regulating the speed of a 12v dc computer fan?

I am making a magnetic stir plate which. What I have done is used a linear potentiometer for my speed control. Is this ok to only use a potentiometer? I see others use an adjustable voltage regulator with a LM317 to control their fan speeds.
Is the anything wrong with my method?
What are the pros and cons with either method?

If you use a potentiometer alone you will get a voltage drop over the resistor which will make it inefficient (I^2*R losses), as the potentiometer will be dissipating heat it will need to have a high power rating or it will just burn out, a more efficent way is to use a PWM

How To Change GPU Fan Speed

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