ZALMAN MFC1 Plus-B Black 6 Channel Multi Fan Controller

Pros: It still works, technically.

Cons: Well where to begin.

Basically now all of the LEDs light up a purple color, as if the blue and red are constantly lit. It seems some component on the PCB failed somewhere along the path. They still control the speed, but I wonder how long it's going to last if components are failing within a month. (Especially if the potentiometers are being getting too much power. I know how overvoltage/current can slowly kill a pot.)

And I don't like to post when emotional, but to add insult to injury the company refused to process my rebate. So essentially, I am paying $40, $20 too much, for a sub-par Zalman product that seems to be failing already. Unfortunately, I have been away from home a lot lately and shipped the rebate off the same day as the deadline (luckily in time, so I thought) but they refused to honor it. In reality, it's more their loss than mine.

Other Thoughts: I won't bother with reporting it. I won't be purchasing another Zalman product, I won't carry it in my stores, feature them on my blog, and I'll recommend others to avoid it if it is within their budget. I don't intend to bash on them completely, but I'll just stay away after this.

I still feel that it's a decent product, really, but this is most unfortunate that they operate business like this. After having similar luck and poor customer service from this company in the past with a 'gaming' mouse, the lesson is definitely learned this time. Loud and clear.

Until then I'll ride this fan controller until it dies. Maybe troubleshoot what the bad component maybe if I can repair it.

All who read this, try not let it dictate your purchase, but keep in consideration that this isn't the most reputable company to deal with. In my professional opinion (or what's left of it in this review) I recommend doing research first on the brands 1st PC Corp and NZXT. As you will find, they're somewhat more affordable and definitely with better reviews in some aspects of fan controllers.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear valued customer,

We sincerely apologize for the issue. Please contact our customer service e-mail support.usa@zalmanusa.com or via toll free number 1-888-925-6266 for further assistance.

Thank you.

Best regards,

Zalman USA Customer Service

Pros: - Sturdy metal faceplate
- Brushed black color that will blend in with any black case. Looks professional.
- all cables included.
- Clear, concise instructions printed on the back of the box. But no manual.
- Lots of heatsinks on the MOSFETs (With controlling/limiting voltage I know you lose a lot of heat. Translation: basically some of the sensitive parts of the controller will dissipate heat better. General rule of electronics: Less heat = longer product life.)
- Overall, a very decent product for the price. I know Zalman makes some decent budget products, and this one lives up to that standard.

Cons: -Not a huge con, but BRIGHT LEDs! For those who like their electronics quiet both visually AND from an auditory perspective, break out your handy electrical tape that you've used to cover all the LEDs in your room! This thing has BRIGHT blue LEDs when the fans are turned down, and bright red led's when the fans are turned all the way up (it changes about mid way, doesn't fade.) Either way, if you like to sleep in complete darkness, you'll be wanting to cover the LEDs up.

-I bumped an egg off because of the product quality. Although the face of the unit is nice and brushed and sturdy, and it feels heavy and sturdy in your hand, a lot of the LEDs and heatsinks were crooked. Now I have seen some engineered electronics that people made themselves that were quality products and the components were crooked as well. This doesn't mean the product is bad by any means. But if it was pressed in a factory by a robotic assembly line, someone needs to do some alignments on those robots.

- You can't turn fans OFF. This may be a minor con for many. But as for myself, (see OTs) I purchased this assuming it would be able to turn individual fans completely off if I turned the potentiometer's on the front completely down. That's what I get for assuming. To anyone reading this and wondering: No, this controller only turns them down to a low RPM, but not completely off. I suppose you could (if you have skills with a soldering iron and electronics) solder some switches in series with each channel or something if you wanted to, or replace the front potentiometers with some that which you can turn completely off. Measure the rating of the current pots before doing all that, however.

Note that I got a pack of 4 Rosewill 120mm fans and when turned completely down, they are completely silent (And I kind of consider myself an audiophile..no cloth ears here.)

Other Thoughts: I purchased this controller for a project I'm doing with engineering fans into my home entertainment system. I already mounted the 120mm fans and hardwired them for testing. Now my PS3's fans don't SCREAM as it bakes in the small space and my surround sound A/V receiver doesn't burn your fingers to the touch. Everything runs cool and smooth. The next step is to run this controller inside the cabinet to control each of the 6 fans for when I need/want to use the device that needs some heat dissipation.

