Category: Cooling

Don’t swap corners on Silent Wings (Pro) 4! You’d get worse results

Cooling, Extra tests, Fans | | Ľubomír Samák

This didn’t work out for BeQuiet!. The supplied mounting corners for specific uses don’t work as promised. Instead of increasing the static pressure as advertised, the corners on radiators even decrease the static pressure and thus the cooling performance. And even the case mountings, which are supposed to eliminate vibration, don’t make much sense on the Silent Wings (Pro) 4 design. The whole thing seems somehow… half-baked. Read more “Don’t swap corners on Silent Wings (Pro) 4! You’d get worse results” »

Static pressure vs. airflow, part 3/3: P/Q curves are misleading

Analysis, Cooling, Fans | | Ľubomír Samák

And we come to the finale, in which we’ll look at the extremely popular line graphs that express the relationship between airflow and static pressure. These present, in a sophisticated and seemingly credible way, which fan will be more effective in which environment. As it happens, however, it is mainly a marketing tool rather than something useful that can really be relied upon. Read more “Static pressure vs. airflow, part 3/3: P/Q curves are misleading” »

Silent Wings Pro 4 (BL098) in-depth review: Hard BeQuiet! KO

Cooling, Extra tests, Fans | | Ľubomír Samák

All the secrets around the BeQuiet! Silent Wings (Pro) 4 are over and the detailed analyses of the sub-features begin. And it’s great that we can be a part of it. This is, after all, without a doubt, the biggest “cooling” event of the year, and it’s spicier than we thought. The new BeQuiet! fans may be the absolute top of the line, but they haven’t avoided certain imperfections that you have to take into account. Read more “Silent Wings Pro 4 (BL098) in-depth review: Hard BeQuiet! KO” »

Thermaltake: Rotate a fan? Nah, replace the rotor!

Cooling, Fans, News | | Ľubomír Samák

Just when it seems that the pointlessness of some things must have gone through the roof, along comes SWAFAN 12/14 RGB. We can’t put it any other way, Thermaltake is taking advantage of the fact that casual users don’t know how a fan works. After all, paying for two rotors is a better “bargain” than having to orient one as you need it. At least if they didn’t have the same performance characteristics… That’s not how elite companies are built. Read more “Thermaltake: Rotate a fan? Nah, replace the rotor!” »

Thermalright X-Silent 120: Quiet operation for a bargain

Cooling, Extra tests, Fans | | Ľubomír Samák

Thermalright fans have been somewhat overshadowed by great heatsink throughout this company’s history. For a long time, even relatively high minimum speeds were awkward. These have now been tamed for most current models and the X-Silent 120 has a superbly low top speed as well. This is the “slowest” fan we have tested to date. With a price of under five euros, it also ranks among the cheapest you can buy. Read more “Thermalright X-Silent 120: Quiet operation for a bargain” »

Static pressure vs. airflow, part 2/3: Measuring performance on fins

Analysis, Cooling, Fans | | Ľubomír Samák

No one, no one at all, can claim based on any tests that one fan is a touch more or less efficient than the other for radiators or cooler heatsinks in general. Technically it’s impossible, and not just because of the huge design diversity of fins. However, after in-depth analyses, one can work one’s way to comparisons that have a high predictive value with a certain amount of universality. Read more “Static pressure vs. airflow, part 2/3: Measuring performance on fins” »

Sightly and efficient: the Fractal Design Aspect 12 RGB PWM test

Cooling, Extra tests, Fans | | Ľubomír Samák

An old-school rotor with one small aerodynamic tweak, the shortcomings of the Dynamic series of fans removed, and the addition of ARGB LED lighting. There are negatives too, but with the right application you can neatly avoid them. Overall, though, Fractal Design’s Aspects are functionally among the most feature-rich of what’s available in the current lineup of LED fans. Read more “Sightly and efficient: the Fractal Design Aspect 12 RGB PWM test” »

BeQuiet! revealed Silent Wings (Pro) 4’s airflow and static pressure

Cooling, Extra tests, News | | Ľubomír Samák

We finally have something to grab onto. Although you still can’t buy Silent Wings 4 fans, BeQuiet! has now officially released them, complete with detailed specs. This is something we’re interested in, and get this: we already have a comparison with the Noctua NF-A12x25 as well. Admittedly it’s a tricky one and we’re basing it on what BeQuiet! claims, but to set the mood for the upcoming tests it’s better than nothing. Read more “BeQuiet! revealed Silent Wings (Pro) 4’s airflow and static pressure” »

