SPCR

I am going to migrate to a smaller case (TJ08-E) because i wont ever do SLI/Crossfire anyways. I have some decent parts to make it a quiet system like a fanless seasonic PSU, WD 2TB green drive, Samsung SSD for OS, Noctua NH-U12P etc.

Issue is that i will need to control the fans good enough to be able to go down just above starting voltage and since i will have 1x180mm, 1-2 NF-P12 fans for CPU, 1-2x120mm for GPU, and maybe 1x120mm case fan i was thinking of using the Asus Maximus V Gene mATX board to controll the fans.

What do you guys think? Is the Asus Maximus V Gene worth the premium of about 30-40$ just for the excellent fan control? What i hear its the only board that has good enough fan control in bios to go down to starting voltage for individual fans.

That's a big premium. Fan Xpert 2 is probably as good as it gets right now, but what is that premium compared to? Cheap mobo + separate controller?

Das_Saunamies wrote:That's a big premium. Fan Xpert 2 is probably as good as it gets right now, but what is that premium compared to? Cheap mobo + separate controller?

Yeah it seems that is the only other option. On the Nzxt H2 that i have now there is a fan controller for 3 fans beyond the 2 front fans already connected. However Noctuas have a somewhat high starting voltage so they dont always start up on lowest setting.

I read the Intel boards have decen fan control but i just cant go with Intel, their boards look striped of decent cooling and extras. Still they cost same as Asus.

Intel cost is part brand name cost, part limited production figures cost. They are also one of the few makers who actually include VRM temperature monitoring, so you can be sure their cooling schemes are adequate - it honestly doesn't take much more than simple heatsinks to cool a modern motherboard.

And really, how many of the "extras" are you likely to need. Most included junk is just that, and a cheap way to boost perceived value, which is what consumers and marketing alike use to justify cost.

Have you considered finding a model that could work reliably with SpeedFan? It's a bit more work than Fan Xpert 2, but results achieved can be very good indeed.

AND to provide an answer to your question: I would go for value rather than bells and whistles. After my Asus Maximus II Formula blew up and took the processor with it, I've been rather disillusioned with the premium category. Unless the model has some serious issues reported widely, a long warranty is your best bet, not a long price tag.

As an alternative you could add 5/7/9v voltage adaptors to your case fans and run them on fixed rpm. As long as cpu and GPU fans are controlled dynamically by Bios/SpeedFan/rivatuner your temps should stay manageable without tinkering everytime you fire up a game.

Just imagine you'll forget to up the rpm while gaming....

Thanks everyone, i decided i will go with the Asus board. Its less of a hassle and i dont plan on changing cpu again the next couple of years and i dont think GPU sockets(PCE-E) will change so baring the board breaks on me it would probably be ok.

Thanks again for your input.

Alright, I'm sure the board will serve you well, and it's got just about everything you might need or want for the foreseeable future (PCIe 3.0, USB 3.0, SATA 6 Gbps etc.). It's also the only choice(?) in mATX if you want Fan Xpert 2 right now, so in that sense it's a justified investment.

AckeDman wrote:However Noctuas have a somewhat high starting voltage so they dont always start up on lowest setting.

Use the Scythe Gentle Typhoons, they will start up at well under 5v.