes; I'm curious how I could benefit from that? For example, would support for faster 128GB RAM kits somehow result from settling for less than 8 SATA ports? (I honestly haven't even checked since I'm guessing they aren't connected; but FYI what I actually want are twice as many as 8 SATA ports, I'm just picking 8 because that's the most that x570 boards have, I plan to supplement with one or more SATA expansion cards.)
 

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
It appears that your link in your post #5 is to this thread and not a thread from a year ago....

========

"I hear you asking me to think about scaling down my wishes; I'm curious how I could benefit from that? For example, would support for faster 128GB RAM kits somehow result from settling for less than 8 SATA ports? (I honestly haven't even checked since I'm guessing they aren't connected; but FYI what I actually want are twice as many as 8 SATA ports, I'm just picking 8 because that's the most that x570 boards have, I plan to supplement with one or more SATA expansion cards.) "

Fair question(s):

I have not worked with such builds and will have to defer to others who have indeed done so. Much more server like as I understand the build specs.

Based on your preceding response you obviously have the requirements well in mind.

And likewise you have the means and resources to achieve those requirements.

No ROI concerns nor any point of diminishing returns to consider.

Another thought is that you intend to use motherboards and components that are, in a sense, more "cutting edge".

So any consequential or corresponding problems can be addressed as deemed necessary.

Overall, "scaling back" appears inherently moot.

In which case there is probably no reason to hold back with respect to the build. You have the time and abilities to work on problems that arise.
 
Solution

coyote2

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Oct 29, 2009
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It appears that your link in your post #5 is to this thread and not a thread from a year ago....
Ooops sorry I've fixed that with a link to the post from a year ago I had in mind:
https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/buy-ram-faster-than-will-run-it.3524876/post-21302290
https://shop.westerndigital.com/pro...tm_term=WDBWLG0080HBK-NESN#WDBWLG0080HBK-NESN these types of HDD for cheaper and pulling them out of there enclosers. they are cheaper then red nas drives that can handle the vibrations of many HDD spinning in the same case.
Thanks very much Flashgo1 I'll think about that. Perhaps with the advent of USB3 I would be content with external drives as an alternative to SATA expansion cards.