It's not a problem since it the fans are still silent when turned down, and there's no harm in using the voltage that's wasted anyway with how the controller is designed to work, from an electrical engineering perspective. But it would still be nice to hear a *click* on the knobs and turn the fans off.

Also (probably only applicable for my applications of this controller) note that you can unscrew the brackets that hold the controller in your 3.5 bay completely off. Even better, you can unscrew one set of screws and mount it from the top instead of the sides! For what I'm using it for, this is awesome because I can mount it to the top of a compartment on my entertainment system, as opposed to having to fabricate something else.

Great product for computer towers, and even for those who want to delve into using and controlling fans for other uses! Bravo, Zalman!

Pros: Does a great job of controlling the fans, very clean and simple appearance and installation was easy.

Cons: The knobs are a little loose and wobble some. They do feel as though they might eventually fall off or break.

Other Thoughts: Overall it's not a bad product. Probably more reliable than the touch screen fan controller I had and used, which is now just a backup. Does it job controlling my many fans.

Pros: Analog last longer than digital in my opinion

Cons: none

Pros: Looks great and does what it advertises.

Cons: One of the knobs was a bit loose compared to the others when first received. After a few years of operation, that same knob's LED no longer lights, neither blue nor red. Tried to fix it, but it still won't light.

Other Thoughts: Worked well when first installed. After a few years, expect the LEDs to start failing. Zalman seems to be suffering from quality issues, not only in this products, but others, reading from customer reviews. I'm staying away from this company for future builds until they get their act together.

Pros: -Black brushed aluminum(Goes with any black case really, unless you want the 'gloss only' look
-Extensions for 3pin male to 3pin female
-Cpu fan RPM monitor cable
-System fan RPM monitor cable
-Lowest setting doesn't kill any of my fans, just sets really low
-Turned my computer into a near-whisper beast(I'm sure if I had some nano-bearing or noctua fans it's be silent)
-I recommend with the Corsair stock H series fans, with no OC my 975 BE ran at 57 C with controller at minimum)

Cons: -Knobs seem sorta loose but not a deal breaker for the price
-Wish it was all blue LED's that brightened with setting
-Pins were bent on channel one on the controller
-Could have made the extensions 4pin female to 3pin male for pwm fans

Other Thoughts: Great fan controller for the price, I'll be using this in my next case, the 900D, when it releases of course :P nice to see the controller will match the 800D though

Pros: Arrived quickly.. if that's a pro.

Cons: No mounting hardware at all. 2 out of 4 slots were dead on arrival, bent pins.. overall completely unhappy with this. Doesn't even plug into a Zalman CPU cooler like the instructions say! Big let down.

Other Thoughts: I wish I could rate this less than one egg

Manufacturer Response:

Dear valued customer,

We sincerely apologize for the issue. Please contact our customer service e-mail support.usa@zalmanusa.com or via toll free number 1-888-925-6266 for further assistance.

Thank you.

Best regards,

Zalman USA Customer Service

Pros: Easy to install. Easy to use. LED indicators tell you how high the fans are set.

Cons: None I can think of.

Pros: Very simple design, Easy installation.

Cons: None I have seen.

Pros: At first at was sorta skeptical about this fan controller. Am glad I bought it!! it looks gorgeous!!! At low intensity the LEDs are bright blue and at mid-high the LEDs are red. Doesn't give my fans a buzzing noise at low rpms like others mentioned. the cable extensions for the fans are a plus.

Definitely recommend it!

Cons: The fan controller does not turn off the fans. This is not a con at all but that's my opinion. If you want your fans off then why install them in the first place?

Other Thoughts: When I read the following "Color & Intensity Variable LEDs" I was not sure what colors they were.

The following links are of the ZALMAN MFC1 Plus-B Black 6 Channel Multi Fan Controller in my HAF 932 Adv.

http://i48.tinypic.com/314foqt.jpg LEDs in blue (Low-mid rpms)

http://i45.tinypic.com/2mmbz14.jpg LEDs in red (Mid-high rpms)


Hopefully it will last a while, but if it were to break I would buy it again because it just looks that good!