PWM Fan Controller?

nikkolaus

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Jun 7, 2015
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I was thinking about getting some of the new Corsair ML140 Pro fans, and was wondering what everyone's opinion was on which Fan Controller I can get to power 5 of these. As per the recommended setup, and Corsair Support, I would need a PWM controller, NOT a DC controller. The power input required is a high of 12v per fan.

Thanks ahead of time for any help provided.
 
Solution
OK, I'll give you simple instructions because you have answered one question - you do NOT want a "fan Controller" in particular. You just want to control 5 fans from your mobo, and prefer neat wiring. A 4-pin Hub can do that IF your mobo's headers are the right type. So tell me what make and model exact number of mobo you have.

nikkolaus

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Jun 7, 2015
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Yes, I did. The tech i spoke with gave me this answer when I asked what PWM Fan controller I could use.
"Corsair Tech: Unfortunately the only controller would be our commander mini" .. and just the fact that they said the word "Unfortunately" made it seem like they had no faith behind supporting it. So it kind of dissuaded me from that product, and I felt that I should obtain a wider spectrum of product recommendations...
 

galeener

Distinguished
True he doesn't sound very sure but these are supposed to work ok and it has software with it to control the fans other than that not sure at the moment.
Phanteks PWM Fan Hub Controller (PH-PWHUB_01) not sure think this controls 3
SilverStone PWM Fan Hub System Cables, Black (CPF04) think this controls 4
Hvnt found one for 5 yet you could use a splitter for 1 though or 2 and use a 3 controller
 

Paperdoc

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OP asked about a fan CONTROLLER. To me that means a device that controls fans by itself without using mobo fan headers. Usually these devices offer manual settings only, although there are a few that claim to do their own automatic control based on their own temperature sensors. Especially with ones that use manual settings, each output channel can be set differently.

The Phanteks PWM Hub will control both 3- and 4-pin fans but NOT using PWM Mode. It requires a PWM signal from a mobo header, but uses it to create its own group of six 3-pin fan ports that all operate in Voltage Control Mode. ALL of these are controlled together by the ONE PWM signal the Hub gets from a mobo header. The power for all the fans is drawn from a connection to a PSU SATA power output connector.

The Silverstone PWM Hub is more the classic 4-pin fan system PWM Hub. It requires one PWM signal from a mobo header and gets power for all its fans from the PSU via a SATA power connector. It simply shares the single PWM signal to all its fans, so again ALL its fans are under control together from that one signal.

Both of those Hubs use a PWM signal from a mobo header to accomplish automatic control of a group of fans. That is not the same as a "Fan Controller" in the usual sense of an add-on device with multiple output channels that do NOT have any link to mobo automatic control.

Virtually all the add-on Fan controller units I have seen are designed for "universal" use. That is, they actually use ONLY Voltage Control Mode, even if their output connectors have 4 pins. Thus they can control both 3-pin and 4-pin fans and any mix of them, making use of the "backwards compatibility" feature in the 4-pin fan design that allows such fans to operate under control of a Voltage Control Mode system. You may have a tough time finding a Fan Controller that ONLY uses PWM Mode.
 

nikkolaus

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Jun 7, 2015
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So, you're saying of those suggested the Silverstone is the preferred, for this use?
 

Paperdoc

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Probably yes, but first please clarify what you want.

Your original post used the term "fan controller". As I said above, my understanding of that phrase means a third-party device you install in your case so that you can do your own control of multiple fans. Typically it has several knobs or sliders on the front, one for each of its outputs. In more recent designs these may not be physical controls, but instead may be done by selections on a display screen. Each output channel allows you to set MANUALLY the speed of its fan. Fancier versions also can display the actual speed of each fan (IF the fan design is the common one that has a speed output signal). Fancier yet, some include one or more temperature sensors that you can place wherever you like. The fanciest include their own automatic temperature control systems so that the temperature sensor connected to each fan control loop can guide that fan's speed. With all of these, YOU are the real brains behind the control system. YOU must decide what is the correct temperature for a particular place, and what speed to set each fan. For the fanciest designs that have their own automatic controls, YOU must set the temperature targets and control loop tuning parameters. None of this is pre-set for you, and none of this involves the mobo systems at all.

On the other hand, if you aim is to achieve CONTROL of five PWM fans despite not having five mobo headers to attach them to, that is very different. That CAN be done using mobo resources, and it can (usually DOES, unless you disable it) include pre-programmed automatic control of those fans. These systems in the mobo already have temperature targets and control loop tuning parameters set up by the manufacturers. First a bit of info, then you can tell us what you really want.

Almost all mobos include two separate fan control systems in their fan headers. But here's an important point: they are really TEMPERATURE control systems, not fan speed control systems. That is, their primary aim is not to set a fan speed. It is to keep a measured TEMPERATURE at the proper setpoint, and it does this by manipulating fan speed (and hence, the flow of cooling air). One system is for the CPU, and its temperature sensor is built into the CPU chip and sends its signal out to the mobo on one of the chip's pins. This system controls the fan plugged into the CPU_FAN header (and sometimes a second CPU_OPT header). The second system runs the SYS_FAN or CHA_FAN header(s), and its temperature sensor is built into the mobo at some spot the maker has determined is important to control. These headers are where you plug in your case ventilation fans. A few mobos actually include more than one temperature sensor in the board and give you a choice of which one to use for which SYS_FAN header.

Virtually all mobo fan headers have a limit on how much power they can provide. All output up to 12 VDC, and all have a limit of 1 amp per header. Now, most common fans these days use less than 0.2 amps at full speed, so three or four can be connected to a single mobo header safely using a SPLITTER. A splitter is a simple device with one female connector that plugs into a mobo header, and two or more male output connectors for fans. Splitters can be "stacked" by plugging two into the output arms of a third, for example, to give you four output connectors.

