Next Generation Fans

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Posted by CmdrTaco on Saturday October 26, 2002 @02:12AM from the line-is-drawn-hee-ahh dept.

Tweaker writes "We just posted the first installment of an ongoing article dedicated to the latest designs and innovations for cooling your PC. The Next Generation Fans roundup starts off with five different models from four different manufacturers." I would have liked to have seen the dB rating for each fan- I've had some fans that really were great, provided I was wearing noise cancelling headphones while sharing a room with them. I have the Antec Tricolor fans they review in my case- they are gorgeous, but audible.

25 of 128 comments (clear)

What about the "no motor" fans? by Hektor_Troy · 2002-10-26 02:15 · Score: 4, Interesting

Seem to remember an article on /. about those, where they had a magnet at the tip of the blade and the "drive motor" in the four corners of the fan casing?

Anybody seen any comparative tests of those?

--
We do not live in the 21st century. We live in the 20 second century.
1. Re:What about the "no motor" fans? by Captain+Chaos · 2002-10-26 03:14 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Sounds like you are looking for the Tip-Magnetic Driving fans from Y.S. Tech. You can find a review here and here or hit google for more. I don't have any myself yet so I can't tell you of my experiences. I've read warnings though which say that you need to keep the metal housing insulated from contact with any metal and it's best to use a 3 to 4 pin power adapter. For more information on some of the problems people have had check here.
Star Trek? by Ark · 2002-10-26 02:16 · Score: 5, Funny

I was really disappointed when I read the article. I thought it was going to be about fans of Star Treg TNG. I guess I'll have to put the vulcan ears back in the closet. *sigh*
1. Re:Star Trek? by CleverNickName · 2002-10-26 05:59 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  I was really disappointed when I read the article. I thought it was going to be about fans of Star Treg TNG. I guess I'll have to put the vulcan ears back in the closet. *sigh*
  
  DAMMIT!
  
  I though I could karma-whore for sure in this topic.
  
  Oh wait. I just did...
  
  Never mind.
Next Generation Fans by bucklesl · 2002-10-26 02:18 · Score: 4, Funny

Where no fans have gone before.

--
help fill in hidden movie endings @ End of the Credits
Lookee the pretty colors by theRhinoceros · 2002-10-26 02:20 · Score: 5, Insightful

With five different fan models from four different manufacturers, there is no real way of comparing one to another, although I can definitely give my opinion on certain features or aspects. For instance, I found the LEDs on the Antec Blue and TriLight fans to be much brighter and colorful than the LEDs found on the Cooler Master Blue LED fan

The fact that the first comment the authors make in their summary regarding the various merits of the fans deals not with performance or cost, but rather completely superfluous colored lights says something about this review in general.
1. Re:Lookee the pretty colors by GigsVT · 2002-10-26 03:12 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  With five different fan models from four different manufacturers, there is no real way of comparing one to another,
  
  How about actual meansurements, not just what it says on the box? Isn't that the whole point of reviews?
  
  Also, in my experience, a lot of the heat sensing fans have completely unrealistic heat sensors. I had one brand of heat sensing fan that would always run at full speed, unless I shot the heat sensor with canned air upside down and froze it (so cold it iced up). In other words the heat sensor is often just a gimmick.
  
  People have also complained that antec power supplies with heat sensing fans almost never run the fans at full speed, even when the PS is putting out air hotter than they would care for it to put out. So there is the other extreme too, heat sensors that run the fan slower than you would want.
  
  Well, hopefully the author will read this thread and get some ideas on how he can improve his reviewer skills, because this article as it is, is pretty useless.
  
  --
  I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
wow by Em+Emalb · 2002-10-26 02:21 · Score: 5, Funny

I bet these things sound like a hovercraft at take-off. Sound cancelling? Sure...as soon as you go deaf, you won't hear them anymore.

Other than that, kinda nifty.

--
Sent from your iPad.
Umm... by Anonymous Coward · 2002-10-26 02:21 · Score: 5, Insightful

That was unquestionably the dumbest review I've ever seen linked to on Slashdot. What a blatant attempt at advertising their site. I mean, seriously, what the fuck is so innovative about putting LEDs on fans? I thought I was going to see something like one of those fans that are driven from their periphery instead of the center.

