Sunbeam Eye Candy - Installation
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Manufacturers: | Sunbeam |
| Product: | CCFL & Accessories |
Availability: | In stores and online now |
Reviewed By: | CPU UK |
Edited By: | Mack "SPeeD" |
Installation
Before fitting any of the items into my case, I decided to plug everything into my spare PSU and see how everything might look.
The first thing you notice when plugging everything together is that the fan and CCFL have separate power leads. Now this is a good thing, as it allows you the option of fitting the fan power into a variable speed fan controller, thus ensuring that power to the CCFL remains unaffected whilst having the variable speed option at your finger tips.
Vegas in my room
As you can see above (left side of picture) the glow from fan is very bright and pleasing to the eye. In fact even under normal room lighting the CCFL is clearly visible.
OK, so we have a fan with a CCFL fitted, so now we hook the fan power cable into a standard 4 pin Molex or m/b power connector. Then we need to hook the CCFL cable to the (blue) sound activated inverter - please note that the inverter can support 2x CCFL - then connect the inverter to a Molex in the PSU loom, the inverter does have a pass-thru Molex.
The fans have independent power connectors
The CCFL needs it's own power (optional control switch)
One of the options for the CCFL is to connect an inline switch. The two I tried were a simple on/off switch that comes on a PCI slot blanking plate. And the other switch was a silver controller that did on/off with variable flash control.
Optional on/off switch connected to inverter
Conclusion
Apart from the usual problem of where to Velcro the inverter, installation couldn't have been simpler. The sound activated inverters flashed the CCFL at the slightest provocation, and the optional switches did their thing. The only words of advice I pass on is to ensure that the cables that go from the inverter to the CCFL are not routed across any data cables, or pass close to any motherboard components. This is just to ensure that no Electro Magnetic Pulses are induced into other PC components, it's a low risk, but better safe than BSOD.
Is it supposed to glow in dark? You bet !
Obviously to get the best from this product, people need to see the CCFL in all their glory, so be sure you have a case that is either Perspex, or has clear panel sides. Our Sunbeam clear case didn't arrive in time to make this review, but here is one they made earlier.
Hmm, nice
A final word of advice, if you really want the best sound activation, get the silver remote switch, as it has more options including a non sound activating, pulsing option, which may be useful for when Meat Loaf isn't rehearsing in your bedroom.
Pros
Cons
We'd like to thank you for joining us here at OCAddiction.com today and hope you enjoyed the review. Want to discuss this or other reviews? Head to our forums. Also, our thanks to Sunbeam for the loan of the test items.
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