Date: |
September 12, 2005 10:42 AM |
Price: |
$7.99 Each |
Sponsors: |
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Author: |
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Editor: |
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Score: |
10/10 |
Sunbeam Silent Anodized LED Fans Installation and Testing Inside the Box
I have actually received 3 different fans from Sunbeam, all from the Silent Anodized LED series, but of red / blue / green colors. Upon opening up the packaging, you will find a box of accessories and the fan itself. Inside the accessories box there is a 3 to 4 pin molex adapter, a bag of 4 installation screws, and a set of 5 stickers. Its nice to see a company providing the 3 to 4 pin adapter and the screws (especially) for their end users! I can say that, to my recollection, none of my other fans ever have (I had to use the screws packaged with the case/mobo)..
The fans themselves are nicely coated (anodized) and the finish is impeccable! The power cable is 600mm in length, plenty long for placement anywhere in your case. The fan is sturdy, after trying to wrench it with my hands, I found that it does not budge at all. Upon further inspection, the 3 to 4 pin adapter is double sided (male to female), and has a 1 inch stretch of cord on it. What I did notice is that the 3 pin end of the adapter has an exposed pin, though it is only for fan speed detection, it will not cause any harm.
Above are my own pictures of the fan contents.
Below are some pictures of the fans from Sunbeam's Website, idling and running.
Below are the packaged 3 pin connector, 3 to 4 pin adapter, and
molex connector stright from Sunbeam's Website.
Installation
Installallation was easy, just add the screws, hook it up and you are done (as the cable is long enough to put the fan anywhere in your case  )! You have the choice of using the 3 pin connector directly to your motherboard (for power and monitoring), or using the 3 to 4 pin molex adapter and just running the fans at full speed. The only hard part is taking the time to run and hide the wire in your case somewhere  !
Above are the fans installed in my case, not running.
Testing
One of the things I noticed right off the get-go is that its speed is rated at 1800rpm ± 10%, but when I look at my front panel monitor it is running around from 2300rpm's. I don't know if that is a misprint, or if my computer is pushing more voltage to run it faster? Even so, at that speed it is still silent !
I've had the fans installed and running in my case for about two weeks now. First things first, the fans themselves are incredibly quiet, my PC is at least 4 times quieter by ear than it was with my 3 old fans! To be honest, I can't even hear them, the only thing I hear is my stock CPU cooler *laugh*. Secondly, the LEDs that Sunbeam has installed into the fans are super bright! They definitely glow better than my old quad color LED fans, and are brighter than my old CCFL fan but don't quite have the same 'shine' factor (though that is expected as the CCFL light is external ~~ and happens to be made from Sunbeam as well )!
Watching the temperatures of my case using Sunbeam's Superior Panel they have not varied from what my previous fans provided, if anything, they may be a couple degrees cooler  !
Above are pictures of the fans running in my case,
Below is a picture of the rpm reading from my front panel.
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