# Fan controller that has real 4 PIN PWM support. Where to get one?



## Tomgang (Sep 3, 2018)

Hello fellow TPU´s.

Now it´s my turn to ask for some help i hope you guys can help me with. Cause i have google and looked every where on the web i think at least, after a Fan controller that has true 4 PIN PWM control and not just the standart 3 PIN voltage control. Yes there are controllers like corsair commander pro fan controller, but that is controlled by software. What i want is a controller with it´s own touchscreen or buttoms to controller fans. 3 at least but 5 would be optimal. It has turned out to be rather difficult to find one with 4 PIN PWM while 3 pin is no problem at all, at least for me.

It could be something like the controllers i use now NZXT Sentry 3, but this controller only has 3 pin voltage control. Something like this controller just with 4 PIN PWM control would be ideal. But else something that reminds of it. Either with touchscreen or buttoms dosent matter so much, but touchscreen is to prefer and yes this controller says it has support for 3 and 4 pin fans, but the fact is that this controller like most other controller use the standart 3 pin voltage control.

https://www.nzxt.com/products/sentry-3

So if any one know of a controller that has what i want or something close to it, please let me know. Im from Denmark so its best if i can get a controller from a EU country like germany, norway and italy.

Update: A friend of mine just linked me this. This is what i seek . But i am still open for other sujestions for this controller is not cheap throw.

https://shop.aquacomputer.de/product_info.php?language=en&products_id=3093


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## coonbro (Sep 3, 2018)

4 pin ''pwm''
''controllers like corsair commander pro fan controller, but that is controlled by software.''

that's where the 4th pin comes in to play

''Let’s take a look at some software that motherboard manufacturers provide for PWM regulation''
https://www.ekwb.com/blog/what-is-pwm-and-how-does-it-work/

3 pin the voltage controls the fan speed like using a rheostat  [more voltage = more speed  ] so to say easy.. kinda said in that  ''the old way''

if that helps any on that


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## Tomgang (Sep 3, 2018)

coonbro said:


> 4 pin ''pwm''
> ''controllers like corsair commander pro fan controller, but that is controlled by software.''
> 
> that's where the 4th pin comes in to play
> ...



It is not software control i want. I want control on hardware based. 4 PIN PWM gives a much better RPM control than 3 pin volt control. I dont know if you saw my update, but a friend i asked a few days a go send me a link to the controller above that has 4 PIN PWM support build in the controller. Its some thing like that i seek.


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## coonbro (Sep 3, 2018)

then its the old way  manual  not added intrusive buggie software  

well I guess any 3 pin header can say it ''supports'' a 4 pin  ? just the 4th pin is at dummy mode /blank or a 4 pin header the same   thing is its still going to be mechanical  not software

its a crap day here  so I could look around at this some and if I see something like you say and want i'll post it for you to look at

heck maybe something changed on all this I need to brush up on myself

I see the link you added and looked and seems its software ?

''All speed parameters and sensor values can be set and visualized in an user-friendly menu or through an even easier to use PC-software''


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## newtekie1 (Sep 3, 2018)

https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NA-FC1-4-pin-PWM-Controller/dp/B072M2HKSN

That will control up to 3 fans using PWM.  But you can plug it into a PWM fan hub to get it to control more.

https://www.amazon.com/Swiftech-8W-...1_fkmr0_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1536004163&sr=8-3-fkmr0

*Edit:*If you want a more elegant controller that mounts in the front of the case: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4RE5WA9416

You can probably use standard fan splitters to that controller to control 8 fans using the 4 different channels.


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## Tomgang (Sep 3, 2018)

coonbro said:


> then its the old way  manual  not added intrusive buggie software
> 
> well I guess any 3 pin header can say it ''supports'' a 4 pin  ? just the 4th pin is at dummy mode /blank or a 4 pin header the same   thing is its still going to be mechanical  not software
> 
> ...



