Zalman ZM-MFC3 Fan Controller

Product: Zalman ZM-MFC3 Fan Controller
Provided By: Zalman USA
Price: Find Lowest Price Online

Introduction:

Zalman is not a new company when it comes to making cooling products.  One of the first after-market coolers I heard of back when the AMD Thunderbird 1.2GHz processor was fast - was in fact Zalman.  Back then, they opted for silence rather than performance and if you wanted a better performing heatsink, you needed to go with something from Thermaltake or maybe Cooler Master.  Times have changed and the company has branched out into different areas including fan controllers, cases and power supplies to name a few.  Today we are looking at the ZM-MFC3 fan controller - their fourth 5.25" bay fan controller.

The Zalman ZM-MFC2 cooler that we helped premier back in January of 2007 was their first real break from standard fan controllers, and today the ZM-MFC3 improved upon that design and takes it to the next level of sophistication.

First Impression:

Zalman has taken a sleeker, more toned-down approach to the box this time around and the entire color scheme of the device is much more professional and much less glossy.  This fan controller can handle a total of four fans - three of which are standard 3-pin fans in addition to the one four-pin PWM fan as is stated clearly on the box.

Box Front

Box Back

The ZM-MFC3 not only allows fan controlling features, it also offers temperature monitoring and real-time power usage just as does the ZM-MFC2 predecessor.  It controls up to four fans - three standard 3-pin fans and one 4-pin PWM fan.  The fan controller can spin fans anywhere from 201 rpm to 6000 rpm.  Anything above and below that range will show "Lo" or "Hi" on the display.  The only thing wrong with this claim is that many fans do not spin much over 3000rpm, and the fan controller cannot run them as fast as it claims.  Keep in mind that if you're fan is not capable of these extreme speeds, the ZM-MFC3 won't be able to overclock your fans as its output voltage runs from +4v to +11v.  In fact, you'll lose a bit of performance as you'll lose an entire volt through the controller.

In The Box:

The Zalman ZM-MFC3 comes in a decent sized box due to all the goodies that you get with this handy little device.  Inside you've got the fan controller unit itself as well as the box of accessories which include fan cables, temperature probes, screws, tape, a USB bracket as well as the load-sensing module.

In The Box

Bundle

The bundle of goodies included with the ZM-MFC3 is pretty much identical to the ZM-MFC2.  The difference is that the ZM-MFC3 can monitor wattage up to 1000W.