Zalman ZM-MFC1 Combo Fan Controller Review

Installation

In Figure 4 you can have a side view of MFC1 Combo. To install it, you just need to slide it into an empty 5 ¼" bay and hold it in place with the screws that come with the controller.

Figure 4: Side view.

In Figure 5, you can see the back side of MFC1. On the right side you can see the power connector, where you must install the cable from the power supply. At the top you can see the five connectors for the fans. The four connectors on the left, with three pins each, are used by channels 1 through 4 and you can connect fans directly on them or, if the cable from the fan does not reach the connector, you can use one of the extension cords that come with the controller.

The fifth fan connector, with five pins, is used by the channel that is compatible with PWM fans. On this channel you must use the cable that comes with MFC1 Combo, because there is one wire that must be connected on the motherboard (that will control this fan when it is put under automatic modes).

Figure 5: Rear view.

In Figure 6, you can see the cables that come with MFC1 Combo. Two of them are simple extensions and one is a "Y" cable that allows you to connect two fans on the same channel. Another cable has an extra connector with the speed sensor wire, which can be connected to the motherboard so you can monitor the speed of one fan using your software of choice. The cable pictured on the right must be used on the PWM-compatible channel, because it provides the wires that receives the PWM control signal from the motherboard and allows speed monitoring. This is the only cable with a four-pin fan connector.

Figure 6: Cables.

A flaw we found on this product is that there are no adapters to allow you to use fans with standard peripheral power connectors ("Molex" connectors).