New Enermax fans (Enlobal bearing) - any good?

Control: management of fans, temp/rpm monitoring via soft/hardware

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

Post Reply
florinp3
Posts: 41
Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2005 3:54 am
Location: Bucharest, RO

New Enermax fans (Enlobal bearing) - any good?

Post by florinp3 » Sat Jun 24, 2006 2:35 am

I saw some new fans available from Enermax - using "Enlobal Bearings". Informations can be found here: http://www.enermax.com.tw/english/news_ ... .asp?id=11
and the fans here: http://www.enermax.com.tw/english/produ ... sp?PrID=43
The technology is based on a magnetic-barometric bearing, which rotates the fan, in contrary to all other bearings, by magnetic fields, generated by a variety of magnets and even pressured air. Since the fan does not touch anything, it can rotate without friction or vibration. This allows it a drastically higher rotation speed and thus higher cfm with much less noise than other bearings.

This superior technology offers a longer lifetime as well and can even work under water and therefore be cleaned without damage. This tremendous effect was shown at Cebit 2006.
I am now searching for a 92mm fan to place in front of my P150 - because my HDD's and especially my northbridge heatsink are getting hot as in summer it gets hot around here. I have a 120mm Nexus (B&W) in the back, but at 12V is a bit noisy, so I hope I could undervolt it with a front fan that moves a little bit of air over my 2 HDD's and NB.
I was going to get the 92mm Nexus, but now I see these Enermax fans that look good - on paper at least, but I would appreciate an opinion from someone around here.

aztec
Posts: 443
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 5:01 am
Location: Foster City, CA

Post by aztec » Sat Jun 24, 2006 5:39 am

very interesting fans indeed.

I just hope those knobs to throttle down the fan are completely removable.

They would get in the way on tight fitting intake and drive cage placements...such as what I have on my Chenbro.

I currently have the Nexus fans...and hough they are quiet....they really don't pushmuch air (at lease in my opinion)

link to review:
http://www.extremeoverclocking.com/revi ... arp_1.html

ultraboy
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 547
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2004 5:02 pm
Location: Bangkok Thailand

Post by ultraboy » Sat Jun 24, 2006 6:04 am

Here's another "review" by a French site AMDBoard (translated version).

Their conclusion is that the fan is "still a too expensive hair". :lol:

Seriously, I like the fact that one can take fan blade out easily for cleaning. This fan seems to use a variation of Maglev technology - I hope there're more review on noise though.

McBanjo
Posts: 671
Joined: Thu Dec 08, 2005 1:40 pm
Location: Sweden
Contact:

Post by McBanjo » Sat Jun 24, 2006 7:34 am

I'm rather fascinated with the dBA-measure, it can acctually be true.
Got to be the fist time that is posted correct :-P

I would like them to go a little slower, say starting at 500rpm but other than that they are probibly rather good.

dhanson865
Posts: 2198
Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2005 11:20 am
Location: TN, USA

Post by dhanson865 » Sat Jun 24, 2006 8:51 am

My question is will the 80mm version be quieter at the same airflow as my old standby the Top Motor DF1208SL which runs 21.5cfm @ about 2200rpm at 12V.

I have some nexus 80mm fans as well and I'm happy enough with them but they are so expensive.

If I could get something cheaper than the nexus that beats the airflow/noise ratio of the Top Motor...

jaganath
Posts: 5085
Joined: Tue Sep 20, 2005 6:55 am
Location: UK

Post by jaganath » Sat Jun 24, 2006 9:59 am

Their conclusion is that the fan is "still a too expensive hair".
Machine translation still has a long way to go. Of course they meant "it's still a bit too expensive".

florinp3
Posts: 41
Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2005 3:54 am
Location: Bucharest, RO

Post by florinp3 » Sat Jun 24, 2006 10:37 am

Yep, unfortunately, the 92mm is ~50% more expensive than Nexus, so I'm waiting for a review if it's worth. The problem with Nexus is that I'd probably have to slow it down to be silent (+ controller => same price?)- maybe Enermax is silent at 1000rpm...
The 120mm version is ~30% more than Nexus.

