Thermaltake A2016 80mm Smart Fan Review
Introduction
I got this fan to help with the cooling in the X-Blade case of mine. It was $10 at Newegg, but it is a bit more expensive now. Here are the specs, straight from ThermalTake's website
| Product Number | A2016 |
| Rated Voltage | 12V |
| Started Voltage | 6V |
| Rated Current | 0.15~0.48A |
| Power Input |
1.80~5.76W
|
| Fan Speed | 130020% RPM at 20C~ 480010% RPM at 55C |
| Max. Air Flow | 21.6~72.5CFM |
| Max. Air Pressure | 1.51~8.46mm-H2O |
| Noise | 17dBA at 1300 RPM~ 48.5dBA at 4800 RPM |
| Bearing Type |
1 Ball 1 Sleeve
|
| Life Expectation | 50,000 hrs |
| Connecter | 3 Pin |
| Weight | 79 g |
So, it has some very nice specs. Yes, it moves 72.5 Cubic Feet of air. That is an incredible amount of movement. However, it does it at 46 decibels, which is *very* loud. I would recommend keeping it around the middle in RPMs, that way, it still moves a ton of air, but it isn't too loud.
One more thing, while it says that it has a 3 pin connecter, it also has a 4 pin connecter which I would recommend using, just so that you don't risk damaging your motherboard.
In the Box
There is the fan, a temperature sensor, and a PCI bracket that controls fan speed. The box itself was rather simple to open; it wasn't as hard as some of the other computer boxes out there, think hand held game containers.
The Fan
The fan itself looks fairly typical, though it was a little more translucent than transparent. Unlike most LED fans, it only has 3 leds instead of the normal 4. This does make a difference in the lighting power of the fan, my cheapo 4-led fans that came with the X-Blade case are much brighter than it. It has three modes, full speed, temperature controlled, and user controlled.
At full speed, the fan is almost unbearable in noise. It overpowers everything else in my case. I run it near the middle setting to protect my hearing :). At that speed, it still moves a lot of air, but doesn't make as much noise.
At full speed, however, it moves a ton of air. Thermaltake wasn't joking about 70 CFM of air.
The PCI bracket
The bracket is simple, with the knob and a Thermaltake logo. The knob itself feels a bit flimsy, but not enough to concern me.
Conclusion
This is a great fan, if the noise doesn't bother you. It is a little more than other 80mm fans, but it is higher quality, and moves a ton more air. I personally am planning on replacing the stock fans that came with my case with these as funds allow.
Discuss the product and the review here: http://www.furytech.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=65
| Pros | Cons |
| Moves a TON of air
Controllable |
Loud
Relatively expensive |