I just got a fan controller, finally. The Grid+ allows for custom curves and all of that (I know some people have strong feelings against the Grid+ and the cam software, but that is beside the point). I am wondering, in general, is it a good idea to have the case fans set to off when the computer is at idle temps. Having them spin up and down however often in order to occasionally help dump heat doesn't seem like it would be too good on the lifespan of the fans. The overall increased temps inside the case don't seem too good for longevity of non-cooled parts such as the hdd(s) and the mobo. Does anyone have any knowledge about this? I would like more than hear-say. Some actual tests and numbers would be the best option, but obviously, that isn't terribly realistic. Here's hoping though.
As long as the level for turning off the fans is low enough so that no parts end up overheating then it's fine to do so. And it's really not more difficult to find a reasonable level for things to turn off, than it is to keep temperatures at bay around the middle of the curve when parts are doing some work. These fans are made to spin up and down a lot so I wouldn't worry.
On overall It's of course an easier task with a roomy case where the heat will have space to radiate away from warmer components, as with a system where all parts do a decent job at lowering their own heat output while idling. As most modern parts do.
I'm not familiar witht he Grid+ but with most fan controllers one has to pick a single temperature sensor for each fan to regulate towards. In those cases picking a relevant sensor is as important as anything. But maybe the Grid+ software can connect several sensors to the speed of each fan.
The cam software (which is NZXT's fan controller software for the Grid+ and the Kraken series AIO coolers) allows you to either pick the gpu or the cpu to run the curve off of. There are other, user-made, software alternatives out there which might allow you to pick other sensors such as vrm temps, hdd temps, etc if there is a clear choice in what to go off of. Right now, I have it set to use the gpu temps as my cpu doesn't put off much heat overall, all the heat comes from the gpu, it seems.