I rate this article (-1, Worthless).
Zero-noise fans by silvaran · 2002-10-26 02:22 · Score: 3, Insightful

Is it really possible to have zero-noise fans? I realize noise from the electric motor contributes to (relatively) high dB levels, but they're moving air with a spinning fan. Is it really that important, or conceivable, to have a fan with virtually no noise level? Wouldn't it be better to concentrate on sound-shielding materials for the exterior?
1. Re:Zero-noise fans by BabyDave · 2002-10-26 02:29 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Well, both of my fans are completely silent, so there.
  Hang on, where's all that smoke coming f
Advice : Don't read the article by EggplantMan · 2002-10-26 02:23 · Score: 5, Insightful

Ooh, I almost feel like it was worth hearing this nitwit drone through the following conclusions:
With five different fan models from four different manufacturers, there is no real way of comparing one to another, ....
How about an objective, scientific comparison?
...although I can definitely give my opinion on certain features or aspects. For instance, I found the LEDs on the Antec Blue and TriLight fans to be much brighter and colorful than the LEDs found on the Cooler Master Blue LED fan, however the blah blah blah
Holy hot shit! You write for a living and this is all you can come up with? The level of commentary here is on the level of your average grade two show and tell presentation.

My conclusion : this article is an embarassment to online journalism (and that's rather difficult to accomplish), don't read it.

--

?-|||-----x<*))))><
What about zalman? by RiotXIX · 2002-10-26 02:26 · Score: 3, Informative

Are the silent flower heatsinks worth getting (non-overclocked 2Ghz)? I might, but they're pretty expensive.

--
"You know you don't act like a scientist, you're more like a game show host." Dana Barret
Missed most important one by RainbowSix · 2002-10-26 02:30 · Score: 5, Interesting

How can you miss the YS tech TMD fans?

They removed the rotor from the center and put the magnets on the outside so more air blows where the CPU die is and it also is quieter.

--
--------
It's OK to be social, just don't tell anyone about it.
Fan speed control by larien · 2002-10-26 02:34 · Score: 4, Informative
I wish more systems had something to control the speed of the fans. As an example, some newer Sun kit (e.g. Sunblade 1000/2000) have a process which monitors internal temperature and adjusts the fan speed accordingly (NB: if the process dies for any reason, the fans start going at full speed). Ultra 30s/60s have an add-on kit to reduce fan speed at low temperature.
Having just fitted the noise reduction kit to my Ultra 30, I can confirm it makes a hell of a difference to noise levels. The total of the kit is:
1. A temperature sensor
2. A voltage regulator (based on the temp sensor, I assume)
3. two fan outputs
4. a temperature sensor
5. a "through" cable for the power
It didn't cost that much ($35), and I'm pretty sure it could be made cheaper if integrated into a motherboard. Normal users wouldn't even need to know it was there, as all the above parts would be built into the mainboard and the fan outputs would adjust voltage levels as required.
1. Re:Fan speed control by Speare · 2002-10-26 02:55 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  How many software engineers does it take to screw in a thermistor? ...
  
  Why should the CPU or any other computing circuitry even be bothered with monitoring the fan? You don't need a software solution to this. Fan, thermistor, power. As the thermistor reacts to higher temperatures, it allows more power to drive the fan. No muss, no fuss, no "if the fanstepping process dies, run fans at highest speed" bullshit software.
  
  --
  [ .sig file not found ]
Fans - I was thinking of music supporters! by sapped · 2002-10-26 02:49 · Score: 3, Funny

When I saw the heading, "Next Generation Fans", my first thought was. "Finally, somebody is starting to use this genome mapping thing properly and they have started breeding better music supporters. (i.e. people that don't slavishly follow everything that gets poured down their throats. Of course nobody on /. does that.)"

Oh, never mind. I guess it was just me.
Why was this article posted? by Noose+For+A+Neck · 2002-10-26 02:53 · Score: 5, Insightful

This looks like advertising copy that was taken from each of the manufacturers' sites. It's just all around, incredibly lame.
First of all, he expends about two paragraphs in description of each fan. That's it. No benchmarks. No measurements. Not even, as CmdrTaco pointed out, noise measurements. That's pretty damn sorry.
Furthermore, the token effort that he expended on each fan is comical. Part of his review includes such irrelevant gems as this:
"The Thermaltake Smart Case Fan 2 is presented in a compact and stylish box, with a yellow/orange color scheme to match the color of the fan itself."
I guess when you're not even presented with the most basic characteristics of a fan, you'd buy it based on the box color too!
Finally, I'm appalled by both Slashdot's and Tweakers Australia's misleading and dishonest title. Next generation fans? They're fans with goddamn LEDs on them! Who cares? There is absolutely nothing new, interesting or innovative on display here. Next generation might be those "fans" that wave and are nearly silent, or one of those new fans (researched by Sunon, maybe?) that has the motor run around the outside instead of blocking airflow by driving the blades from the center. But this? This is just flashy crap that is not "next generation" and shouldn't be advertised as such.
Speaking of advertising, how much is this guy making from banner views for taking advantage of Slashdot editors who refuse to read articles before they're posted?

