Background information

24 fans are too many: I won't assemble a mega PC that quickly again

12.10.2018

Translation: machine translated

I was allowed to take part in the raffle to build a streaming PC. Although it was very exciting, it's clear to me that the next brand of PC I build myself will be less spectacular.

Ah, the smell of new PC components, fresh out of the box. It makes every IT nerd's heart beat faster. What is the mainboard like? Where does the RAM go? How can I organise the cable management? These are all questions that come to mind after the initial euphoria.

Background information
Ready built: Here is the streaming PC
by Kevin Hofer

Cable management doesn't seem to be a big topic with the Corsair Obsidian 1000D. Carefully placed holes in the rear panel allow the cables to be routed to the rear of the case. This means they only interfere minimally. Great thing!

I really enjoy putting it together. However, my joy is dampened when I start working on the fans.

Cable horror

24 - I'm not talking about the number of hours in a day, but the number of fans we install in the PC.

48 - by this I don't mean the solution of everything plus six, but the number of cables that have to be routed from the fans to the RGB hubs and controllers.

4 - I'm not talking about the ungrateful space at sporting events, but the respective number of controllers and RGB hubs. There is the threat of a huge tangle of cables.

Why so many fans?

I wonder why there have to be so many fans. We are building a push/pull system. Fans are installed on both sides of the radiator. However, we could also only install fans on one side. The cooling capacity only increases marginally in this system if we opt for a push/pull system instead of push or pull. The radiators are "only" 45 mm thick and designed for silent operation. It doesn't take much pressure to get air through. So we only opted for a push/pull system for visual reasons - and because we can do it.

I hate cables

In my case, I can't really talk about "can". The cabling is sheer horror. Six fans each fit on the controller and hub. The radiator at the top works well. Three fans push, three fans pull and out of the housing is the hot air. That makes six fans. So I can easily connect the system for blowing out the air to a controller.

But it's more difficult at the front. There we have eight push fans, eight pull fans and the air is inside the housing. That makes 16 fans. Maths has never been my strong point, but unfortunately 16 doesn't appear in the row of six. As the controller and hub only have six connections each, I can't connect the eight pull fans and the eight push fans to one controller or hub. So I have to merge them somehow. But how?

I decide to bundle the fans according to cable length. After all, the cables have to be connected to the hub and controller at the back of the housing. This way I can keep the cable clutter under control to some extent - I think.

Routing the cables to the back - I like that word - is already proving to be a challenge. I bundle the cables in several places with cable ties. For the first time at the base, i.e. where all the cables of a strand come together. That way I shouldn't lose any cables, as it's only a few centimetres to the hole that leads to the back. But of course that doesn't work. I also lose a cable over the few centimetres. How could that happen? So I start again from the beginning. And again I lose a cable. All good things come in threes, I think. And I actually manage to guide all the cables in the bundle to the back. Now I only have to do it twice more. I'm already sick of it. I hate cables.

Of course, different amounts of cable remain after routing to the rear. To take this into account, I try to place the controller and hub strategically and skilfully. Not easy at all. Although the case is huge, there is hardly any space left at the back with all the cables, SSDs and HDDs. And certain cables are no longer long enough. So I can't align the controllers horizontally or vertically, but have to attach them somehow so that I can connect all the cables. Have I already mentioned that I hate cables?

Maybe you remember my non-existent maths skills. In total, I have to connect 24 fans. Unlike 16, 24 is part of the row of six. All four hubs and controllers should therefore be completely occupied. So I can connect two more fans to one of the three controllers and hubs for the fans on the front radiator. Have I forgotten something? Yes, I have. Two more fans are connected to the rear of the housing to dissipate the hot air.

Great, now I'm "allowed" to run the cables for the rear fans all the way to the front via the back. Hello cable clutter. The chaos is perfect. With so many fans, proper cable management is simply not possible. At least not for me, I don't have enough patience for that sort of thing. I'm more the rough-and-ready type. I blossom when it comes to employees with a sledgehammer. Wait, isn't there one of those standing around with my colleague Dominik Bärlocher?

I'll leave it to my fertile imagination to pulverise the fans with a sledgehammer. I don't want to spoil the winner's joy. I hate cables! Really!

Software frustration

After booting up the PC for the first time, my heart sinks. Not all the fans sparkle in rainbow colours. Why is that? What have I done to deserve this? Three simply remain dark, but at least they are turning. Maybe it's the software control? I'll give it a try. But wait: which controller are the non-functioning fans connected to? The fans connected to the front radiator are not working. After a long search, I find the right controller, but according to the software control, all the fans should light up. Is it perhaps due to the wiring? The thought of going back to the cables makes me feel sick.

But then I force myself to do it. But everything seems to be well wired. Is the controller or RGB hub defective? I replace them. Then relief when booting: all the fans are lit. After another reboot to install software, frustration sets in again. Three fans fail again. What's going on? Is it the software after all? I uninstall it, reinstall it and update the controller firmware at the same time. Then I create a new lighting profile. Now all the fans light up again. To be on the safe side, I restart the system. &#@ Three fans fail again

Before I actually have to be instructed, I let the project rest overnight. The fans still haunt my dreams. The pink elephants from Dumbo aren't half as scary as fans fitted with fangs.

Drenched in sweat, I decide to investigate further to find out what the problem might be. Other users also have problems with the software. Apparently RGBs keep failing. Now I'm a bit reassured, so it's not just me. Now I just have to get in touch with Corsair support and report the problem, which will hopefully be resolved with a future update.

The fans have really driven me to the brink of despair. 24 fans are just too many.

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