Have you ever used one of these?

[Wangstang]

I found a seller on ebay selling a distribution board for case fans that accepts 3/4 pin header control wires and a 4 pin molex power plug while providing six - three pin mountin blocks to run case fans from.

I cannot find any info on these and was curious to know if others here had ever used them.

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks
Wes

 

[Wangstang]

Here is the link
http://cgi.ebay.com/ROHS-FAN-DISTRI...75888546QQcategoryZ170082QQvarZQQcmdZViewItem

 

[MustISO]

I've never used one since you can control fans from the BIOS or through built in case controls.

Newegg sells all different kinds of them:
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCateg...troller-Panels

 

[Interitus]

I have 4 of these for my 2 rads and case fans

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=30358

They come in 3, 5, 7 or 9 fan plug versions.

 

[Wangstang]

I've never used one since you can control fans from the BIOS or through built in case controls.

Newegg sells all different kinds of them:
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCateg...troller-Panels

This mini board appears to let you turn a single motherboard fan header into a six fan distribution block that can be controlled with the BIOS.

I have 4 of these for my 2 rads and case fans

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=30358

They come in 3, 5, 7 or 9 fan plug versions.

Very similar looking product. I don't see one with a molex power connector though. Any tech on the company that produces those boards you posted?

Thanks
Wes

 

[Interitus]

No idea about the company for sure. They've been around for awhile I think, but I've only been familiar with the name for a year or so. They make or at least re-brand lots of case accessories like switches etc.. The boards are pretty new, think they've been out for a month or two tops.

I just realized what you were really wanting to do though. If I'm assuming correctly, you just wanted to have the ability to control multiple fans through the motherboard header by automatic BIOS fan adjustment. You could do that with the 3-pin boards I linked, but I'd be really careful about how much load you put on the motherboard header. Some of the motherboard headers don't handle even one high draw fan well.

I'm also assuming that you thought the board you linked from ebay would power the fans with the 4-pin, but allow the motherboard to control them with the 3-pin. I don't think that's the case, as I would imagine the board would be a lot more complex than it looks. It just appears to me that it's the same thing as what I linked with the option to use a 4-pin molex instead of the 3-pin if you wanted to go that route.

Let me know if I'm mistaken on your intent here. I could be wrong about the board you linked from eBay, but like I said, I would imagine it would be a lot more complex.

 

[Wangstang]

No idea about the company for sure. They've been around for awhile I think, but I've only been familiar with the name for a year or so. They make or at least re-brand lots of case accessories like switches etc.. The boards are pretty new, think they've been out for a month or two tops.

I just realized what you were really wanting to do though. If I'm assuming correctly, you just wanted to have the ability to control multiple fans through the motherboard header by automatic BIOS fan adjustment. You could do that with the 3-pin boards I linked, but I'd be really careful about how much load you put on the motherboard header. Some of the motherboard headers don't handle even one high draw fan well.

I'm also assuming that you thought the board you linked from ebay would power the fans with the 4-pin, but allow the motherboard to control them with the 3-pin. I don't think that's the case, as I would imagine the board would be a lot more complex than it looks. It just appears to me that it's the same thing as what I linked with the option to use a 4-pin molex instead of the 3-pin if you wanted to go that route.

Let me know if I'm mistaken on your intent here. I could be wrong about the board you linked from eBay, but like I said, I would imagine it would be a lot more complex.

You have figured out what I'm hoping to use the boards for but like you, I've got concerns about how well it would work and what exactly the board could safely do. That's why I'm trying to dig up info on the boards. The boards are marked with a brand name that appears to be "Eternal" but I can't find anything on that company that links back to product like these boards.

Wes

 

[Interitus]

Do NOTTTTTT get the boards I linked you.

I've been using one for a couple days and it was working, but the other 3 I have I tried to use today and they are complete garbage. Turns out the first one wasn't even working that well.

Of 4 total, 1 manages to push out 6-7'ish volts, 1 of them the top connector broke off while just trying to plug in the 3-pin power lead, and the other 2 my fans barely even start up.

Total crap.

 

[aigomorla]

^ i use one of those... its a bit more pricey, but they work, and they are pretty decent.

there is also this guy too:

But yea, i advise against the modmytoys crap... a lot of people are having issues with them... not just me.. but a LOT of people.

 

[Interitus]

I just posted this in my build log here, but here it is if it helps anyone with the MMT pcb's:

I made a little discovery.

I was playing with the pcb's with my multimeter and trying some odds and ends to see if I could figure out what the hell was going on with them and I stumbled across something..

If you DO NOT use the end plug, the one mounted 90 degrees to the board, everything works perfectly. I can't explain why this happens, I don't understand it at all.

All 4 of my boards, even the one with the end connector broken off, if I plug the power IN to one of the headers facing straight up, fans work at 100%.

Another oddity is that if you use the end plug, you won't get an RPM signal to your controller. If you use any of the other plugs, you get an RPM signal.

Maybe this is something someone else can nail down as I have limited knowledge about this kind of thing, but all I know is that using any other plug for the power IN but the end plug, the board works fine.

I tried a bunch of stuff to see if I could get mine working. I pulled the velcro off the back to see if maybe that was causing issues, I cleaned all the terminals, nothing really helped except what I posted above in quotes. Again, I have no idea why this would happen. The back side of the PCB under the velcro is exactly what I thought it would be, a solid 3 lines of trace running to each of the plugs, nothing more.

 

[Wangstang]

^ i use one of those... its a bit more pricey, but they work, and they are pretty decent.

Any good retailers to consider?

Thanks
Wes