Built a cheap DIY fan controller because my motherboard never had working PWM

MSI Forgot to Wire My Fans, So I Built My Own Fan Controller

March 22, 2026

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How it all started

Nostalgia hit me like a ton of bricks recently. The early 2010s were calling out to me. I really wanted to build a retro computer that could run old games, but at the same time, I wanted something that could still be somewhat useful for modern things.

So I've started going to flea markets, asking friends for parts and looking out for good deals. I got a really nice collection going, including a socket 754 motherboard, a Sempron Mobile 3400+ CPU, and some DDR1 ram, but when building the actual PC, this is what I finally settled on:

CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1075T

AMD Phenom II X6 1075T RAM: 2x4GB Corsair 1600MHz + 2x4GB Corsair 1866MHz

2x4GB Corsair 1600MHz + 2x4GB Corsair 1866MHz GPU: NVIDIA GTX 960

NVIDIA GTX 960 Motherboard: MSI 970 Gaming (AM3+)

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