Scythe Kaze Master: First Impressions [linked to big images]

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

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

Post Reply
Buckaroo Banzai
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 12:28 pm
Location: Deep In The South Of Texas

Scythe Kaze Master: First Impressions [linked to big images]

Post by Buckaroo Banzai » Wed Feb 20, 2008 2:25 pm

Tuseday I received my Scythe Kaze Master KM01-BK 5.25" fan controller from Petra's Tech Shop and I thought I'd give a quick review.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/ ... ter001.jpg

First, the specs:
Dimensions: (W x H x D) 148.5 x 42.5 x 63 mm
Display Dimension: 114 x 20 mm
DC Input: 5V or 12V (From PC Power Supply)
Fan Adjustment Range: 3.7V (±10%) ~ 12V (±10%)
Fan Channel: 4
Maximum Fan Ampere per Channel: 1A per channel
Fan Speed Range: 0 ~ 7500 rpm (Display Range: 30rpm Incremental)
* Package indicates the maximum range as 9,990 rpm, but the actual range is 7,500 rpm.
Temperature Module Channel: 4
Temperature Range: 0 ~ 100°C / 32 ~ 199.9°F
Measurement Frequency: Every 2 Seconds
Weight:
165 g
In the box you'll find the panel, a 4-pin molex adapter for power, 4 3-pin fan connectors, 4 thermal sensors, two baggies with mounting screws and tape for the thermal sensors and instructions.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/ ... ter002.jpg

Installation is simple, fan connections are labeled on the rear of the panel as well as on the connectors themselves. Though it does add a good bit of extra wires to your case, with a little routing and tucking they can be managed quite well. For the sake of brevity I'll skip the setup process and bring us directly to the installed product:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/ ... ter009.jpg

Though it can take up to 4 fans, I only have three fans that can be controlled by the Kaze Master: My AC Freezer 64 Pro, Zalman VF900-CU and Yate Loon 120MM front intake. For the time being I opted to not use the thermal sensors.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/ ... ter012.jpg

Pretty sexy, yes?

As you can see, if there's no fan connected to a channel there's no speed displayed. I wish the same went for the temp sensors. Even with nothing attached they dipslay 0.0°C.

The display is bright and clear and readable at any angle. As seen in the next pic, the speed display is a slightly greener color than the temperature readout.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/ ... ter016.jpg

The knobs are small and spaced far enough apart so changing speeds is easy. They extend about half an inch(11-12MM), which gives plenty of room for the door of my P182 to close.

Turning a knob to the 7 o' clock position turns the fan connected to that channel off, while full speed is achieved by turning the knob clockwise to the 5 o' clock.

On the rear of the panel there are two jumpers, one for selecting Celsius or Fahrenheit for the temperature display. Changing the jumper position switches between the two. The second jumper is for the speed/temperature warning beeper. Disabling the beeper is done by simply removing the jumper. When enabled the alarm will sound if:

A temperature sensor fails
Temperature exceeds 75°C
Fan speed reaches 0 RPM

In addition to the 5.25"(KM01) version there is also a 2 channel 3.5" controller, the KM0135. Both sizes are available in black or silver.

Prices are ~$35 for the KM0135 and ~$40 for the KM01.

Scythe Kaze Master KM01

Scythe Kaze Master KM0135


Originally posted by me at Overclock.net
http://www.overclock.net/silent-computi ... aster.html

DG
Posts: 424
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2004 3:40 pm
Location: EU

Post by DG » Wed Feb 20, 2008 3:42 pm

Can the knobs be removed? I wanna do some mod on them, trying to make them shorter...

Buckaroo Banzai
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 12:28 pm
Location: Deep In The South Of Texas

Post by Buckaroo Banzai » Wed Feb 20, 2008 4:18 pm

I can't say for certain. I've given one a few pulls to see if they come off, but it didn't budge and I don't want to risk breaking it by trying harder.

