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Written by Mikhail Ivanenkov
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Sunday, 01 July 2007 |
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Page 2 of 2
As with other fans the LEDs are mounted around the perimeter of the casing, but this is where the similarity ends. The Vantec fans had their LEDs pointing in the same direction as the side they were mounted on (as in parallel to that side). Because of this there was also a slit to allow for the light to travel in one direction, only to be bent by the spinning blades. Here the story is different. The LEDs are mounted at what appear to be 45 degree angles with no slits, so the beam is already "bent" before it even hits the blades, once again creating a slightly different effect. As for the power delivery to each LED, it's good to see that there's no longer an ugly band/electrical tape surrounding the case, as all the wires are already present.
They're inserted into hollow cylinders (instead of just drilled holes) and smothered in glue. However there is one minor flaw in this construction that can be easily fixed, though it could cause problems. The leads of the wires around each LED are exposed, so if any piece of metal were to connect the two (such as a fan bracket), that LED would short. I found this out when I placed the fan on top of my AT power supply and turned it on only to find three of the four lights operational. This defect could be remedied by SVC if only they were to put a few dabs of glue on atop the leads or at least tuck them into the cylinder to begin with. Good thing they're wired in parallel.
When I first turned on the fans I would occasionally run across a scratching noise, as if the blades were hitting surrounding LEDs or the frame itself, though neither of these was true. After a few hours these sounds disappeared, so I'm guessing there's a break-in period for each fan. The green is, of course, brighter than the orange due to its placement in the color spectrum. But because of the angled LEDs the blades don't do much in the way of bending the light, so individual streaks are visible from both sides. This leads to greater illumination in the light path but a lot of darker areas outside the path as well. Which could be either good or bad depending on what you're looking for (aesthetically) in a fan.
The orange looks even funkier. Possibly due to a combination of the polished blades and angled lights (and the fact that orange and ultraviolet are relatively far from each other in the visible spectrum), two colors are visible, the purplish UV and the glowing orange. And as you can tell the effects are different from the front and back with a generally amber glow and specks of UV. On the subject of airflow, these are rated at 36CFM/32dB each. Four running simultaneously, albeit outside a case, was a bit loud for me. Then again a few people have complained about the lower airflow of other lighted fans so this may be a welcome alternative for some.
But what it really comes down to is competition. Above we have a picture of SVC's quad LED fan (left) and the Vantec/Xoxide/generic one I took a look at a couple weeks back. Even with four lights SVC is unable to outshine the former. Though I'm almost positive that this is mostly due to lower LED intensity, other things like the blade coating and light angles might have a say as well. So if you want the brightest, more isn't always better. But if you're looking for (still) bright solid color UV fans, you'll be able to pick up a couple from SVC for the price of a single Vantec anywhere else. And not to mention the included screws/grill/adapter.
Pros
- Complete kit (fan, screws, grill, adapter)
- Polished blades
- Four total lights
- LEDs wired in parallel (if one dies the rest keep working)
- Dirt cheap at $5 per kit
Cons
- Exposed LED leads, could short
- Break-in period?
- May be loud for some
- Could have better LED angle placement
- Low LED intensity
- Light not as spread out
- Only available in three solid colors
Coming into this review I expected SVC's fans would be brighter than the tri-LED competition and that was a letdown. However, all corners are lit, so even if they are a little dimmer at least they're fully illuminated. The light isn't spread out as well either. But it's all personal preference. A wider variety (in both colors and airflow) as well as the exposed lead issue fixed, and you've got a sure winner because at $5 a kit it's hard top such a deal. Once again I'd like to thank SVC for sending over these fans if interested you can get yours here. Thanks for reading and enjoy the site!
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Last Updated ( Friday, 20 July 2007 )
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