--
Software piracy is victimless theft.
Next Generation? by mindriot · 2002-10-26 03:31 · Score: 5, Informative

Wtf, putting blinking LEDs in fans makes them "next-generation"?

The CPU fan I'm using right now is what I'd call next-generation. Why? Because it's actually quite silent. Go ahead and check out Verax (German only unfortunately). There's information on their fan design, including more detailed pics of different models. Verax uses a special fan shape to reduce noise, and, most importantly, ties the fan to the heatsink with a rubber connection, reducing vibration.

Replacing my old fan with one of those babies has greatly reduced the noise level of my box.
So not next generation by verch · 2002-10-26 03:34 · Score: 5, Funny

Next generation fans? Because they are different colors? HELLO?

Intel just came out with its next generation CPU! At approximately 100% the performance of current models, it sports a BLUE color! The industry has been revolutionized!
A real next-generation fan by zsazsa · 2002-10-26 04:01 · Score: 3, Informative

From what I've seen, those YS Tech TMD fans aren't too great. They just spin too fast to be quiet. It's a shame, because the increased blade surface area should mean higher efficiency.

Anyway, the next-generation fans I'm truly drooling over are the ultra-quiet fans from Verax. A power supply with a Verax fan was a part of the Tom's Hardware Power Supply Roundup and they liked it a lot.

However, at $48.00 in the US for one of these babies, I don't think I'll be splurging yet. I thought I was nuts for buying 5 Papst 8412NGLs at $20.00 each.

Ian
I dunno... by lanalyst · 2002-10-26 04:10 · Score: 4, Insightful

I'd like to have a silent PC. If I buy a new cpu, the retail version should include a heatsink - NO fan. If someone wants to overclock, great - get a fan.

When I got my Athlon around the time of the tom's hardware thermal scare, I bought the fastest fan I could - it drove me batty! Sounded like a DataCenter. I had to do the 7V trick just to be in the same room.

I don't understand why AMD and Intel take a breather on the speed race and work on a decent CPU package that can dissapate heat without any active cooler. That would sell. That's TNG... oh wait... Macs have been that way forever... maybe it's patented... :/
circuitry: why bother? by (H)elix1 · 2002-10-26 05:38 · Score: 3, Interesting

Why should the CPU or any other computing circuitry even be bothered with monitoring the fan?

Cat hair... Really!

My brother brought his PC over because it would shut down shortly after posting. I powered it up - did not hear a fan, and realized the motherboard's BIOS was shutting down the machine because the fan was not spinning. Saved the duron's life! I poked around a bit and found the CPU fan was wound up with cat hair. Power supply was in pretty tough shape too.

I cleaned stuff off, put on a better heat sink and fan, and sent him back to feed his counter strike addition.

--
+++ UGUCAUCGUAUUUCU
Centrifugal Blowers by cyber_rigger · 2002-10-26 06:03 · Score: 4, Interesting

Most heating and air conditioning system use Centrifugal blowers because they are small powerful and quiet. It seems that this would be a good solution.
Fans by atrus · 2002-10-26 07:44 · Score: 4, Informative

I got fed up with most of my stock case fans which had all sorts of problems with noise and their bearings. The heatsink fan was the worst, basicly wobbling around setting off an audible vibration in the case (ThermalTake 6CU fan, replaced with 60mm fan on second link). I replaced every 80mm fan in my case with these:
http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi ?category=220&item=CF-109&type=store
Panaflo fans are great quality and super quiet (at the expense of some airflow, but most likely you won't need it). I can't tell you about the bearing life of this fan, but I trust the Japanese built "Hydro-wave" bearing fan much more than a cheap chinese "ball bearing" fan.
http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi ?category=220&item=CF-106&type=store is a similarily nice 60mm fan.