Krony
Yea i always thought fan controllers used a variable resister that just dropped the voltage not a pulsating input ...
No, almost all fan / motor controllers use PWM (pulsating DC of some form) to control speed. You could control the speed straight through a variable resistor (potentiometer), but the potentiometer would have to be designed to handle high amperage and would have to be designed for very low resistance and very low sensitivity (low amount of resistance change from max to min setting).
The primary reasons why a simple potentiometer are not directly used to control speed is that they provide a less efficient method of speed adjustment, will get hot, and won't provide a linear speed adjustment. Basically, if you use only a potentiometer to adjust resistance in the circuit, as you decrease the speed setting (increase resistance), the speed will decrease almost exponentially. This will make the speed control close to max not very sensitive; and the speed control close to min exceedingly sensitive/touchy. Also, the pump / fan / motor being controlled by PWM can run at a lower RPM without stalling than the same device could if it were controlled by resistance adjustment only.
Primary advantages of PWM versus just using a potentiometer:
More efficient
Observed speed more closely relates to expected results (more linear)
Slightly less power is required and slightly less heat produced
A lower RPM can be obtained without motor stalling
Does not place high amperage load through potentiometer (potentiometers usually burn out easier than transistors)
Krony
i only need a 2 setting switch, 1 for 12v max for gaming benching and another for maybe 7v for general pc use.
Yes, you could make the switch control 12v or 7v (instead of 12v or 5v), but the solution is a little messier since it involves having both ground and a power source going to the same switch (generally not recommended). It is fine to do, but if the switch fails internally and the two connections bridge at the same time, it will create a short. But I guess the other design would short 5v to 12v which is equally bad. Either way, a short should cause the PSU to shut off and should do no damage to your computer.
Selector to control between 12v and 7v.
post edited by ty_ger07 - 2011/03/19 06:13:23