[Thunderer]

So, I am going to build this custom PC (btw I have changed some parts from the first time I posted here) and was thinking to buy an AeroCool watch controller

Here are the specs of the PC:

Motherboard - Asus Maximus Extreme iX38
C.P.U. - Intel Core2Quad Q6600
R.A.M. - CorsairTwinX XMS3 2GB PC3-8500 (1066Mhz)
Video-card - 728MB BFG PCI-Express GF 8800GTX (or a Quadro FX )
Monitor - Samsung 2232BW
Speakers - Logitech X540 5.1 Surround Speakers
Hard-Disk - 2* 500GB 7200rpm - Seagate SATA2
Power Supply - Enermax Galaxy 1000W
Printer - Canon MP600R
Optical Drive - Pioneer DVR-212 18x Black Dual Layer
U.P.S. - 1400VA Centralion Blazer Line Interactive
Windows - Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (OEM) (or maybe Ultimate 32bit OEM)
Network - Edimax 54G Wireless USB Adaptor
Case - ThermalTake Kandalf Silver with 25cm side fan
Keyboard and Mouse - Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Desktop 7000

So the thing is that with the current PC I have, I just found out that the temps. are very high like 50-60+ Celcius. I know it is bad but I do not know why they are so high or how to see their temps. Only once I was able to know

Now I was doing some research to try and find a controller and was actually going to buy a fan controller but then I said why a controller without not knowing the temps. So I look on google and came out with the AeroCool products.

Thus my question lies here on whether to buy the 'Aerocool PowerWatch Controller - silver' or the 'Aerocool GateWatch 2 Fan-Controller - silver'. Their difference in price is in significant so do not mention price. I would like to know which is the best and that really suits my needs. Was not able to find reviews on the gatewatch2 but the other I did and found that it was ok. But still I do need some feedback from users who have used it or seen it work.

Hope someone could help me.

10q

[cyberspacegenie]

I think it depends on why you are looking for a fan controller. Is it purely to monitor the temps or do you actively want to control the speeds of the fans? Or is it because of the extras that these 2 models offer?

Just taking a brief look at the two models, most of the info seems to concentrate on the extra stuff they provide rather than how they control the fans. If your reason for getting it is to control the fans based upon the temps then I would ask some additional questions about the models. I'll explain...

I have a scythe karmameter fan controller. It looks great an allows me to monitor the temps and control 4 fans. I got a fan controller because I wanted to be able to turn the fans down when the weather cooled in order to make the computer as quiet as possible. The Karmameter does the job but now I'm finding a few limitations. For example I have 4 fans in the computer but now summer has passed I would like be able turn off two off them, unfortunately the karmameter doesnt have that functionality so I would have to disconnect them. Also it doesn't let me turn down the fans as much as I'd like (it turns them down to 7 volts but I realise I want to be able to go down to 5 volts) . I also found the temperature monitoring cable produced lots of spaghetti in the case and in the end I choose to take out 3 of them, preferring to use software monitoring. Finally, the kamameter is powered by 1 molex power connection which doesnt quite seem to supply enough power to run all 4 fans at full speed so when all at full they run slightly slower than they should.

Based on this if I were buying a fan controller now I would ask the following questions:

How much can you undervolt the fans (turn them down)?
Can you use the fan controller to turn off fans completely?
Can you control the temperature alarm settings?
Are you happy with all the additional cabling inside the case?
How is the fan controller powered?

This is just stuff to think about based upon my own experience with mine. Thought some of it may be useful to you when making your choice.

[Thunderer]

10q vm for your reply 'cyberspacegenie'

Based on what you have written I did not think about some aspects due to the fact that they do not interest me or maybe simply becasue they are useless for me.

So here is what I really would like to know:

The temps. of the CPU, FANS, VGA, CASE and all other possible temps. that one could know. With regards to the fans I would never turn them off due to the fact that here in Malta it is not the case.
I do not mind having to turn the volts of the fans down to 5 or 7 (eventhough imo do not think that would make that much difference of 2 volts).
I would like to control the alarm (but what exactly is that for?? so that the temps. would not go above certain degrees??).

About your question "How is the fan controller powered?" what you mean exactly? With the PSU I suppose :)

Lastly about the cabling I did think about it and I am not 100% sure but if a thing needs to be done it has to. So I would say that it would not mind that much, eventhough one could arrange the cables in such a way that they are organized.

All in all I will go for it I think but do not what to buy. Any suggestions?

[Thunderer]

Hi, I also found this one,

Alphacool USB-Display.

Whay do you think about it out there?? Did find a review (http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews.p...ol_usb-display) but from it I could not find that it could adjust the temps since it only shows the specifications.

Do you think this is worthed buying??

[Krlll]

That thing (Alphacool USB-Display) is just for show,I wouldnt buy it but thats just me.
I use an Aerogate 3 fan controller myself.
It can change the speeds of up to 4 connected fans(using the small connector,not Molex.Something that might be important for you).
It also has 4 temp monitors.I dont use these because GPU/CPU and Case temps are already monitored by far more accurate sensors.
These sensors just stick onto heatsinks or wherever but are not as close obviously as the ones built into the CPU etc.So basically useless for me.
I think Cyberspacegenie has done a great job of answering your question already and I just posted mostly to show which one I use.
A fan controller is not that big of a deal,it controls fans and may or may not have crappy temp sensors.The end.lol

[cyberspacegenie]

Hi Thunderer, I'm not sure what you want is fan controller. You're main reason for having one seems to be to monitor the temps rather than controlling the fans, but to be honest there are plenty of software options to be able to do this. For example, speedfan and PC wizard are just 2 free programs that will tell you the temp of MoBo, CPU, GPU etc. there are quite a few more out there. If you built the comp yourself you probably got some software with the MoBo that also monitors the temps. I suggest you trying one of these first and if they do what you want then you can save yourself some money.

One other thing about the temp monitor cable sensors that come with fan controllers - as Krill said it depends where you stick them, and I found that they are a real pain to stick on and even then they may not stay. They also get in the way whenever you do anything in the case. For me they were more hassle than they were worth, but that's just me.

[Thunderer]

10q all for your feedback.

@cyberspacegenie So, I did try some programs on this PC (old) and when I start the program, the PC would just crash hence it would needs a re-start. So software is no good for this one :)
About the cable sensors, so where are you suppose to place them, near the fan or with the fan?? How ugly and in accecable would a case be with all the wires?? I need some pics to see :)

10q

[cyberspacegenie]

Like I said, I could never get them to stay on properly so I quickly ran out of patience. Below is a link to a pic that I took when I first built the computer. I hadnt done any cable management so ALL the cables are a mess. The ones related to the thermal temp sensors are the thin red and black ones. Also there are fan extension cables so that the fan cables can reach the fan controller. I had the thermal sensors stuck on the GPU, HD, motherboard and CPU but I could never get them to stay on and was never sure exactly whereabouts to stick them.

http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/ima...9e9ecb7d1a.jpg

[Thunderer]

10q for the pic. From what I could see your case looks better then my present one with regards to wireing :)

Now they do not seem very annoying to see because the mobo is visable. I will have a modular PSU so that the unneeded wires would not be attached (hence less wires :D ) and the PC is going to be built by profesionnals, so I think that they would know how to do things and a very good cable management. Personally I think that I would be going for that.

Thank you again.