Noctua NA-FC1, 4-Pin PWM Fan Controller (Black)

Another 5 star Noctua item. I bought this originally to control fans, but I ended up using to control my water pump. For water pumps especially, the "no stop" feature is awesome. I wish this unit was a little less expensive. I also wish it makes coffee and brings me breakfast in bed. Either way, it is not going to happen with Noctua. If you are new to Noctua, their thing is quality, not pricing. If that is your thing, buy it. If not, move on. The unit is well built and the performance is excellent. It is just the right size to stick it somewhere accessible yet unobtrusive in your build. I mounted mine just to the left of my radiator. I only need to adjust the pump (or the fans it was meant to control) very occasionally. If you have a mobo that does not have sufficient PWM headers, this product is ideal. Even if you do have enough PWM headers. this product does a better job at super low speeds than most motherboards UEFI/BIOS. It is a must for filling water loops as you don't want it to start off at full speed. That would introduce unwanted air bubbles and that is exactly how most motherboards behave at start up, regardless of your BIOS settings. Update: Mine stopped working. I suspect it is the cable not the unit itself. I will update again if I try to contact Noctua to correct the issue and their response is inadequate, but I don't think that will happen.

I created a system to provide cooling for an AV cabinet in a closet. Components include Aventage, Emotiva and Oppo. The cooling equipment used includes: 1. Noctua Fans (3) (model# NF-S12A PWM) 2. Noctua Fan controller (model# NA-FC1) 3. Noctua Extension cables (model# NA-SEC1) 4. Cablemod's molex to SATA cable (model# CM-CAB-MSAP 45KK-R) 5. Coolerguys AC power adaptor (110V AC to DC 12V Power Supply with 4 pin Molex) The fans are laid flat on top of the receiver and amplifier pulling air up through the units. Of course, the anti-vibration corner pieces protect the AV equipment and prevent the fans from moving around. There is approximately 4" between the top of each AV component and the shelf above. This seems to allow sufficient air circulation. All Noctua components were packaged nicely and functioned perfectly out of the box. Connections are solid. Using the fans full speed, they are very quiet and are effective in keeping the components at less than 82F degrees. The Noctua Fan Controller is tiny -- about the size of a man's thumb. When setting up the system, I reached out to Noctua for some technical assistance. They were prompt and provided excellent guidance on connecting the power supply to the speed control (Cablemod's connector). The Cablemod's cable has solid connections and functions well. The only thing that would be nice is an outer sheath to keep all four wires together for a cleaner appearance. The Coolerguys AC power adaptor appears well made and functions well to power the three fans. Overall, the system has been running for about 1 month and I am quite satisfied with each of the components and would recommend them to anyone looking for an effective cooling system for an AV cabinet.

I run Noctua in all my machines but a recent build required more fans than I had headers. This device allowed for an easy install to manage three case fans and reduce the RPMs to get the noise under control. As always, Noctua parts are first class, well made, and of good materials. The instructions are sufficient for the part and there were enough connections to make install easy. The only draw back for me was the power connection. There is no other power connection besides the 15 pin SATA so you'll need an adapter to use standard SATA or IDE power plugs. Otherwise, no issues and a few seconds of tinkering got the RPMs adjusted to run silently while keeping my drive bay cool. Anyway, great quality product.

I like the the sata to controller power connection. You can get max power to the smaller fans.

I purchased the Nocturnal NA-FC1, 4-pin PWM Fan Controller to use with two fans (Noctua NF-A8 5V PWM, Premium Quiet Fan with USB Power Adaptor Cable, 4-Pin, 5V Version (80mm, Brown)). The controller is extremely easy to assemble. After a couple quick connections the two fans were powered and they were ready to quietly cool my laptop. The Noctua fans were replacements for my laptop stand that came with very low preforming and noisy fans. The Noctua fans combined with the Noctua Fan controller created an incredibly efficient and almost silent replacement. The only time I hear the fans is if I increase the RPM. Increasing the RPM is extremely easy with the Fan Controller. The dial knob on the fan controller is simple to use and turning it clockwise increases the fans' RPM whereas counterclockwise decreases it. For me, the sweet spot is about halfway. This setting creates great airflow while keeping the fans almost silent. Pros: Easy to assemble Easy to use Compact Cons: Cables can be disconnected easily (if this is going inside your PC case, there's no concern)

-One of the main reasons I love this fan controller is its compact package and ease of use. It is a little pricey for a fan controller, but it works very well and it has exceptional build quality. The dial that controls the fan speed does not wobble or feel like it's going to fall off, so I expect this controller to last a long time. It has been running for a few months now without any issues. -Although I love the NA-FC1 for the aforementioned reasons, one of my main gripes about it is the way that the fans plug into the controller. Since both plugs are on opposite ends, it is rather challenging to place the controller itself outside of my case, as the wires easily get twisted and want to bend back to their original shape. If both plugs were on the same side, then I could place the fan controller on top of my case with the fan cables extending from the drive bay. -It can handle 3 amps of current, which should be more than enough for people with normal case fans. However, I enjoy tinkering with powerful server fans, and I have had to limit which ones I buy due to the 3 ampere current limitation. 3 amps is somewhat of a middle ground; many server fans are rated for under 3 amps, although the most powerful can draw even more current that would overwhelm the NA-FC1. I have spent hours and hours combing through Amazon to try and find a PWM controller that can handle these fans that (and can be directly plugged into my computer power supply), but I have always turned up empty-handed. I am always led back to the NA-FC1 simply due to it being the highest-current PWM fan controller I can find that doesn't require any fiddling to get it working. I would love it if Noctua made a beefier version of the fan controller that could handle currents in excess of 6-7 amperes, but I don't know if Noctua (or any other company) is ever planning to make one like that in the future.

These do the job they are supposed to do. Just plug your fans into these, set the level, and leave them alone. They barely take up any space. So far I have found that using these instead of a custom fan curve works just fine for a watercooled system and saves me from the badly designed fan curve UI in my BIOS. I have 3 NF-F12s hooked up to each one of these just using the power from the motherboard fan header. A SATA power adapter is included but I didn't need it. I wish these were cheaper, but I couldn't find anything similar on the market that had good build quality, a good reputation, and are so compact.

Love this thing! Works well with PWM Fans and run directly off Power Supply to bypass Stubborn BIOS's that reject adding Fan Upgrades. Also can run off non-junk Motherboards headers that don't stupidly restrict you. *cough *D@LL/AW *cough. And is a button to never turn off and go below 300rpm when controlled by Motherboard. My case had bad air flow and GPU would thermal throttle so added a 2nd fan in front and added one to the side directly under GPU to feed fresh air. Then set the controller speed so they aren't loud. Worked like a charm.