Separate or external fan controls
However, it is also possible to connect all fans to their own controllers and control them via this. There are some from Corsair or also Aquacomputer. What they have in common is that they are usually controlled with additional software and like to influence RGB lighting as well as the fan motors at the same time. Mostly these controllers are well labeled regarding connections and their electrical specification, otherwise a look into the manual should explain everything else.
And last but not least, some PC cases have their own fan controllers – the Silent Base 802 next to me has one of those. The principle here is that in the concrete example, up to 6 fans can be connected 3-pole to the controller, which then has a direct power connection to the power supply and exactly one PWM cable to the mainboard. This means that you should connect as many fans as possible, since the PWM signal (speed) is only passed on to the mainboard from exactly one fan. If you were to connect significantly different fans, especially in terms of maximum speeds, then nothing would run synchronously at e.g. 50% PWM given by the motherboard.
(Limited) software overview for control of housing fans (and water pumps)
FanControl
FanControl is a free fan control solution. It is freely available (possibility to donate) and is currently continuously developed and maintained, the contact to the project manager is friendly, the software is easy to use and by the way also slim (16 MB). FanControl’s biggest shortcoming is that it usually cannot control the fans of Radeon graphics cards.I don’t want to say much more here, because there will be a chapter on how to optimally set up FanControl in a moment.
SpeedFan
SpeedFan may have been an intellectual predecessor of FanControl from 2001, but the current version 4.52 from 2016 shows that development has ceased. Therefore, this program is no longer recommended.
Argus Monitor
Argus Monitor has been available since 2009, costs around 25 euros and is continuously updated. Personally, I have never used it, but the screenshots show that the essential functions are given and are probably very broad. However, a real evaluation of the program is not possible for me.
Aquasuite
The Aquasuite is available as an add-on for the corresponding hardware with a limited validity period and costs a good 10 Euros for the annual update afterwards – but it is also possible to continue using it without an update and without further costs. I have never used this software myself, but on screenshots the program looks very strong in terms of functionality.
iCUE & Co.
Again, the proprietary control programs of various peripheral manufacturers are somewhat different. A good example is iCUE from Corsair. The current version is over 1 GB in size and free of charge – the business model behind it is aimed at selling the corresponding hardware to be controlled from the own company. Thus, the main motivation for this package is more in the area of RGB, similar to the following group.
Other manufacturer-specific programs
The relevant motherboard manufacturers almost all also offer their own software suites – big, heavy, roomy. Often these programs are not pure fan controllers, but can do much more, such as RGB, streaming, overclocking, etc. Unfortunately, these packages are usually not slim, sometimes also cost system resources, can sometimes interact with other programs or are again only compatible with their own hardware.
In general, it can be seen that some of the programs are available free of charge, while others are available at a manageable cost. Therefore, cost is one, but certainly not the decisive evaluation criterion for what you would like to use. My impression is that the hardware-independent programs offer more functionality, especially Argus Monitor and Aquasuite – and FanControl somewhat emulates that.
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