New Fan Controller / Fan Splitter Setup

[CyBaNeTiiKz]

Hey guys,

I plan to upgrade my current build into a new NZXT Switch 810. I'm Planning to watercool with a 420 Rad in the top and a 280 Rad in the bottom. I'm planning a total of 14 fans in this build and I want to hook them up to a fan controller, the Bitfenix Recon to be precise. I don't know if it will power all the fans but i hope it will. The description of the Bitfenix Recon fan controller says it delivers 10w per channel. Ill try to give an idea of how I want the fans attached and if this isn't possible then any help would be appreciated. I want to put 3 fans NZXT 140mm Blue LED ( NZXT 140 x 140 x 25mm 1000RPM Case Fan Blue LED : FZ-140-B |Specialtech UK Water Cooling Shop ) in the top section connected via a fan splitter ( Akasa Flexa FP3S 300mm PWM Fan Splitter Cable for 3 Fans Powered by SATA : AK-CBFA06-30 |Specialtech UK Water Cooling Shop ) to one of the 5 channels, and 3 Gelid Wing 140mm UV ( Gelid Solutions Wing 14 UV Blue 140mm High Performance Case Fan |Specialtech UK Water Cooling Shop) on the other side of the top Rad connected to another channel via another fan splitter like the top 3. I also want to attach 2 NZXT 140mm Non LED fans ( NZXT 140 x 140 x 25mm 1000RPM Case Fan Black : FZ-140 |Specialtech UK Water Cooling Shop ) to the underside of my bottom mounted Rad and 2 of the Gelid Wing 140mm UV on the top of the Rad. I would like to attach all 4 of these fans to one channel. I couldn't find any 4 splitters on this site but I've found a 5 splitter ( Akasa Flexa FP5S 450mm PWM Fan Splitter Cable for 5 Fans Powered by SATA : AK-CBFA07-45 |Specialtech UK Water Cooling Shop ). Hopefully I can attach these to one channel, even though these are different fans and the RPM's are different. To finish, I want to attach the 2 front NZXT 140mm Blue LED fans to another channel via ( Akasa PWM Fan Splitter Supports 2 PWM Fans From a Single Motherboard PWM Header 15cm : AK-CBFA04-15 |Specialtech UK Water Cooling Shop ) and then the last 2 fans will be Gelid Wing 140mm UV attached as the exhaust and the HDD mounted to the last available channel via the same splitter as the front 2 fans.

I’ve tried to be as specific as possible as I cannot provide pictures for this as I’m essentially just planning my build for the future. Probably a Christmas build.

[profJim]

What is the rated amps or watts for each fan model?

volts x amps = watts

For example, if a fan is rated at 0.3 amps, then 12 volts x 0.3 amps = 3.6 watts for one fan and 3 fans x 3.6 watts = 10.8 watts.
Each fan model will probably have different amp/watt ratings.

[CyBaNeTiiKz]

The NZXT 140 Blue and non-LED fans have 0.21A (Rate), 0.30A(safety) and the Gelid Wing 140 UV has 0.35A. If my maths is correct most of my channels will exceed the watt output. Kinda sucks cause the Recon looks so cool. So apart from that will all the connections work? Id just need to find a controller that gives me enough watts per channel? Any suggestions for a single bay fan controller will temperature inputs? I like the NZXT Sentry Mix 6 ( NZXT Sentry Mix 6 Channel LED Illuminated Fan Controller : Sentry Mix |Specialtech UK Water Cooling Shop ) but it doesnt have temperatures.

[profJim]

Check out Aerocool > Products > Peripheral to see if any of their fan controllers will meet your needs.

[CyBaNeTiiKz]

Aerocool > Products > Peripheral > F6XT looks ok but it has 12w per channel and the 3 x Gelid Wing 140 UV will be 12.6w, everything else has a lesser watt per channel :/

[profJim]

It's best not to run all the time near the rated limit.
Maybe you can cheat a little and use 2 fan channels for the 3 fans.
Are you OK with the fixed low/medium/high fan speed settings for each channel?

[CyBaNeTiiKz]

Well I haven't seen any thing about the fixed settings I'll look up some reviews. I have seen this G-VANS Fan Controller GV2FC-5 - Performance-PCs.com but to ship it to me will cost nearly as much as to buy it, £78.56 altogether which is $124.35, :/ ill keep looking around since I have till Christmas, new ones may come out by then :)

[profJim]

Using fixed fan preset speeds might be acceptable, but I prefer to set my fan speeds to the point just before the fans are audible.
My Zalman ZM-MFC2 controller works well, but they stopped selling it several years ago.
It has 1 PWM channel and 3x 3-pin channels, with each channel rated at 0.7 amps or 8.4 watts.
Try to find user reviews; many Newegg user reviews were not that great for many of the fancier fan controllers.
Some fan controllers don't lower the voltage enough for quiet operation and some fan models don't under-volt well.
Let us know which fan controller you finally buy.

[CyBaNeTiiKz]

Ok then thanks for all the info. I will surely let you know what I decide on!

[chad_sebring]

NZXT also offers the Mesh and Mix controllers, while not digital, they do offer great wattage capabilities, and are budget friendly.