swiharta
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2005 2:25 am

another review

Post by swiharta » Sun Jul 16, 2006 4:03 am

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=6962

Take it for what its worth.

dhanson865
Posts: 2198
Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2005 11:20 am
Location: TN, USA

Post by dhanson865 » Sun Jul 16, 2006 7:16 am

If you are willing to buy 8 of the 120mm version newegg will sell them for $9.99 with free shipping.

from looking at http://www.eastluna.com/basis/results.p ... tsearch=Go we can see that the 92mm and 80mm versions aren't common yet.


from www.enermaxusa.com the specs for the 80mm version are:

Bearing Type: ENLOBAL Magnetic Baraometric Bearing
Fan Speed (RPM): 1500RPM
Air Flow (CFM): 24 CFM
Noise Level (DBA): 14db
Rated Voltage 12V DC
Rated Amps 0.16A
Power Connector Type 3pin / 4 pin adapter
Dimensions 80x80x25mm


for comarison here are the specs from a Nexus 80mm package:
1500 RPM
20.2 CFM
17.6 dB(A)
12V DC
0.15A Max (1.8 Watts)
Operational Voltage 10.2~13.8 Volts
Dimensions 80x80x25mm

By the specs the Enlobal is quieter AND pushes more air at the same RPMs. While that is hard to believe (most likely a measuring distance difference) it would be nice to see an apples to apples review of the pair. I'd be happy if it pushed the extra 2 or 3 CFM at the same noise level.

I'd even buy them if they pushed even a single CFM more at the same noise level.

Felger Carbon
Posts: 2049
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 11:06 am
Location: Klamath Falls, OR

Post by Felger Carbon » Sun Jul 16, 2006 8:06 am

Fan specifications are um, interesting. The 17dBA noise spec for the 120mm Enlobal is not, however, outrageous.

Consider the Coolermaster SUF fans, which are nice fans (I've used them) and which have supporters here at SPCR. They have a noise spec (120mm) of 22dBA at 1220RPM. The Enlobal is at 1000RPM, so LOG10(1.22) times 60 = 5.18dBA, meaning the Enlobal is rated at a .18dBA higher noise level than the SUF when adjusted for the RPM difference.

Or consider the Sunbeamtech Silent LED fans. The 12025 is rated at 21.75dBA which is exactly the same noise level as the Enlobal when adjusted for its 1200RPM.

The thing is, the SUF and Silent fans are a fair bit noisier than the YL D12SL-12, the GW NCB, or last year's SilenX "11dBA" 120mmm fan, all of which I have.

It's the 44CFM at 1000RPM that I wonder about. But then, I don't got no precision CFM meter, darn it. But just a few minutes ago I placed an order for one with Newegg. Next Wed afternoon I'll have a good idea how quiet the fan really is. :)

Felger Carbon
Posts: 2049
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 11:06 am
Location: Klamath Falls, OR

Post by Felger Carbon » Fri Jul 21, 2006 12:27 pm

The Enlobal fan finally arrived late - train track repair. Interesting fan.

My sample vibrates badly. The vibration comes and goes, but never goes away. I took the blade assembly off, examined things, and put it back on. There's a really heavy ring magnet around the inside of the fan hub. If that ring magnet is not exactly centered, you get a lot of vibration!

I don't know if that's the problem, but I've got a lot of vibration. If the magnetic suspension, or whatever it is, does not hold the fan assembly in a perfectly constant position, the vibration will change - and that's what's happening. The vibration comes and goes, but never goes away for any significant length of time.

I hope I've got a bad sample. It looks like a terrific concept. The fan noise at its lowest isn't much higher than the YL (at the same RPM) or the GW NCB, but it is a small tad higher than either (when the vibration is temporarily at a minimum).

If any more of you get samples, I'd like to hear what your fan is like. A photo of the Enlobal fan is included in my "Accessories needed" posting.

