Lamptron FC-2 Rheobus Fan Controller
Introduction & Specifications
Published: 8th December 2008 | Source: Lamptron | Price: £TBA |
In the world of fan controllers manufacturers such as Zalman, Akasa and Scythe are often the fist port of call for enthusiasts looking to bring some silence to their high end PC systems kitted out with large numbers of fans. However, while most fan controllers do this job perfectly; taming anything from four to eight fans from a single drive bay, certain fans out there such as those available from Delta and Panaflo draw far too much power and can easily burn out a standard fan controller in a matter of seconds.For this reason, a fairly new player to the scene: Lamptron have brought it upon themselves to produce a rheobus based fan controller capable of taming up to six fans rated at 45w (or 3.75 amps) each. Considering that most standard fans consume less than 0.5 amps and even some of the most powerful Delta fans require less than 3 amps, the Lamptron FC-2 certainly sounds fully equipped to put the likes of the Delta GFB1212VHW and TFB1212GHE monsters back into their cages. However, before we get down to business, let's see what China based Lamptron have to say about their latest creation:
Fan Controller 2
Rheobus Monster is HERE!
Lamptron Innovative Fan Control/Rheobus-FC2 is a working result of Lamptron end users and Lamptron Design Group.
The Control Panel is CNC milled from blocks of 3/4" thick solid aluminum.
Each channel supports up to 45 Watts. The knobs are all LED lit a beautiful blue color.
This is the unit to get if you want smooth speed control and you will be adjusting your fans often.
The Lamptron FC2 is meant for the power user that wants the best!
Dimension: 150mm*43mm*73mm (5.25" Bay)
Power Output: 45 w per channel
Control Channel: 6 Channels
Color Available: Black Anodized/Silver Aluminium
DC Input: + 12V(Standard 4- Pin Connector)
DC Output: 0V- 12V DC
LED Indicator: 10* Super-bright Blue LED
Fan Connectors: 6 pcs
Rheobus Monster is HERE!
Lamptron Innovative Fan Control/Rheobus-FC2 is a working result of Lamptron end users and Lamptron Design Group.
The Control Panel is CNC milled from blocks of 3/4" thick solid aluminum.
Each channel supports up to 45 Watts. The knobs are all LED lit a beautiful blue color.
This is the unit to get if you want smooth speed control and you will be adjusting your fans often.
The Lamptron FC2 is meant for the power user that wants the best!
Dimension: 150mm*43mm*73mm (5.25" Bay)
Power Output: 45 w per channel
Control Channel: 6 Channels
Color Available: Black Anodized/Silver Aluminium
DC Input: + 12V(Standard 4- Pin Connector)
DC Output: 0V- 12V DC
LED Indicator: 10* Super-bright Blue LED
Fan Connectors: 6 pcs
Probably one of the most interesting features about the FC-2 aside from its whopping power output rating is the 3/4" (19mm) thick CNC milled aluminium front. Whereas most manufacturers seem to be following the trend of shiny black plastic, it's good to see that Lamptron have focused on quality and styling that will undoubtedly suit high-end aluminium PC chassis much better than cheap plastic.
Most Recent Comments
This is a very nice read, such a big shame it didnt live up to its claimes.. I would love to have my pc kitted out with deltas quietly purring, then jam them up and suck my room in!
Good, easy to read review, thanks 
Shame its performance sucks though. I was looking around for a good fancontroller, but this one is certainly not on the shortlist.
Shame its performance sucks though. I was looking around for a good fancontroller, but this one is certainly not on the shortlist.
Audio link on page 3 is dead mate...
Shame the controller doesn't really work... Would be nice to be able to tame Deltas down to a half reasonable level.
Shame the controller doesn't really work... Would be nice to be able to tame Deltas down to a half reasonable level.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='Bungral'
Audio link on page 3 is dead mate...
Shame the controller doesn't really work... Would be nice to be able to tame Deltas down to a half reasonable level. |
Yeah I'm mass disappointed to. I really wanted to use a pair of these in my next build, but as I've got a box full of about 20 Delta's here which sound absolutely awful when hooked up to this controller, it gets a big fat thumbs down from me.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='Jim'
Well spotted. Will fix that in a sec.
Yeah I'm mass disappointed to. I really wanted to use a pair of these in my next build, but as I've got a box full of about 20 Delta's here which sound absolutely awful when hooked up to this controller, it gets a big fat thumbs down from me. |
If so then someone coming out with a seriously good fan controller would be well worth the effort. Whack them up to hurricane for benching and then back down for normal use.
If you come across a good controller for Deltas, let me know and I'll buy some fans off ya
Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='Bungral'
Is there any voltage you reckon that Deltas will still run but be near silent?
If so then someone coming out with a seriously good fan controller would be well worth the effort. Whack them up to hurricane for benching and then back down for normal use. If you come across a good controller for Deltas, let me know and I'll buy some fans off ya |
The only things I've found that really work for adjusting the Delta's speeds is 50w rheostats. The only problem is they are pretty large (each one is about the size of your thumb and forefinger made into an O) and they aint pretty either:
http://rocky.digikey.com/weblib/Ohmi...S%20SERIES.jpg
This is my issue with mobos not adopting the control of fans.
If ur controlling fans outside of regular pc use, for ur rad etc, then fair enough. But if u need one of these to control ram, pwm, nb, drive, etc fans, then frankly ur mobo is pos, imo ofc.
Tack on the cost of the controller and get a decent mobo
If ur controlling fans outside of regular pc use, for ur rad etc, then fair enough. But if u need one of these to control ram, pwm, nb, drive, etc fans, then frankly ur mobo is pos, imo ofc.
Tack on the cost of the controller and get a decent mobo
I'm really disappointed, it has to be said. I am looking for a simple fan controller to stick my push-pull configuration on (whether it be six individual rheobuses or whether I have to daisy chain them on to less doesn't really bother me), and with the high amperage of this I figured it would be perfect for either situation.
Looks like they really dropped the ball with this one.
Looks like they really dropped the ball with this one.
Have you looked at the Mcubed t-balancer?? If you dont need all of those fans Ill buy a couple off you and try them out
Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='Skiddywinks'
I'm really disappointed, it has to be said. I am looking for a simple fan controller to stick my push-pull configuration on (whether it be six individual rheobuses or whether I have to daisy chain them on to less doesn't really bother me), and with the high amperage of this I figured it would be perfect for either situation.
Looks like they really dropped the ball with this one. |
Conclusion page updated guys with a response from Lamptron.
Unfortunately it doesn't look like the issues we experienced while using Delta's on the FC-2 are going to be resolved as it is being put down to the use of PWM for controlling fan speed.
Unfortunately it doesn't look like the issues we experienced while using Delta's on the FC-2 are going to be resolved as it is being put down to the use of PWM for controlling fan speed.
The FC2 can be adjusted from 0-12V including all the fans. Cause the different starting Voltage of fan has different revolving angle. So the starting Voltage lower and the revolve angle will be small.
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Lamptron FC-2 Rheobus Fan Controller