Cooltek "Silent Fan 120" little review
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2016 6:44 am
I purchased 3x Cooltek "Silent Fan 120" (non-PWM) to test them. They are cheap enough to test in 'bulk'.
At 1200 RPM (or 12V) (likely, my BIOS claims the IO chip so my software can't read it, have to see if I can turn that off) the thing is definitely audible at over 3 meters even in a noisy daylight environment (outside street noise).
Using a Zalman Fanmate2 to turn the volume down to 5V, it spins at > 900 RPM and produces a "spin image" that is just rather unstable. It might get better with lower speeds, but this fan's start voltage must be around 4V, because if I put an extra resistor in between, it does not start anymore. Forcing it to start, it runs at (xxx) RPM which for my system, I consider pleasant, but the image of the spin is very wobbly. The Cooler Master fan that came with my case, which runs at lower speeds with the same voltages, even has a better spin image, better stability.
Some simple pictures:
I am sorry I have no time left to write. I fucked myself up again.
The upper row is the fan spinning slow, the lower row is the fan spinning fast.
To me it is a chaotic fan and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. There is no bad sound character to it, the thing is just chaotic. I need my systems to create a sense of calm about them, because a calming system will also calm my person (and vice versa ).
The speed reduction with the Fanmate 2 is not big enough, so for me this fan also starts with a high speed at a too-low voltage. Reducing the speed further (below 900 rpm) is hardly possible because it won't start anymore. It is very cheap at about 6 euros (what do you expect, sure) but even though it is termed a silent fan, and true, it doesn't make a lot of noise (at lower voltages) I still woudln't consider it suitable.
Verdict: not suitable.
Pro's: Cheap, looks reasonably good (modest, simple) and has a pleasant enough noise character
Cons: Still feels very chaotic, the fan is wobbly, it only comes with a 3-pin header, you can't really reduce it below 900 RPM, the build is such that the yellow wire may even hit the fan blades, and the electronics produce a small crackling noise that you can hear if you put your ear close to it (10cm) even if the fan is not spinning; always the same cracking noise.
At 1200 RPM (or 12V) (likely, my BIOS claims the IO chip so my software can't read it, have to see if I can turn that off) the thing is definitely audible at over 3 meters even in a noisy daylight environment (outside street noise).
Using a Zalman Fanmate2 to turn the volume down to 5V, it spins at > 900 RPM and produces a "spin image" that is just rather unstable. It might get better with lower speeds, but this fan's start voltage must be around 4V, because if I put an extra resistor in between, it does not start anymore. Forcing it to start, it runs at (xxx) RPM which for my system, I consider pleasant, but the image of the spin is very wobbly. The Cooler Master fan that came with my case, which runs at lower speeds with the same voltages, even has a better spin image, better stability.
Some simple pictures:
I am sorry I have no time left to write. I fucked myself up again.
The upper row is the fan spinning slow, the lower row is the fan spinning fast.
To me it is a chaotic fan and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. There is no bad sound character to it, the thing is just chaotic. I need my systems to create a sense of calm about them, because a calming system will also calm my person (and vice versa ).
The speed reduction with the Fanmate 2 is not big enough, so for me this fan also starts with a high speed at a too-low voltage. Reducing the speed further (below 900 rpm) is hardly possible because it won't start anymore. It is very cheap at about 6 euros (what do you expect, sure) but even though it is termed a silent fan, and true, it doesn't make a lot of noise (at lower voltages) I still woudln't consider it suitable.
Verdict: not suitable.
Pro's: Cheap, looks reasonably good (modest, simple) and has a pleasant enough noise character
Cons: Still feels very chaotic, the fan is wobbly, it only comes with a 3-pin header, you can't really reduce it below 900 RPM, the build is such that the yellow wire may even hit the fan blades, and the electronics produce a small crackling noise that you can hear if you put your ear close to it (10cm) even if the fan is not spinning; always the same cracking noise.