6
Chapter 2 Installation
Planning Your Setup
The DigitalDoc5 comes with up to 8 Temperature Sensors (Thermistors)
and can control and monitor the speed (RPM) of up to 8 fans. The
DigitalDoc5 can control all kinds of +12 VDC fans whose current
requirements do not exceed 1000mA or 1 Amp, regardless of whether the
fan has a 2-pin or 3-pin connector. In order to use the Fan Speed (RPM)
Monitoring function, your fan must have an RPM Sensing Control, usually
identifiable by a Yellow wire on a 3-pin connector.
Please take note if
you are hooking up a fan which has no RPM Sensing (2-pin ) as you
will have to Disable that fan's monitoring function in the
DigitalDoc5's Set-Up Mode
(Described later in Chapter 3). You can use
the
Printable Worksheet
in Chapter 5 to record which fans have RPM
Sensing and which do not.
The fans are controlled by either Temperature Set-Points (a temperature
you set at which the fan will come on) or manually, by setting the fan to
always be on. A Temperature Set-Point is reached when its' Temperature
Sensor (Thermistor) hits the Temperature you set for that Sensor. This is
all done through the Set-Up Mode, which will be explained in detail in
Chapter 3
Setting Up Your DigitalDoc5
.
Before you begin installing your DigitalDoc5 you may want to plan how
you are going to set up your system. Since each Temperature Sensor has
a corresponding fan, you will want to match them up so if a Temperature
Sensor hits your Temperature Set-Point the corresponding fan will come
on. Here is an example of how you would set up one of your fans and
Temperature Sensor:
Example:
Assume you have a Video Card Cooler (a fan that sits atop
your Video Card to cool down its' chipset). You attach the Number 2
Temperature Sensor to your Video Card's Heatsink to monitor the
Heatsink's Temperature. You would then plug your Video Card Cooler's
fan into the Number 2 fan Connector on the DigitalDoc5 and set the
DigitalDoc5 to turn that fan on when the Number 2 Temperature Sensor
hits, say 40 degrees Celsius.
You would repeat this for as many fans and Temperature Sensors as you
are going to use. You may want to route one Temperature Sensor outside
your case to record the room's ambient temperature. This will give you a
good idea of your cooling setup's effectiveness. There is a at the end of
this manual a Table in which you can record where you put your
Temperature Sensors and which fans are connected to which DigitalDoc5
fan Connectors. This will be useful once you close up your computer
case, as you will not be able to see where everything is. It is highly
recommended that you fill out the worksheet, even before you install the
DigitalDoc5 as noted above.
Tip:
It is a good idea to
mark each end of all your
Temperature Sensors with
the number of that
Sensor's Channel. This
way if you ever have to
disconnect either side you
will know which Sensor
goes with which Channel
without following the lines
through your system.
