I patiently awaited a shipment of goodies in from our pal at ZXMods and finally got the package. I was not sure what was coming in, only that there would be something very different and very "exclusive" to review. I opened the box with baited breath and saw 2 beautiful items. The first being a nice shinny new SpiderMax Fan Grill which we will mention in another review. And then the most excellent Translucent Quad LED 60/80mm Fan. Here we see it beside a standard 80mm fan and a 60mm Pabst.
Product: Translucent Quad LED 60/80mm Fan
Price: $10.25
Availability: Now @ZXMods
Written by: Mack (SPeeD)
Reviewed: July, 2002
Introduction: I patiently awaited a shipment of goodies in from our pal at ZXMods and finally got the package. I was not sure what was coming in, only that there would be something very different and very "exclusive" to review. I opened the box with baited breath and saw 2 beautiful items. The first being a nice shinny new SpiderMax Fan Grill which we will mention in another review. And then the most excellent Translucent Quad LED 60/80mm Fan. Here we see it beside a standard 80mm fan and a 60mm Pabst.

Money shot with a keychain for size comparison

Backside shot of the fan

At first this thing looks relatively mundane and the excitement level faded. That however, quickly changed. Once I plugged the QUAD LED Fan into my power supply I was treated to a nice shot of cool air with beautiful lights dancing about my case. Stunning! Lets take a first "raw" look.


Yeah, do these look pimp or what?! Trust me. I thought the same. Coolness factor is still not even the best part about these fans either! One of the really excellent ideas of this fan are that it is both a 60mm and 80mm fan in 1. The bottom portion of the fan is manufactured so that it can fit on any 60mm sized object. Such as a CPU HSF. If you have a decent HSF and your looking for a quiet and very original looking type fan to install on it. Look no further. Then, the top portion, as you'll see on page 2 is the standard 80mm size which you can use for just about anything, to include case fans or blowhole fans. Lets take a look.
Here we'll see how this fan would be as an intake or exhaust fan for blowholes if your case has been modded so. Fortunately, I have an old AOpen HX08 that I modded way back when that is perfect for this project. Complete with 2 80mm blowholes. I have removed one with the old fan and grill and installed the SpiderMax grill complete with the new Translucent Quad LED 60/80mm Fan. Here are a few pics of that setup.


Now. Is it just me, or does the setup on the left make the 80mm setup on the right pale in comparison. I mean seriously BORING! I could swear as I went to power down the case I heard a whisper begging for another SpiderMax Grill with a Quad LED fan. It's absolutely beautiful. No doubt about it. Here's another shot of this excellent fan in the dark.

Now that you've seen some killer pics of this beauty. Lets checkout the actual spec performance of the unit.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Dimensions 80mm × 80mm to 60mm x 60mm x 25mm thick.
Voltage (max) 12 VDC 0.14 amps
Speed 2700 RPM
Air Flow 28 CFM
Noise 26 dBA
Includes:
4 black 3/4" long screws &
8 chrome fan screws
Note: The fan comes stock with a 3-pin connector that will be great for hooking up to your motherboard header if available. If you plan on using the fan in a blowhole, you may want to get the 18" fan extension cable to give you some clearance room.
Conclusion: Of course this fan is not going to break any world airflow records like the Delta model fans. But then again, I have yet to see a Delta that looked NEARLY this cool. 2700 RPM is hardly shabby, and with 28 CFM and a low noise factor of 26 dBA. This unit has enough horsepower to get the job done on many applications. I think my next project for this will be to install a nice blowhole in the top of the case to pull a little bit more of that hot air out of it. Since I'm getting a new desk where I'll have to keep my PC down low, this will be something nice to look at and keep me cool at the same time.
Ok. There is only so much you can say about a fan. Even a seriously cool one like this. So lets go over a few high and low points to finish off the review properly.
Highs:
Lows:
Here's one last closeup pic for you hardcore freeks. This one is really big so if your on dial-up, I'm hating life for ya.