Richdog
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat Feb 24, 2007 8:15 am
Location: UK

Post by Richdog » Thu Mar 06, 2008 12:54 am

Am I reading the specs right... only 1A per channel? Surely if it's THAT low there is no chance of running two or three of of a single channel like with the Sunbeam. :shock:

tyeh26
Posts: 50
Joined: Mon Nov 05, 2007 12:32 pm
Location: illinois

Post by tyeh26 » Sat Mar 08, 2008 7:36 pm

what's the point of running more than one off a channel if you can get RPM readings?

nyu3
Posts: 144
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2004 6:07 pm
Location: Canada

Post by nyu3 » Mon Mar 10, 2008 1:44 am

Richdog wrote:Am I reading the specs right... only 1A per channel? Surely if it's THAT low there is no chance of running two or three of of a single channel like with the Sunbeam. :shock:
1A is a lot. For example, Scythe S-Flex 120mm medium speed
is rated at 0.15a, so you can hook up 6 of these fans to one
channel! Actual measurements show that this fan actually draws
less than 0.15a (it is very common to see power draw much
lower than its rating).

As another example, you can hook up at least 3 Nexus 120mm
fans (0.30a). Again, actual measurement shows this fan draws
much less current than its rating.
Last edited by nyu3 on Wed Mar 12, 2008 2:38 am, edited 1 time in total.

nyu3
Posts: 144
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2004 6:07 pm
Location: Canada

Post by nyu3 » Wed Mar 12, 2008 2:37 am

Just got mine. Love it. Starting voltage is nice and low. RPM monitoring is great. I don't use temperature monitoring because I don't want to add another set of wires.
http://b.imagehost.org/0242/IMGP2316.jpg

FartingBob
Patron of SPCR
Posts: 744
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 4:05 am
Location: London
Contact:

Post by FartingBob » Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:42 am

I would like it more if it didnt just display 0c if you dont have the temp sensors attached. Why not just leave it blank?
For those who have one, what sort of read angles do you get in normal lighting situations (natural light and with room lights on). My Pc is on the floor, so i'd be looking at it from quite a high angle (45+), will i have to bend over to actually see anything?

DG
Posts: 424
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2004 3:40 pm
Location: EU

Post by DG » Wed Mar 12, 2008 8:09 am

It's a VFD panel, so it has very wide viewing angles. So you will see it from above with no problems.

nyu3
Posts: 144
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2004 6:07 pm
Location: Canada

Post by nyu3 » Wed Mar 12, 2008 10:03 am

To fully see the RPM, I have to view at 30 degrees or less because
the actual display is recessed a bit and if viewed from too high, the
top part gets blocked. The temperature is fully visible from 45 degrees.

Dutchmm
Posts: 106
Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2007 9:06 am

Has anyone used the temperature sensors?

Post by Dutchmm » Wed Mar 19, 2008 7:46 pm

I am curious because I read another review somewhere which suggested they did not stick on well. And I cannot find the installation instructions on-line. I am interested because my wife's ASRock mobo is doing a lousy job of adjusting the fan speed to CPU temp, and wondering about using the Kaze master instead. Wanted to read where and how you inserted the thermal sensor to avoid creating a thermal disconnect twixt CPU and heatsink.

Mike

Airwolfe
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue May 06, 2008 10:07 pm
Location: Houston

Post by Airwolfe » Tue May 06, 2008 10:11 pm

for those of you who own/have tested the 5.25" version, have you been able to run multiple fans on a channel?
If so, what kind of connections did you use?

I just got mine and no matter what I do, even when running scythe ultra kazes and scythe slipstreams directly to the kaze master, 1 fan per channel, I am only able to get channels 1 and 4 to work.
I've tried alternating power plugs, alternated cables (cable 2 works in channel 1, but not in channel 2).

When I try any channels with linked fans using the provided adapter unit that came with my scythe fans, the fan doesn't start up. When I do that I have to connect 3 or 4 plugs when linking.

So, all 4 temp readings work, but just channels 1 and 4 on fans.

I suppose I got a bad unit?

nyu3
Posts: 144
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2004 6:07 pm
Location: Canada

Post by nyu3 » Thu May 08, 2008 8:12 pm

All four channels work on mine. Haven't tried using multiple fans per
channel because I only have 3 fans in my computer (will soon be 2
fans when I get an Accelero).

Kama Master MUST receive a RPM signal to work. So if you want to link
multiple fans, you must connect the RPM wire (yellow) from 1 fan,
while the others only connect to the red+black wires. Please post a
picture/diagram of how you are wiring multiple fans.

Post Reply