Introduction
About a year ago, I remember looking around the web at some of the modding sites. They all looked pretty much the same, relatively few updates of the unique kind. Then out of the blue someone came up with putting LED's into your fan's blades. For a novice at modding or soldering, it wasn't exactly the easiest mod to start out with, and I guess some of the companies out there must have realised this. It wasn't long before LED Fans kits started appearing. These were basically just an LED that could be positioned behind the blades of a fan and were pretty crap really. Next came LED Fans. The difference between these and the original mod though is the fact that the fan is totally clear, with the LED's housed in the corners of the fan unit rather than the blades. Everyone and there uncle are selling these things now, including , so let's take a closer look and see what they have to offer. Big thanks to for supplying the review product here today, the .
Specifications
" Size: 80 x 80 x 25 mm
" Rated Voltage: 12 VDC
" Bearing Type: Rifle bearing (patented)
" Input Current: 0.15 A
" Rotation Speed: 2500 RPM
" Air flow: 32.11 CFM
" Acoustical Noise: 25.0 dB(A)
" Input Power: 1.80 W.
" Life Expectance: 50,000 hrs.
" Continuous at 25 , 45~85% relative humidity.
" 4 LEDs implemented to the outer rim of the frame which gives the best glowing effect
" 3 pin connector for mainboard speed detection
" No additional wires required
" Best choice for show case
" New Rifle bearing - The More Silent Solution
In the Box
Included in the box is :-
1x Coolermaster 80mm NEON Blue LED Case Fan
1x 3 pin to 4 pin adaptor
4x Mounting Screws
A Closer Look
When the fan arrived the first thing I noticed was the weight. I have 3 black 80mm fans and this NEON fan is twice the weight. It's actually quite reassuring to feel the extra weight, and couple that with looking at the unit itself it gives a good feeling of quality. The fan actually looks pretty sexy before it's even switched on. Maybe they should think about putting an off switch for the LED's into a new version?
As the fan is crystal clear you can see all of the inner workings and the wiring for the LED's themselves. Ok, so I'm now getting impatient to see this thing in action. Rather than hooking it straight up to my PC, I grabbed an old PSU and connected it to that. Turning the PSU on the fan sprung into life, with the blue glow emanating from all 4 corners and permeating throughout the entire fan including the blades.
Without mentioning names, I've seen some other fans of this nature out there with only 3 LEDs in them. Erm, hello? If your going to put LED's into the corners of a fan, how about actually putting an LED in each damn corner. Putting 3 LED's in a fan seems a bit stupid to me, after all fan housings are square, and therefore have 4 corners. would seem to agree :) You can see in the pictures it creates quite a glow. Turning the lights out it isn't enough to light up a room or anything but it isn't that far off. I guess that's why Coolermaster call these things NEON.
It's also completely silent. This fan doesn't make a sound, utilizing the Patented 'Rifle' Bearing housing. It's also pretty low speed at 2500rpm, but still manages to push out an impressive 32CFM. The Fan itself comes with a 3 pin connector for a motherboard header, including the speed sensing wire. As the fan only draws on 1.8w this is perfectly fine. For the majority of you I would guess that a 4 pin Molex connector would be better suited for case mounting, to which supplies a 3 pin to 4 pin adaptor including a pass-through as well as 4 screws.
Conclusion
There you have it. A silent fan that glows with a beautiful blue light permeating throughout its housing. It isn't flawless however. I'm not sure if you can see it in the pictures, but one of the LED's is a slightly lighter shade than the others. I've never seen another one of these kind of fans in person before and can only go by the pictures I see on the web in other reviews, but no-one else has mentioned this. Don't get me wrong, it really does look fantastic (no pun intended) and maybe I'm just nitpicking for perfection and symmetry, but every time I look at the fan directly I can see that one of the LED's is not outputting the same shade as the other 3. Perhaps it's just the way the light refracts around the clear housing but it is just noticeably a slightly different shade in one corner.
The 3 pin to 4 pin adaptor means this fan can be powered from a standard 4 Pin Molex or even a motherboard header with speed sensing. And yes it will run from a motherboard header safely as the fan only draws 1.8w of power. Obviously with something like this, you are going to need a window or some other way to show it off, so bare that in mind before you buy. It is labelled on the box as a Case fan, but I've been using it happily on my Swiftech HSF for the past few days and it look's very nice, lighting up the interior of my case with a soft blue glow. Once it's in place and being used the shade of one of the LED's not being the same as the other 3 isn't noticeable at all and I guess that's what really counts. The fan is totally silent as well, it literally doesn't make a single sound. I personally think it looks great and functions well. Big thanks to for supplying the review product.
Pro's
Totally Silent
3 pin or 4 pin connection
Quality feel
Only draws 1.8w of power
4 LED's, one in each corner
Con's
One LED was a slightly different shade from the other 3
Bottom Line
This is a great way to add that extra functional touch to your showcase without adding to the noise. But if perfection is something you MUST have, then if you can, try before you buy.