That's it. Personally I think this fan is a great product and a fine addition to any case modders piece of work. The lighting is easily viewable in both lighter and darker situations and really produces an eye pleasing effect that just looks good. And considering most decent case fans will run you around $6-$8 anyways. I think the extra few $$ is worth it in this case. We'd certainly like to thank ZXMods for providing the QUAD LED Fan for our review. They have the best prices in town and damn good service to boot. Ya can't go wrong. OCA gives this item the "OCA Approved Award".
Thanks for stopping by and checking out the review. Feel free to head into the forums and give us praise or flames, or head out to the Front Page and check out the other GooSH!™ here at OCA..| DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware. |
More PC Cooling Articles
More By SPeeD
| Recommended by Dev Hardware |
|---|
|
developerWorks - FREE Tools! |
Join this webcast, to learn how the Rational Process Library can help with compliance issues, drive process improvement, and assist in service-oriented architecture (SOA) or Agile development. We will take a peek into the Rational Process Library with content around software and systems engineering (including RUP), operations and systems management, program and portfolio management, and asset and SOA governance. FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Learn how you can extend modern application lifecycle management to IBM System z through the IBM Rational Software Delivery Platform (SDP). The Did you say mainframe? e-kit includes podcasts, webcasts, tutorials, white and red papers, demos, and articles designed to help ease the challenges of modernizing your enterprise. This complimentary kit for mainframe developers is a practical, how-to guide for making the most of an existing development environment, including the skills and infrastructure already in place at an established enterprise. FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Visit IBM developerWorks to download a free trial version of WebSphere Extended Deployment Compute Grid, which lets you schedule, execute, and monitor batch jobs. Because online transaction processing and batch jobs execute simultaneously on the same server resources, you can avoid costly duplication of resources. Compute Grid supports job types of Java transactional batch, compute-intensive and a new type called "native execution", which enables non-Java workloads to run on distributed end points. FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Join this webcast to see how IBM Data Studio Developer and pureQuery can take the pain out of Java data access. uApplications developed using both Java and SQL have become a common requirement. Database connectivity using Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) to create an application is a multi-step tedious process, and tooling that covers both SQL and Java has been unavailable, until now. IBM Data Studio introduces the pureQuery platform: a high-performance, Java data access platform focused on simplifying the tasks of developing, managing, and optimizing database applications and services. FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
This tutorial shows new users of IBM WebSphere Business Monitor Version 6.0.2 how to perform the "Hello World" equivalent for monitoring business process applications. It is intended to help you get familiar with the capabilities of the product. FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Analysts, architects, and developers who have existing COBOL or PL/I skills and want to extend those skills to deploy new workloads on the mainframe can use the IBM Enterprise Modernization Sandbox for System z to find hands-on walkthroughs of common real world scenarios. The scenarios provide examples of how to rapidly design, create, assemble, test, and deploy high-quality Web, Web services, portal, and SOA applications for IBM CICS, IBM IMS, and IBM WebSphere Application Server. FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Listen to this webcast to get an overview of Info 2.0 and a technical demo of how to quickly build an enterprise mashup. IBM's Info 2.0 technology leverages emerging Web 2.0 technologies such as mashups, feeds, AJAX, and JSON in order to simplify assembly of information using feeds and services. Come learn about the technical elements of Info 2.0 including the Feed Generation framework, Mashup Engine, and mashup assembly components. Learn how to pull information from databases, departmental information, and the Web to create mashups critical to your company’s success. We will also discuss best practices to help you get started. FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Join this Rational Talks to You teleconference on December 11 at 1:00 pm ET to get tips on building your own plugins with Rational Method Composer. Get your questions answered! FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
As businesses grow increasingly dependent upon Web applications, these complex entities grow more difficult to secure. Most companies equip their Web sites with firewalls, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), and network and host security, but the majority of attacks are on applications themselves – and these technologies cannot prevent them. This paper explains what you can do to help protect your organization, and it discusses an approach for improving your organization’s Web application security. FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
The Eclipse community is constantly working to extend Eclipse's functionality. In this webcast, learn about some of the most important and feature-rich projects under development. From multi-language support to plug-in development, tune in to see what Eclipse is capable of now. FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
All FREE IBM® developerWorks Tools! |