If you look and find something, then please do post it. The controller my friend linked to has voltage and PWM control support so i can chose how i want to control fans. Means i can use 3 and 4 pin with out limitations. like the current controller i have now has as they only control fans via voltage. Its just the controller my frined linked to, it is not cheap



newtekie1 said:


> https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NA-FC1-4-pin-PWM-Controller/dp/B072M2HKSN
> 
> That will control up to 3 fans using PWM.  But you can plug it into a PWM fan hub to get it to control more.
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Swiftech-8W-...1_fkmr0_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1536004163&sr=8-3-fkmr0



That might be a cheaper solution. Will look in to it. thanks.


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## coonbro (Sep 3, 2018)

how bout this one ?  most reviewed one at egg [4 pin ]

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...ignorebbr=1&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo


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## Tomgang (Sep 3, 2018)

coonbro said:


> how bout this one ?  most reviewed one at egg [4 pin ]
> 
> https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...ignorebbr=1&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo



Hate to break it to you. I have already looked at it. Its just another controller with voltage control only. Sadly.


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## coonbro (Sep 3, 2018)

not much info on this one , how close is it ?

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...pwm_Fan_Controller-_-9SIA4RE5WA9416-_-Product

like you said you looked hard at most all around ?   and maybe just that limited  to whats offered


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## Tomgang (Sep 3, 2018)

coonbro said:


> not much info on this one , how close is it ?
> 
> https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...pwm_Fan_Controller-_-9SIA4RE5WA9416-_-Product
> 
> like you said you looked hard at most all around ?   and maybe just that limited  to whats offered



Sadly also only voltage control. Here on another side. It says 3 and 4 pin support and 5-12 volts. That means this as well is just a standart voltage control fan controller.

https://m.banggood.com/STW-6041-CPU...er-for-Desktop-p-948577.html#popupStatedetail

And yeah finding a true 4 pin pwn controller is like finding a neddle in the ocean. Close to impossible. It cut look like that controller my friend liked to me is the only option.


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## coonbro (Sep 3, 2018)

Controller fans:4 channel
Temperature control:4-channel

https://www.amazon.com/Sunshine-tip...006455&sr=1-50&keywords=pwm+fan+Control+Panel

so temp controlled fan/ speeds ?


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## Tomgang (Sep 3, 2018)

coonbro said:


> Controller fans:4 channel
> Temperature control:4-channel
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Sunshine-tip...006455&sr=1-50&keywords=pwm+fan+Control+Panel
> ...



The same voltage control.


The fan controller can support a maximum of 30w fan ,voltage range 5.6-12v
True Pwm as far i know holds same voltage all time but works by impulses to control the fan speed.


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## coonbro (Sep 3, 2018)

I don't know  like from here it was asked and looks like the best answer pretty much falls to what I first started with on that deal ?

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2557827/pwm-fan-controller.html


my poor ol' eyes are starting to cross looking all them over  ...lol.....   I feel for ya .

maybe down to a build your own deal?
http://fritzing.org/projects/4-pin-pwm-fan-controller-with-temperature-sensor


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## Tomgang (Sep 3, 2018)

coonbro said:


> I don't know  like from here it was asked and looks like the best answer pretty much falls to what I first started with on that deal ?
> 
> http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2557827/pwm-fan-controller.html
> 
> ...



I guess i have no other alternative so then than the controller my friend linked to. I need pwn control to at least my cpu fans to get rpm down. With voltage control and 40 % that is the lowest with my current controllers can go to, theythey still spin at 1400 rpm still but with pwm they can go down to 700 rpm. Max rpm is 3000.


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## newtekie1 (Sep 3, 2018)

Tomgang said:


> And yeah finding a true 4 pin pwn controller is like finding a neddle in the ocean. Close to impossible. It cut look like that controller my friend liked to me is the only option



Check out my edit above. That one seems to be PWM.


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## Tomgang (Sep 3, 2018)

newtekie1 said:


> Check out my edit above. That one seems to be PWM.



That one has conbro al ready linked to and it is voltage as well.


