Right, just bought 3 Silverstone fans, so thought I'd write a mini-review, predominantly based on my experiences so far, but includes the slight 'adjustments' I had to do to make them fit my case
Right, first things first - the fans themselves.
I bought 1x92mm and 2x120mm. The fans come well boxed, with specifications on the back -
Opening them up, you get a pretty comprehensive bundle -
You get a supplied fan controller, all the mounting screws, the fan itself and the fan guard for the relevant size. Interestingly, with the 92mm fans you get small rubber feet, which I would guess is to reduce vibrations.
The Fan Controller - pretty nice, made of aluminum, up to the usual Silverstone standards
Due to having 3 Silverstone Fans, each coming with their own fan controller, which takes up a 3.5" Bay I had a bit of a problem. My Antec P160 (great case) only has 2 3.5" Bays, so I had to mod the fan controller a bit
I started off by removing the 'knob' -
Then it was a case of undoing the small nut, and pulling the controller from the plate, leaving this -
Now for my darstedly plan Drill another hole so that I can integrate 2 fan controllers (in my case for the 2x120mm fans) onto one 3.5" thing. My ultra precise workings out, followed by a pilot hole and the final cut
I then cleaned the hole up using a countersink head to remove all the sharp edges (not before I'd cut my bl**dy thumb tho ). It also had the added benefit of making the hole slightly larger so the controller slipped straight in.
Then added the nut back on (note forgot the washer - put that back in later when I wondered why the two 'knob's stuck out different distances :doh: -
Added the 'knob' back on (until I can think of a better word, thats the one ip gunna use )
and then mounted in my case -
Right - back on track
Installing the front 120mm fan was pretty simple, take 1x Bracket, mount nice shiney new fan on it - then insert into cunningly well designed slot
The back fan just screws straight in, and the 92mm just clips on nicely to the Thermalright SI-97
To install the 3.5" bay controller, it was necessary to drill 2 new mounting holes in the bracket, to fit with the design of my case (anymore and it'll be swiss cheese I tell you ) -
Then it was simply a case of tidying up the wires, and routing them around my case - which took a supprisingly long time
but is ultimately worth it, as this is how my case looks now
As to the results of using the fans themselves, on the minimum setting they are as quiet as my old akasa amber fans, but on full they have more in common with a delta fan
Temps with the fans on minimum (very quiet)
Processor - 43C full load (folding@home)
Case - 22C
Ambient circa -20C (haven't got an actuall thermometer, but that is what the heating is set to - very scientific huh?)
(check my PC specs for what I'm running, barton core tho so gets quite toasty )
Well, my judgement so far - excellent. Like all things I'll see how they perform in time, though I am optomistic that they should be quite reliable. The only thing that bothers me is the proprietry connections to control the speed, as I now have a fan controller sitting idle - though there is a plan for that
+ =
(I'm going to add the fan controller to the space above the power supply (ran out of 3.5" bays ) - so I can have a few fans circulating air near the ram and Graphics card )
Dave
Right, first things first - the fans themselves.
I bought 1x92mm and 2x120mm. The fans come well boxed, with specifications on the back -
Opening them up, you get a pretty comprehensive bundle -
You get a supplied fan controller, all the mounting screws, the fan itself and the fan guard for the relevant size. Interestingly, with the 92mm fans you get small rubber feet, which I would guess is to reduce vibrations.
The Fan Controller - pretty nice, made of aluminum, up to the usual Silverstone standards
Due to having 3 Silverstone Fans, each coming with their own fan controller, which takes up a 3.5" Bay I had a bit of a problem. My Antec P160 (great case) only has 2 3.5" Bays, so I had to mod the fan controller a bit
I started off by removing the 'knob' -
Then it was a case of undoing the small nut, and pulling the controller from the plate, leaving this -
Now for my darstedly plan Drill another hole so that I can integrate 2 fan controllers (in my case for the 2x120mm fans) onto one 3.5" thing. My ultra precise workings out, followed by a pilot hole and the final cut
I then cleaned the hole up using a countersink head to remove all the sharp edges (not before I'd cut my bl**dy thumb tho ). It also had the added benefit of making the hole slightly larger so the controller slipped straight in.
Then added the nut back on (note forgot the washer - put that back in later when I wondered why the two 'knob's stuck out different distances :doh: -
Added the 'knob' back on (until I can think of a better word, thats the one ip gunna use )
and then mounted in my case -
Right - back on track
Installing the front 120mm fan was pretty simple, take 1x Bracket, mount nice shiney new fan on it - then insert into cunningly well designed slot
The back fan just screws straight in, and the 92mm just clips on nicely to the Thermalright SI-97
To install the 3.5" bay controller, it was necessary to drill 2 new mounting holes in the bracket, to fit with the design of my case (anymore and it'll be swiss cheese I tell you ) -
Then it was simply a case of tidying up the wires, and routing them around my case - which took a supprisingly long time
but is ultimately worth it, as this is how my case looks now
As to the results of using the fans themselves, on the minimum setting they are as quiet as my old akasa amber fans, but on full they have more in common with a delta fan
Temps with the fans on minimum (very quiet)
Processor - 43C full load (folding@home)
Case - 22C
Ambient circa -20C (haven't got an actuall thermometer, but that is what the heating is set to - very scientific huh?)
(check my PC specs for what I'm running, barton core tho so gets quite toasty )
Well, my judgement so far - excellent. Like all things I'll see how they perform in time, though I am optomistic that they should be quite reliable. The only thing that bothers me is the proprietry connections to control the speed, as I now have a fan controller sitting idle - though there is a plan for that
+ =
(I'm going to add the fan controller to the space above the power supply (ran out of 3.5" bays ) - so I can have a few fans circulating air near the ram and Graphics card )
Dave