[fordgtlover]

In pursuit of a quiet PC as my primary source I am chalenged by the standard problem of loud fans. I am looking for ideas on cheap, effective DIY way to reduce the fan speed.

I am already using the 7v trick, but I would prefer options that allow adjustability.

Tell us your best DIY fan control trick.

 

[TheVinylRipper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordgtlover /img/forum/go_quote.gif In pursuit of a quiet PC as my primary source I am chalenged by the standard problem of loud fans. I am looking for ideas on cheap, effective DIY way to reduce the fan speed. I am already using the 7v trick, but I would prefer options that allow adjustability. Tell us your best DIY fan control trick.

I've used a circuit very similar to this one to control DC motors before..

The LM324 is a quad op amp that will work from a single supply and is dirt cheap.

http://www.elecfree.com/electronic/tag/lm324

 

[SysteX]

I don't think you necessarily need PWM for simple fan speed control. I would just put together a simple buffered, adjustable voltage divider using a pot. I can throw together a schematic if you'd like.

 

[MusicallySilent]

If your fans are plugged into your motherboard connections you can probably control them with speed fan... I forget how many pins your fans need though...

Keep in mind a 4 fan controller is only 20 bucks so it isnt a big hit to your wallet

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Why not software fan controller? SpeedFan, FanGui, etc...

 

[c0mfortably_numb]

I was thinking of getting a fan bus or rheostat for my 120mm fans, then I decided to just upgrade them. I got these 120mm Globalwin fans, 41.7 CFM and 19db @ 12 volt, I was looking at the Yate Loon that the silent pc crowd rave about, but they have sleeve bearings and are 28db's. These new Globalwin's have some kind of new ceramic bearing. I honestly can not hear the fans in my case now, all that I need to do now, is to get a fanless video card that is the noisiest thing in there now.

 

[fordgtlover]

Systex, a simple schematic would be appreciated.

Can I just use a resistor to reduce the current?

 

[threEchelon]

Why not just buy a Noctua NF-S12-800. It's Silent PC Review's highest recommended fan and is below 19dB with the included adapter.

Why invest your time and money in a fan controller when you can just run the fan at stock, which is ~20dB and 41CFM, or with the adapter, which is <19dB and ~25CFM?

 

[mADmAN]

i made a couple of 12v/5v switches while i was using Delta FFBs in my case 2 years back. easy to do and i made it with zero soldering knowledge.

got the very simple picture diagram from Cliff's Fanbus. sadly the site seems to be down.

 

[fordgtlover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by threEchelon /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why not just buy a Noctua NF-S12-800. It's Silent PC Review's highest recommended fan and is below 19dB with the included adapter. Why invest your time and money in a fan controller when you can just run the fan at stock, which is ~20dB and 41CFM, or with the adapter, which is <19dB and ~25CFM?

That sounds like reasonable thinking... From what I understand the Noctua is a very good fan. The adapters provided with the fan do exactly what I am looking to do but with adjustablity. The Noctua LNA (Low Noise Adapter) and ULNA (Ultra Low Noise Adapter) are fixed reduction.

I have some Nexus Real Silent Case Fan SP802512L-03 on order, but I would like to manage the flow of air to meet my cooling needs. This includes the ability to speed up the fans in summer and when putting the PC under extra load.

 

[poo]

All of the zalman fans I have bought have always come with fan controllers (little box with a knob you turn up or down). Not sure if it's true of all of their range, but mine have all been for CPU, and also worked with other brand fans too...