Enermax 3.5

Reviews: Cases

Enermax 3.5

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Kurtis Kronk
Brian
Case-Mod
May. 13, 2003

El Boxo

When I got the controllers via UPS, they came in boxes with plenty of foam S'. We received two controllers, one from Enermax and one from Case-Mod. Both controllers are the same except that Enermax sent the Silver colored one and Case-Mod sent a Beige colored one. The controllers were packaged safely and I got them fully intact. When you take the controller out of the box it will be in a package with the features listed on the back and the controller showing through the front. When you open the package you will find the controller, some stickers for labelling the wires, some screws for mounting, and an installation guide. The installation guide shows how to use the different features of the controller, such as setting temperature and RPM alarms etc... Enough about the package, lets continue...

Los Dos Controlleros

Once you have taken your controller out of the package you will notice just how small it really is. A little disappointment for me was the tiny knobs and buttons. Given, this is a compact device, it is okay that everything is small. I would still like to see some larger knobs on this device, and perhaps a different arrengement of the buttons so they could be larger. I found it slightly difficult to turn the knobs for controlling the fans, but it isn't a big deal. Another thing to note is that the LCD screen is lit by two LEDs, giving nice bright sides but a not-so-bright center. I would like to see a backlit LCD in this controller to give it more brightness for increaded visibility. Something else that could have been improved is the strength of this device. Given a good amount of force, you could easily bend the sides and bottom of this controller, perhaps making it unmountable. To give it some added strength the controller could have a metal bracket parallel to the front towards the mid-rear end of the controller.

El Testo De Los Controlleros

To test the controllers we mounted them in a Chieftech Dragon and an Enermax CS-1018S Server Case. Neither case had any problems with installation, and the silver controller perfectly matched the color of the Silver CS-1018S Enermax case. Installation was very easy, and consisted of nothing more than mounting and plugging in the fans and power. If you need help with installation there are more detailed instructions in the installation manual included with this device. If you still have questions you can ask them in our forums.Once the controller was plugged in it immediately displayed Fan 1's temp and RPM. By pushing the mode button you can toggle between Fan 1's and Fan 2's temp and RPM. This controller also features 'Over temperature' and 'fan low / failure' alarms. You can set the minimum RPM and temperature before alarm will sound manually as well, a nifty feature. For instructions on how to do this consult the installation manual.

Another nice feature on this controller is its ability to control fans between 5-12V. Many fan controllers on the market only allow a minimum of 7V, meaning that you have less control over your fans, and you have more noise than you should on low as a result. We tested this control with my Blue LED Fans and they worked on all settings. Some generic fans may turn off completely with only 5V (low setting), so watch out for that if you have cheap fans. After setting the controls low RPM and temp alarms, I decided to test whether the alarm would actually go off. Sure enough when I turned the fans on low or unplugged them completely, the alarms went off and LCD flashed until I fixed the problem. If you are not around when your fans fail, if that happens, the LCD will still be flashing when you return to your computer to alert you of the problem. The beeping stops, however, after 30 seconds.

Conclusion

Overall this is a great product with more features than any other 3.5" device available on the market (for now at least). What I would like to see is newer versions of this controller from Enermax with a brighter display and different knob / button configuration as well as a more durable design. If you are looking for a 3.5" device that can control two fans and display temp / RPM, I recommend this controller.

Pros

3 Colors
Lots of features
Fits in 3.5" Bay
LCD display shows temp / RPM readings

Cons

Knob / button configuration could be better
LCD not very bright
Not very durable

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6 User Comments

1 - Posted by DnD on May 13, 2003 - 2:28 pm

lol i really liked the way you guys thanked you're selves ;D that was awesome!

2 - Posted by Brian on May 13, 2003 - 2:30 pm

3 - Posted by Kurtis on May 13, 2003 - 2:42 pm

hehe :D

4 - Posted by bigapl on May 13, 2003 - 7:40 pm

nice setup

5 - Posted by Mixam on May 14, 2003 - 5:19 am

I guess you guys got them for free, cause I don't know many people who would buy that. I skimmed th review, it was good, the product was not. Only 2 fan controllers? Only 2 temp monitors. The minimum I would want in such a product is 3 and 3 with 4 and 4 being better.

6 - Posted by Kurtis on May 14, 2003 - 1:32 pm

Yeah, mixam. Thats why I said I recommend it if what you want is to control 2 fans and display temp and rpm. I dont care for it much, but it is nice that they packed all the features into a 3.5" device.

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