SPCR

I wonder if it would be a good idea to put the 12v/5v switch designed by Mike Chin on my psu fan.
<BR>
<BR>How would I know when to switch it back to 12v?
<BR>
<BR>Guustaaf
[addsig]

Easy enough to do -- the 5 & 12V lines are all there in the PSU, just follow the color coding, do a little soldering. Knowing when to switch... Well, that's a bit more difficult. The simple way -- use common sense. If weather's hot & you're doing heavy duty stuff on the computer, well, got to 12V. The sure way -- install a probe to measure and display temps on the hottest PSU HS constantly. When it goes above ayour comfort level (say 50C), switch to 12V. What PSU have you got?
[addsig]

It does not look to me like this is a very user friendly solution. It would be easy enough to forget to watch the temperature and switch over. I think I would be better off getting a power supply that does that on its own.
Guustaaf

if you want complete security, then one of the cooler quiet thermally controlled PSUs on the recommended list is obviously the best choice. I have not personally used a 12/5V switch in my PSUs. They all run Panaflos or similar at 5V or less -- all the time. The room temps range from ~20C in winter to maybe 28C max in summer, and after 2 summers, I have not seen any failures. If you have a lot of hot PCI devices and many drives, then a 5V fan may not be enough exhaust airflow to keep everything running cool enough.

Guustaaf,

RE: 5V/12V switch for PSU / case fans.

The following idea could assist you in knowing when to switch from 5V back to 12V, etc.

If you want to know the ambient temperature of the room the computer is in and also the temp inside the PSU, one thing you may wish to purchase is an inside / outside digital thermometer. These thermometers have two sensors and can display both values at the same time.

Inside / outside digital thermometers usually price in @ around $50 CDN.

TerryW

Just wanted add in that a lot of fans won't spin at 5V, my favourite fans to spin at that Voltage would be the Panaflows they seem to spin pretty well at that voltage