hi guys...

i'm looking at installing one of these fan speed controllers (along the lines of the Thermaltake Hardcano)....the problem is that my chassis fans are all standard molex 2-wire connectors, and i'm not entirely sure if this setup will work.
i guess my question is: what is the significance of the 3rd wire (like on the CPU fan?) is it only for registering the RPM value, or also to regulate the voltage and thereby the speed.

hopefully it's only for the RPM reading, cos that is a feature i'm not particularly interested in.....i only want it to regulate the speed.

i suppose it's easy enuff to go out and buy fans with the 3 pin plug, but i'm not sure if a 25cm fan like this is available - i'm using an AeroCool Zero Degree chassis with stock 12cm fan in the front and a 25cm on the side - extremely efficient, but just a bit noisy at night

TIA

The third wire usually is to measure rpm, yeah you're right good guess.

Also the third wire could be a ground, when i was hooking up my fans (9 of them) some of them, i just took out the extra wire. You dont really need to be monitoring all the fans ya kno.

you Should try out WaterCo0oling
thats what im going to be doing pretty soon

Venom Lack!!! Now that we all know how to tell a coral from a king snake (red & black).

Red = 12V +
Black = Ground
Yellow = Tach (not ground)
Blue = PWM signal

Anyway that's pretty much the universal color code COMING DIRECTLY FROM the fan motor. K?

There are very few instances where you actually do recommend someone to watercooling, and mainly to people who have enquired about it in the first place. Watercooling is not yet suitable for the general public IMO, because of the "high" maintanence required, cost and risk, among some other factors.

Since I'm already posting, I'll just confirm that the third wire isn't required, and I've got a couple of fans running with them cut off.

I just recently bought a fan controller (by Zalman if anyone wants to know) and I love how it makes my already quiet computer almost totally silent. A point to note is that you might want something where the lights can be switched off, cos now I'm pissed at my controller, which has a couple of lights permanently on.

Agreed, watercooling would be a slight case of overkill for my application -
CMH, what type of Zalman controller do you have, if I may ask? I was quite interested in the MFC2, but in the end decided against it as it would be hiding behind the chassis door for most of the time.

I'm trying to track down something a bit more straightforward, like a Vantec NXP205 which just has 4 analog dials and nothing else (also fits in a 3 1/2" bay which is preferable) - but now I can only find it in silver and not black!

Anything else along those lines that anyone could recommend?

thanx!

I'm using the ZM-MFC1.

there's always the spray paint can...