Official GIGABYTE Forum
Your Tests and Reviews => Your Tests and Reviews => Topic started by: Dark Mantis on September 05, 2011, 04:37:23 pm
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Phobya G-Silent 18 700rpm Red LED Fan Review
by Dark Mantis
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Well just in case you are not bored of fan reviews yet I have an example of Phobya's largest case cooling fan called the G-Silent 18 700rpm. As per most Phobya devices it came in a solid box displaying the Phobya logo and the "Fear it!" motif. This box is unlike all the other fan boxes from this company as it has no plastic window in the front face so that the fan is visible inside. Four mounting screws are included in a little plastic bag.
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It is a very solidly built fan and fairly wide as well at 32mm. That would explain why it felt so heavy when I first picked it up. It actually weighs almost half a kilogram at 432 grams. This is a lot for a single 180mm fan and shows how sturdilly it is made. This time Phobya have returned to their old favourite of the sleeve bearing because of the inherant strength of the design and still without the worry of oil leakage. They are also very long life components and it is given a MTBF of 50,000 hours. Phobya covers the fan with it's usual 3 year warranty which think is very generous.
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At the full 12 volts input power the fan runs at a fairly sedate 700 rpm, however it will turn at anything from 7 volts upwards so a range os speeds are available. You would of course need some sort of speed controller to enable this. At maximum speed this fan 169m[size=50]3[/size]/h which is equivalent to nearly 100cfm (99.4 to be exact). This is a huge amount for any size fan and even more so when it is only rotating at a fairly low speed of 700rpm. This is mainly achieved by the width and pitch of the fan blades and is another contributory factor in the weight of the unit.
(http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/6011/49601975.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/263/49601975.jpg/)
I don't know why as it is opposite to their normal practice but the power cable on this fan is not sleeved and consists of three insulated wires terminated in a standard three pin molex fan connector. It is 500mm long and rated at 3 Watts and as such could be run off a motherboard fan header although in my opinion I don't think it would be advisable. If a large size fan is required but noise is an issue then this would fit the bill perfectly as even at maximum speed it is totally silent. I couldn't even hear it with my ear right next to it. The manufacturer rates it at 18dB/A, it is certainly no more!
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Although there are not so many locations to mount in this fan is a very efficient and silent device and I suspect more use will be made of these especially in HTPC type uses. It is ideal for anywhere that needs a lot of cooling air but silently. I am impressed by this component and award it 8/10.
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Supplier : C and C Central http://www.candccentral.co.uk/ Price : £14.99
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