ACCELERO XTREME GTX 280 and Fan Controller

yellowbird · #1 15th May 2009, 10:30

Hello everybody.
I wanna buy the ACCELERO XTREME GTX 280,but i want to make sure first,i can use my Fan Controller ZALMAN MFC1 Plus ,to speed up the fans for this graphic card cooler.
My PC specs : Intel 7 920 ,Gigabyte GA-EX58 UD5 , 3 GB DDR 3 Corsair 1066 Mhz,Geforce GTX 285 ,WD 6400 AAKS,DVD RW LG,Sound Blaster X-FI Xtreme Gamer,PSU Corsair CMPSU-650 TXEU
I didnt' OC nothing,yet.
Will i be able to use the fan controller for this cooler?
Is my PSU "big enough" if i buy this cooler ,plus everything i have now?
I have 3 case fans 120 mm ( 1-front,1-on side,1-back)
Thanks in advance.

**4D(Fordy(Ford) Ollie** · #2 15th May 2009, 11:00

PSU should be fine.

I can't tell how it's powere from the sites I've looked at..

I presume the Zalman controller regulates the voltage by "in" and "out" molex's? If so then it will be fine so long as the Accelero powers by Molex.

Be careful though - you don't want to turn off the fans completely..

EDIT:
Thinking about it I would have thought it would power directly from the card, to prevent you from doing exactly what you describe.. Kinda like asking if you can plug you're CPU's fan into a controller - NO! You don't want to turn it off and fry everything..

**mctw** · #3 15th May 2009, 11:29

quite a lot of modern cards support fan speed adjustments in their software, might be worth checking this out?

yellowbird · #4 15th May 2009, 11:36

So,it's better to plug the fans from fan controller, directly into the graphic card ?
One more question,i don't know how that works: if i use this cooler,the graphic card stock cooler will stop working,or i will have to disable it ?Or both coolers will work,toghether?
Please excuse me,i'm a beginner,and before i make any mistakes,i better ask.
Thanks for your reply.

**mctw** · #5 15th May 2009, 11:40

sorry, i should have made it clearer, basically, graphics cards are designed to look after their own fans, you should plug the graphics card fan into the graphics card. dont plug any other fans into it, leave them on your fan controller or however they were before.

and im sorry, I dont quite get the last question, can you elaborate slightly?

yellowbird · #6 15th May 2009, 11:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by mctw

sorry, i should have made it clearer, basically, graphics cards are designed to look after their own fans, you should plug the graphics card fan into the graphics card. dont plug any other fans into it, leave them on your fan controller or however they were before.

and im sorry, I dont quite get the last question, can you elaborate slightly?

Sorry,i'm affraid i didn't understand you.
So,please explain me like for a noob ,how do i have to do,to control the graphic card cooler ACCELERO XTREME ,with the fan controller ?Step by step,please.Please.
I asked this few minutes ago " One more question,i don't know how that works: if i use this cooler,the graphic card stock cooler will stop working,or i will have to disable it ?Or both coolers will work,toghether?" and i try to make it clearer :
If i use the cooler ACCELERO XTREME GTX 280 ,the stock cooler will work as well,together with ACCELERO XTREME GTX 280 ? Or ,the stock cooler will just stop working,as long as there is the ACCELERO XTREME GTX 280 cooler ?

**4D(Fordy(Ford) Ollie** · #7 15th May 2009, 11:51

You'll have to take off the stok cooler, screw on the Accelero backplate, and mount the Accelero fans on it.

What mctw means is that you don't really tend to control Graphics fans with a hardware controller such as the Zalman.

The card comes with software that allows you to regulate the speed of the fan attatched to it. (Be it stock or aftermarket)

**mctw** · #8 15th May 2009, 11:56

apologies, ive misunderstood your original post. lets get a few things straight before this gets a even bigger mess!

The ACCELERO XTREME is whats called a '3rd party cooler', this means its not the 'stock' or cooler that comes already fitted to the card when you take it out of the box.

To install this 3rd party cooler, you will have to remove the original cooler from the card, which will almost certainly void your warranty. personally, i would not risk this, and would just stick to using the stock cooler. the stock cooler will be powered from the graphics card itself, not from your fan controller.

However, if you choose to install this cooler, it can be run from your fan controller yes, though it may require and adapter from 3pin fan power to Molex (white plug with 4 pins) personally, i would just run the cooler straight off the molex power, as its going to need to run at almost full power to keep your card cool anyhow.

read through this review, it might clear things up for you!

EDIT, a 3rd party cooler is another name for a aftermarket cooler.

PS, Fordy, i originally thought that the aftermarket cooler was a type of card, like a variation

yellowbird · #9 15th May 2009, 11:57

I understand now.Thanks.
It's okay if i can use the software,to control the cooler fans speed,but i'd really like to use the fan controller.

**mctw** · #10 15th May 2009, 11:59

if you keep the stock cooler, you can use the software yes, the after market cooler cant be controlled by the software. software often reacts to temp, aka it will turn the speeds up as the temp increases. i believe the stock cooler for the GTX 280 is pretty quiet anyhow, so it shouldnt really be needed to turn down.