Felger Carbon
Posts: 2049
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 11:06 am
Location: Klamath Falls, OR

Post by Felger Carbon » Sat Jul 22, 2006 6:58 am

One user review of the Enlobal 120mm fan at Newegg:

"Pros: Could be silent if it worked...

Cons: BUT it has a tendancy to periodically vibrate badly, even when unmounted and spinning freely which makes it very noisy.

Other Thoughts: Vibrates for no reason. I think the design and heavy weight of the blades makes the fan balance procarious. It also vibrates more depending on which side is up. Very dissapointing after the hype. Maybe mine is defective though."

Do I see a trend? :oops:

jaganath
Posts: 5085
Joined: Tue Sep 20, 2005 6:55 am
Location: UK

Post by jaganath » Sat Jul 22, 2006 7:14 am

Looks like either a design flaw or shoddy QC or both. D12SL-12 and GW NCB retain the SPCR heavyweight title. :lol:

Felger Carbon
Posts: 2049
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 11:06 am
Location: Klamath Falls, OR

Post by Felger Carbon » Sun Jul 23, 2006 1:23 pm

Directron now carries the 92mm Enlobal fan, which is more expensive than the 120mm. But neither Directron nor EastLuna (which will carry the fan but now has no stock), nor the Enermax site, provide the nominal RPM of the fan. In fact, the 92mm version is not on the Enermax site! :D

Don't forget the can of 3in1 oil. :lol:

edit: since the 1200mm is 1000RPM and the 80mm 1500RPM, the 92mm will probably be 1200 to 1300RPM. Nice and quiet. When oiled.

Felger Carbon
Posts: 2049
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 11:06 am
Location: Klamath Falls, OR

Post by Felger Carbon » Mon Jul 24, 2006 6:54 am

The new Enlobal fan has just been reviewed by BigBruin in addition to the earlier Phoronix review, and both said the fan was quiet - no reports of vibrations. Once again, I ask that any of you readers who get this new fan know of your experience. If you google (and froogle) "Enermax UC-12EB" (or 9EB, or 8EB) you'll see that more and more are popping up. When this fan is working right, it's a very good (and quiet) fan.

One more thing: the illustrations, including the one on the back of the box the fan comes in, clearly show the fan with open corners. Uh uh. Closed corners, just like the Yate Loons and GW NCBs. You'll need "long stick" rubber fan mounts, such as the Verax or the ones at Jab-Tech.

wicked
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2003 3:49 am

Post by wicked » Wed Aug 02, 2006 5:34 pm

Technology sounded like it would have the same problem as the TMD (tip magnetic drive) motor fans, that's what I wanted to look up here. Reality looks like it does. Centrifical force is not the best way to keep a fan from pitching out of alignment.

Trunks
Posts: 219
Joined: Sat Mar 04, 2006 1:58 am
Location: Baton Rouge, LA

Re: New Enermax fans (Enlobal bearing) - any good?

Post by Trunks » Sun Aug 06, 2006 11:10 pm

florinp3 wrote:I saw some new fans available from Enermax - using "Enlobal Bearings".
I got several 80 mm ENLOBAL - Marathon ENERMAX fans as promotional swag today. They are quite and move alot of air, one had a sticker misalined on the hub and it vibrated more. and some have a slight click, others do not. I tryed removing and replacing the 'clicky' ones hub with no luck.
I have not tried them with any kind of fan controler yet.
I am really tempted to lube one up with machine oil becouse the removable hub makes that so simple to do.
Any advise?

geogecko
Posts: 61
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2004 1:05 pm

Post by geogecko » Wed Aug 16, 2006 6:08 am

I'm thinking about getting some of the 80mm versions.

This place:

http://svcompucycle.stores.yahoo.net/fan-uc-8eb.html

has them for less than $10 out the door, when using First Class shipping.

I'm just worried about the vibration people are talking about. I was originally considering the Nexus 80mm case fan.

Hochi
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2006 2:27 pm

Post by Hochi » Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:43 pm

They are good but you have to be careful when removing the blades. Otherwise the black fan supports can break. IMO the supports should of been made of steel or aluminum since the blades will be removed alot throughout the fans life.

Post Reply