A different device called a HUB can be used if you need to connect more fans to one mobo header but avoid overloading it. A HUB has those same input and output arms (usually many output arms) but ALSO has an arm that MUST be plugged into a power output connector (either 4-pin Molex or SATA) directly from the PSU. All of the fans' power through a Hub comes from the PSU (which has MUCH higher amperage available) rather than from the header; only the PWM control signal from the header is shared among all the Hub's fans. Because of the difference in fan systems, a Hub can only be designed for true 4-pin fans systems that use the PWM Mode for control.

Mobo headers can become confusing these days, and here's why. 3-pin fans con only be controlled in Voltage Control Mode. That is, the mobo header supplies to its fan(s) a voltage on Pin #2 that VARIES between 5 and 12 VDC to change the fan speed. 4-pin fans work differently. For them Pin #2 always has a constant +12 VDC supply, and then there is an additional control signal, the PWM signal, supplied on Pin #4. Inside the fan motor there is a small chip the applies the PWM signal to the +12 VDC supplied to control what percentage of the time the supply is actually allowed to flow through the motor windings, and that controls its speed. Now, what happens if you mix fan and header type? A 3-pin fan connected to the first three pins of a 4-pin header does not receive the PWM signal because it has no wires for it and has no chip to use it. So it gets a constant +12 VDC on Pin #2 and runs at full speed all the time. It works for cooling, but can't be controlled this way. A 4-pin fan plugged into the only pins of a 3-pin header receives no PWM signal so it cannot apply that to modify the supplied power. However, that power is NOT constant - the 3-pin header is using Voltage Control Mode and supplies a VARYING voltage on Pin #2, and the motor uses that (unmodified), thus providing speed control. This is part of the backwards compatibility of the 4-pin motor design. Control done in this manner misses out on a couple of small advantages of true PWM control, but it works.

Before proceeding, let me note three other types of mobo fan headers you MIGHT see, and should not use for fans. One is labeled PWR_FAN, and really is special for a feature on a few PSU's. It looks like a 3-pin fan header, but its only real purpose is to allow you to plug into it a special set of wires from the PSU that merely send to the mobo the speed of the fan inside the PSU for info. The second, also with three pins, is labelled PUMP_FAN or some such, and is a fixed +12 VDC supply intended for use with a few liquid cooler systems that require access to that power supply for the pump component. And finally, I have seen a few mobos that have one of their several SYS_FAN headers set up with 3 pins but no control of voltage on Pin #2, and no connection on Pin #3 for the speed signal, so they are just a fixed 12 VDC supply point of no use for CONTROLLED fans.

Mobo headers come in 4 varieties. The simplest to grasp is the "standard" 3-pin header. It can ONLY operate in Voltage Control Mode, and it can power and control both 3-pin and 4-pin (backwards compatibility) fans. Next are three varieties of 4-pin headers. The first of these is easy - a "standard" 4-pin header that uses only PWM Mode for control, as described above. The second type have an option in BIOS Setup to set manually whether they use PWM Mode or Voltage Control Mode (like a 3-pin fan header). Some of these even have what's called an "automatic" option that appears to sense the fan type connected and adjust itself. But those may really be of the last type. That last type has 4 pins, BUT it really is a 3-pin header operating only in Voltage Control Mode with a useless 4th pin. This type makes use of the backwards compatibility feature of true 4-pin fans.

It is that last type of 4-pin headers, now quite common on mobos, that causes problems in some situations. It is "universal" because it has 4 pins and so anyone can feel comfortable plugging any fan into it. And wonderfully, it powers AND controls both 3- and 4-pin fans! It even works with SPLITTERS because all the power for the fans comes from the header and is pre-controlled by variable voltage. The problem comes if you try to use this header type with 4-pin HUBS. A Hub requires a PWM signal from its mobo header to share out to its fans for control. Remember that the Hub does NOT send the voltage from Header Pin #2 to its fans; it sends a fixed +12 VDC supply from the PSU directly to all its fans, and it depends on each 4-pin fan to use the PWM signal to control itself. When used with a true 4-pin header in PWM Mode, that works perfectly. BUT when used with one of those "universal" type of headers that has NO PWM signal available, it cannot exercise any control over its fans.

So now we get to why we need more info from you, OP. IF you want a "fan controller" as I understand the term so that you have control directly of your fans, clarify that for us. BUT if you want to use mobo-based automatic control of your five fans, and just need a way to connect them all for that, then tell us that. THEN tell us the following info so we can help:
1. What is the make and exact model number of your mobo? With that we can look up its manual and determine what type of mobo SYS_FAN headers it has.
2. If you would be happy having all your case ventilation fans connected to one mobo header and controlled by the same speed signals, that can be done with one PWM Hub or quite likely with two or more splitters using different mobo headers, but all based on the same control system.
3. IF you want to separate your five fans into two or more groups each under a slightly different control strategy, the MAY be possible using custom tuning of your mobo headers - depends on what capabilities your mobo has. If this interests you, tell us.
 

nikkolaus

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Jun 7, 2015
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Do i really have to read your essay on optional hardware? Would you happen to have a TL-DR somewhere... ?
I'm just simply looking for SOME WAY to handle 5 PWM fans made by Corsair without stringing wires all across my motherboard to different headers .. it's really that simple.
 

Paperdoc

Polypheme
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OK, I'll give you simple instructions because you have answered one question - you do NOT want a "fan Controller" in particular. You just want to control 5 fans from your mobo, and prefer neat wiring. A 4-pin Hub can do that IF your mobo's headers are the right type. So tell me what make and model exact number of mobo you have.
 
Solution