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## coonbro (Sep 3, 2018)

I seen that  got a 700- 3000 fan but only allows a % of how low    you can go . I assume that a safety thing on there part to prevent you from burning things up going too low in speed  [oops!]

even with a rheostat  the resistance may still not allow below a threshold  to get the lowest speed ?  you have to check the high and low resistance specs of one


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## Tomgang (Sep 3, 2018)

coonbro said:


> I seen that  got a 700- 3000 fan but only allows a % of how low    you can go . I assume that a safety thing on there part to prevent you from burning things up going too low in speed  [oops!]
> 
> even with a rheostat  the resistance may still not allow below a threshold  to get the lowest speed ?  you have to check the high and low resistance specs of one


The noctua industrial fans i use to my cpu cooler uses a 3 phase motor and these types of motor starts at around 5.5 to 6 volts first and at those voltage the fan al ready spins at 1400 rpm then only voltage control is used. With pwm the same fans can go down to 750 rpm because they are then feed 12 volt all time but the impulse control alows for better and more precise rpm control.

These are the fans im talking about:

https://noctua.at/en/nf-f12-industrialppc-3000-pwm/specification


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## coonbro (Sep 3, 2018)

you would think  Noctua cont4olers would fully support there own fans under that pwm  offered as a sales point using them

guess get 3 or 4 of this one 

https://noctua.at/en/products/accessories/na-fc1


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## Tomgang (Sep 3, 2018)

coonbro said:


> you would think  Noctua cont4olers would fully support there own fans under that pwm  offered as a sales point using them
> 
> guess get 3 or 4 of this one
> 
> https://noctua.at/en/products/accessories/na-fc1



I have looked at that. The problem is just that my old motherboard dosent have real 4 pin pwm connectors onboard that these noctua controllers needs. That is also why i need a stand alone controller for this to work for me.


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## coonbro (Sep 3, 2018)

name of there game today is  if you want it you go buy all new the latest stuff   not upgrade this or that  . that's fast becoming a thing of the past   [then add the malware service win-10 on top ]  cause things may not be fully supported if at all if you don't and no better off anyway


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## FreedomEclipse (Sep 3, 2018)

Just curious, why does it have to have a touchscreen??? Why not just a straightforward PWM fan hub or PWM splitter from Akasa or Gelid which can support between 3-5 fans and draw power from a sata or molex connection??

Plug the main 4pin into your your PWM supported fan port -- for you that would be CHA_Fan1 and just hook up all the other pwm fans to the splitter/hub. The splitter/hub wont draw any power from the board itself. 

Use Qfan in bios to control fan speeds. -- Profit.

I used a fan controller to control my fan speeds a while back but I now use the same method i described to control ALL my fans.


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## Tomgang (Sep 4, 2018)

FreedomEclipse said:


> Just curious, why does it have to have a touchscreen??? Why not just a straightforward PWM fan hub or PWM splitter from Akasa or Gelid which can support between 3-5 fans and draw power from a sata or molex connection??
> 
> Plug the main 4pin into your your PWM supported fan port -- for you that would be CHA_Fan1 and just hook up all the other pwm fans to the splitter/hub. The splitter/hub wont draw any power from the board itself.
> 
> ...



It dosent have to had a touchscreen, but it is what i prefer. The reason i dont want software is because i want it so i can ajust fan speed while gaming, benchmarking or doing other full screen task with out to have to go back to desktop to ajust fanspeed in software. With hardware based fan controller i can ajust fan speed on the fly with out i have to go out of full screen task.

Using 4 pin on motherboard still needs software what i dont want and as far i know the old X58 motherboard i have dosent have true PWM control but still voltage control. Like in this image here, the 4 pin type lowest and as you can see that is voltage controlled.


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## FreedomEclipse (Sep 4, 2018)

Simple test. Plug in a pwm fan to CHA_FAN1 and see if it ramps up when you game or benchmark.

Because if it does then you could just follow through with my suggestion and just use Qfan in the bios to control the fans. 

The other fans have to be pwm though but the signal only reads from the first fan. If they are matched fans then they should all ramp up to to same speeds at the same time.

Google gelid or akasa pwm splitter but make sure it's the one that can control multiple fans and draws power via molex or sata.


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