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Written by Mikhail Ivanenkov
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Sunday, 01 July 2007 |
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Thanks to Antec for the product sample.
Antec needs no introduction. Throughout the years they have consistently delivered high quality cases, power supplies and other accessories. They were the first to manufacture LED fans with the lights mounted around the perimeter of the fan's case (as opposed to LEDs placed inside the motor which was the trend at the time). Then came the Smart Fan series. Both types were put into circulation with various cases and inside PSUs for over 2 years. Needless to say, it was time for another revision.
And that's how the latest TriCool series came to be. The main selling point is the integrated 3 setting switch (low, medium, and high presets). These fans come in 3 of the most popular sizes: 80mm, 92mm, and 120mm. There are also 3 major types: regular (supposedly sleeve bearing, though it's not mentioned anywhere), DBB (dual ball bearing), and LED. The latter is available in 80mm and 120mm varieties only. Your color choices are typical: red, green, blue, and tricolor (one LED of each).
Each fan comes in a retail blister pack and includes the fan, 4 self-tapping screws, and a mess of wires. The green stickers represent the DBB fans; the blue stickers represent the regular and LED models. All the fans (sleeve, dual ball bearing, and LED versions) have the same specifications. Their respective speeds, airflow, and consequent noise levels as defined by the three settings are as follows:
80mm:
- RPM: 1500 / 2000 / 2500
- CFM: 20 / 26 / 34
- dBA: 18 / 24 / 30
92mm:
- RPM: 1200 / 1600 / 2200
- CFM: 21 / 28 / 38
- dBA: 14.6 / 21 / 27
120mm:
- RPM: 1200 / 1600 / 2000
- CFM: 39 / 56 / 79
- dBA: 25 / 28 / 30
So, the 80mm is the loudest with the least airflow, the 92mm is the quietest of them all, and the 120mm is about as loud as the 80mm at full speed while offering more than twice the airflow. It would be really nice to see these fans come stock with Antec's high-end, high class cases like the Sonata.
You'll notice that all the LED fans in the new Antec series have completely clear cases and semi-transparent blades. The non-LED fans have semi-transparent cases like the blades. The only opaque part is the sticker on the other side of the motor which too can be removed if need be. In typical Antec fashion, 3 LEDs are mounted at angles around the fan's casing. The story doesn't end here though. For one thing, the LEDs are no longer taped on or glued into pre-drilled holes; instead each LED resides in its own custom made enclosure, independent of the other LEDs. You no longer have to worry about the lights falling out or the tape peeling.
What's even better is the wiring method. If you remember, the original blue and Trilight LED fans (as well as most LED fans currently on the market) had a wire running around the perimeter connecting all the lights to the motor; this was usually secured by a piece of tape. This time Antec extended individual wires from the motor to each LED along the "bridges" that connect the motor to the rest of the fan's case. This is a very subtle and effective approach (it's also barely visible). In theory, if one LED stopped working the rest could still function.
But wait, there's more. Each fan has a standard 3-pin connector and a separate cable with the speed controller at the tip. Each setting is labeled L, M, and H (for low, medium, and high). The switch instantaneously toggles between these. If you don't have any spare motherboard headers or prefer to power the fans from the PSU, you can use the provided 4-pin/3-pin splitter which includes a pass-through molex connector and a separate 3-pin plug with a tachometer wire if you still want to monitor the RPMs.
The only fan we received with lights was the 80mm TriCool. The LEDs are pretty bright as you can see, though not as much as a blue UV fan with UV LEDs would have been. Furthermore, there's one "dead" corner where the light doesn't reach; this could be solved by integrating 4 LEDs (one in each corner) instead of 3 at uneven angles. Of course, this would require a bit of a redesign as a 4th bridge extending from the fan motor would have to be made. Also, toggling the fan speeds does not affect LED brightness like a simple voltage reduction would.
At the lowest setting the fans are inaudible beyond a few inches. At the highest setting they're equivalent to most medium output blowers. Antec clearly put a lot of thought into further developing a concept that's been relatively unchanged for years. The LED mounting method in particular is ingenious and the inclusion of a simple, unobtrusive low/medium/high speed switch makes them all the more attractive. Not all users want to mess with fan controllers and Antec's new series is the answer.
The idea behind the switch is not to constantly alter speeds, but rather have a fan that acts as 3 different fans without some sort of physical modification (like swapping the 12V and 5V lines on a molex connector for a slower spinning result at 7V). You can now have a nearly silent PC with all the lights and none of the knob controllers and you certainly don't have to run wires everywhere just to hook up all your fans to a rheobus. Thanks to Antec for improving on the concept they created in ways no other manufacturer has until now.
Pros
- Wide range of fans
- High quality build
- 3-Pin default connection with 4-pin/3-pin splitter
- 3 Speed switch
- Best LED placement of any LED fan
- Toggling fan speeds doesn't affect LED brightness
- Quite possibly the best overall (LED) fan execution to date!
- TriCool fans will eventually come stock with Antec cases
Cons
- 4 LED illumination would be ideal (maybe even LEDs in the motor)
Antec's hiatus which lasted about a year is no more. They'll always be known for their original SX series, but recent overhauls (like the Sonata) separated them from the rest of the pack. The recent release of the TriCool series is yet another innovation and a nearly flawless one at that. If you're going to buy fans and don't plan on using a separate controller, Antec's latest may well be the best as far as overall design goes. They also tell me that future Antec cases will use TriCool fans by default. You can find out more/buy some here.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 14 July 2007 )
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