PCI-E question

[ikonix360]

While having fortnite up I decided to see how slow I could run the pump and have it still hold the CPU temp at 104F.

I used a variable voltage DC supply and connected the ground to the ground on the power cable the pump normally plugs into so that the tach would work properly.

I found that I could greatly reduce the pump's speed while keeping the CPU temp steady.

Are there any higher current pump controllers that take the standard 4 pin molex plug for the input and pump output?

I'm tempted to use a LM-317 variable voltage regulator with heatsink and a variable resistor to control the voltage but that is a bad way to do it in my opinion if there's a proper controller out there as I don't want to risk damage to the pump board.

EDIT:

I ordered this.

12v to 5v Buck Converter, DROK LM2596 Adjustable DC Voltage Regulator 4-40V 24V Step-down to 1.23-37V 12V Volt Reducer Board 3A Power Supply Transformer Module https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078XQ5MW...t_i_SMAAZFXTWT9W7KVQR9ZS?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

That way I can set the coolant flow rate to what is needed to keep the CPU cool.

When I upgrade the video card I'm going to see if there is a water block for it and if so I'll use that on the card.

The motherboard video. Since it's disabled in BIOS does it still need a fan on it?

 

[ikonix360]

That voltage regulator worked very nice nice the pump.

It is running at 1600 RPM and still holds 104F when playing fortnite.

Was originally running at 3200 RPMs at 12Vdc.

I'm gonna put this fan in the power supply.

Autolizer Sleeve Bearing 80mm Silent Cooling Fan for Computer PC Cases - High Airflow, Quite, and Transparent Clear (Purple Quad 4-LEDs) - 2 Years Warranty https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CIRZ2T...t_i_G74120MZCSAJ7HJ2KPXE?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

The current fan works but it isn't an LED fan and I do want the fan to have some color.

If the power lead is long enough I'll plug it into the fan splitter I have for the radiator fans.

I chose purple because why not.

I already have red, blue, aqua blue and green (bright LED on voltage regulator which I tamed down with a sharpie) so I figured on a different color.

I would have used the 600 watt supply I had used for my 360 but I unsoldeed all wiring that wasn't needed from the PC board of the power supply.

 

[Joe C]

sleeve bearings are good for vertical placement but for a horizontal fan it should have ball bearings

 

[ikonix360]

Did not know that.

 

[Joe C]

I think a sleeve bearing fan would still work for you, just might have a shorter life but if you not going to use it for more than a year or so then I don't think it'll matter anyway

 

[ikonix360]

The fan won't be at full speed.

 

[ikonix360]

So I added this to the PC.

Those are part of the lights that were for the clear case of my Xbox 360.

 

[ikonix360]

I got the fan installed with the purple LEDs.

While I like the shade of the purple LEDs (want to say it's more of a UV shade) I do not like the fan itself.

It's moreso how much air the fan doesn't move when installed in the power supply.

I have it running on the voltage regulator I used for the pump as 5V was too slow and 12V was too noisy and bright.

 

[Joe C]

have you tried running it on 7 volts? If that works you won't need to use a voltage regulator
https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/259378/undervolting-pc-fan-from-12v-to-7v
just connect the fan to the 12v and 5v terminals within the power supply to run the fan at 7 volts

 

[ikonix360]

I thought about that, but the regulator I used to slow the pump down so it was an easy source of voltage a little above 5V.

Plus I used the stock four pin molex connector and looking at it that would have required some work to swap the ground and 5 volt contacts.