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Thermaltake StarForce Fan |
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Written by Mikhail Ivanenkov
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Sunday, 01 July 2007 |
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Page 2 of 2
It's model TT-9050A and is rated at 12V and 0.48A for a total maximum power consumption of 5.76 watts. You won't want to connect this to a fan to a motherboard header if you'll be blasting it full speed. At minimum it spins at 1300RPM and delivers almost 26CFM at a near silent 17dBA while using 1.8 watts. At the maximum speed of 3500RPM it moves about 61CFM at a noticeable (and somewhat annoying) 43dBA. According to Thermaltake if you leave the fan controller disconnected, the jumper on the fan will be set to "on" and it will run at full speed. In reality, the exact opposite is true: when not connected, the fan will spin at its lowest setting of 1300RPM.
Size-wise it's comparable in height to a pair of 25mm fans stacked on top of one another (it's actually 70mm tall). Although this won't affect most enthusiasts since they will have long upgraded computers before any of their fans go, the StarForce uses a sleeve bearing which, although marginally quieter, has a much shorter lifespan (30,000 hours vs. typical 50,000 for ball bearing). Anyway, installation is very simple; just make sure you have enough clearance for this blob. It probably won't fit in the front or rear of most cases, but it should work as a heatsink fan (unless you already have an unnaturally tall cooler) or on a side window.
When you plug it in all the lights turn on and the party begins. However, some of the wires seem to be loosely connected and if you flip the fan a few times (gently mind you) the LEDs might turn on and off and the whole thing may lose power for a split second. Probably my biggest issue with the StarForce though is the rheostat fan controller. Simply put, you have about 3mm of turning space for the entire range. Any setting prior to the top middle tick mark of the dial does nothing. Past the middle is where the speed changes and even here just a slight shift causes a major jump in fan speed. From the next tick mark all the way to the end is all full speed. What it comes down to is that it's almost impossible to vary the fan speed; you're limited to either the lowest setting or the highest one.
To demonstrate the lighting effect, I put together a short AVI (~7.75MB) which you can download and watch by clicking the image above. Notice how the top dome switches between several shades of blue, UV, green, and red. So it looks like Thermaltake has created another mostly-show, mediocre-go product. It's an interesting idea and certainly a novel execution, but from a pure performance standpoint it falls short. Yes it does have some impressive airflow at the higher speed and yes it looks different from any other UV LED fan on the market, but if you want more than just pretty lights, this barely makes the cut.
Pros
- Very interesting concept
- Includes rheostat fan controller
- Includes 80-92mm adapter
- Has UV LEDs and pulsating multi-color LEDs
- Good airflow at the max setting
Cons
- Sleeve bearing (lower lifespan)
- Some of the wires appear to be loosely connected
- Extremely narrow speed on range on the dial, making it almost impossible to vary speeds with precision
- Does not run at full speed when the jumper is "on" (instead it runs on minimum speed)
Thermaltake's StarForce is another innovative product; unfortunately its innovation lies mostly in its appearance. It has good airflow at tolerable levels (at the max setting), but the manual speed control is almost nonexistent, some of the wires are loose, and it doesn't run at max speed without the controller as advertised. If interested, you can find a retailer near you here.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 20 July 2007 )
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