Silent Wings 3 (BL066): The best from BeQuiet!… so far

Cooling, Extra tests, Fans | | Ľubomír Samák

It’s heating up. We have added the first triple-A fan to the tests, which has been viewed “some way” for years, and now it will turn out how it is exactly – what are its weaknesses and what are its strengths. Some have also debated whether the Silent Wings 3 happens to be the most efficient fan ever. But as it happens, it’s a bit more complicated than a one-word answer like yes or no. Read more “Silent Wings 3 (BL066): The best from BeQuiet!… so far” »

Static pressure vs. airflow, part 1/3: Quantities under control

Analysis, Cooling, Fans | | Ľubomír Samák

Fan marketing materials could not do without the use (or is it misuse?) of key variables. There are plenty of them everywhere, but no one anywhere explains the nature of how they work, always just the supposed consequence. After all, for expected sales, companies need you to understand their presentations, which often contradict the laws of physics. But we will take a look at them, in all simplicity. Read more “Static pressure vs. airflow, part 1/3: Quantities under control” »

Gelid Zodiac fan: ARGB LED and excellent price/performance ratio

Cooling, Extra tests, Fans | | Ľubomír Samák

Aside from whether the fan is named after the zodiac or a serial killer from California, we know all about Gelid’s latest fan. In the end, the inspiration may stem from the latter as well. After all, it has a backlight option and at the same time “kills”, performance-wise, the price-equivalent fans without it. And attractive models at that. But there is one thing that can erase all the good features. Read more “Gelid Zodiac fan: ARGB LED and excellent price/performance ratio” »

A matter of (dis)honesty: expensive NZXT paste with only 6.3 W/mk?

Cooling, News, TIMs | | Ľubomír Samák

NZXT has released its first thermal paste and looking at its parameters opens the topic of what quality the manufacturers present us on paper. However, NXZT is probably not pretentious, on the contrary, the paper thermal conductivity of their thermal paste is surprisingly low considering the price. Is this the reality, are other manufacturers (with two to three times higher thermal conductivity values) misleading or is NZXT thermal paste uncompetitive? Read more “A matter of (dis)honesty: expensive NZXT paste with only 6.3 W/mk?” »

Dynamic X2 GP-12 PWM: Fractal Design knows what works in cases

Cooling, Extra tests, Fans | | Ľubomír Samák

Sometimes they don’t even get a chance and are immediately replaced by other, “better” ones. We’re talking about fans that come pre-installed in computer cases. We are going to test one of them now and although there are reasons to replace the Dynamic X2 GP-12 (PWM), be careful not to end up being worse off. After all, these aren’t exactly ordinary fans. They even have more specific aerodynamics and acoustics modifying features. Read more “Dynamic X2 GP-12 PWM: Fractal Design knows what works in cases” »

Summer looks exciting, BeQuiet! prepares the Silent Wings (Pro) 4

Cooling, Fans, News | | Ľubomír Samák

The fourth generation of the new BeQuiet! Silent Wings fans have all the ingredients to reach the very pinnacle of efficiency. The rotor is based on the proven shape of long, distinctively curved blades. These are, moreover, very close to the frame to maximize pressure. After this parameter, you probably already think of Noctua’s “sterrox” fan, which, however, the BeQuiet! one can surpass with its typical grooves. Read more “Summer looks exciting, BeQuiet! prepares the Silent Wings (Pro) 4” »

BeQuiet! Pure Wings 2 (BL039): It wouldn’t do without the grooves

Cooling, Extra tests, Fans | | Ľubomír Samák

So, now we get to see what the grooves on the entire surface of the blades, which are typical of BeQuiet! fans, are worth! Judging by the geometry, we were initially concerned that the results might go in a similar direction to the Arctic BioniX F120. But it’s a lot better than that, and the 120 mm Pure Wings 2 even achieves a top price/performance ratio while running very quietly. The best of the fans tested so far. Read more “BeQuiet! Pure Wings 2 (BL039): It wouldn’t do without the grooves” »

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