Scythe is very well known for excellent cooling solutions, many of the CPU coolers are sought after for their excellent cooling abilities. Today for review I’ve got five of Scythes new ‘Slip Stream’ 120mm fans ranging from 500rpms to 1900rpms. Do they live up to Scythes excellent reputation? Read on to find out…

Review: Scythe 120mm Slip Stream Fans

Author: Kristofer Brozio

Sponsor: Scythe

Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info:

Scythe "SLIP STREAM" 120mm Case Fans

Price: $9.80

Reduced Center Hub Dimension and Enlarged Fan Blade! Silent to Power User Ready! 5 Different RPM to Choose from!

Features:

Silent to Power User Ready

Silent user can obtain more airflow without sacrificing in noise level and power user can get extra airflow from the static pressure feature. Total 5 different rpm to choose from! (500rpm ~ 1900rpm)

4-Pin Peripheral Adapter Provides More Airflow

Compare to a standard 120mm case fan available in the market, Scythe Slip Stream 120mm case fan generates more airflow (Approximately 20~40% more).

4-Pin Peripheral Adapter Provided

To be versatile, this case fan comes with the 4-pin peripheral adapter.

Specs:

Model Number:

SY1225SL12SL (500 rpm version)

SY1225SL12L (800 rpm version)

SY1225SL12M (1,200 rpm version)

SY1225SL12H (1,600 rpm version)

SY1225SL12SH (1,900 rpm version)

{amazon id=’B000UPUYFG’ align=’RIGHT’}

Manufacturer: Scythe Co., Ltd. Japan

Dimensions: 120 x 120 x 25 mm

Weight: 115g

Connector: 3-pin (3-pin to 4pin adapter included)

Bearing Type: Sleeve Bearing

MTBF: 30,000 hours

A Better Look at Things

As you know I’ve got five 1200MM Scythe fans for review, don’t worry though I didn’t take pictures of all of them since they all look exactly the same.

The packaging is nicely done, the fans come packaged in a plastic box allowing you to see the fans perfectly.

Of course the backs of the boxes have all the specs and features listed in several languages as you might expect.

The Scythe Slip Stream fans are solid black with no LEDs or anything like that. They come with mounting screws and a Molex adapter to run the fans at full speed if need be. The fans all have nine blades that are pitched sharply, and they have a smaller center hub to allow for more airflow.

Installation, Testing and Comparison

To test the performance of any fan I’ve decided the best way to do this is to attach it to a CPU cooler and see what kinds of temps I get while using them. I believe this is a good indication of the performance one could expect to receive. Of course depending on your setup things might be a bit different, it all depends on the CPU cooler, case and other configurations of your setup.

Obviously using these as a regular case fan is an option as well, the CPU cooler will restrict some of the airflow as a case would not for the most part. Using them attached to a CPU cooler though is a nice indication of their overall cooling abilities.

I attached the Scythe Slip Stream fans to my Coolink Silentator CPU cooler, which is attached to my Intel P4955X CPU running at 3.46Ghz. Arctic Cooling MX-2 thermal compound is used, and it’s all attach to my Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R motherboard inside of a Thermaltake Matrix VX case.

Since there is the option to use the Molex to run these fans at their rated full speed I have two graphs below showing the temps recorded with the fans connected to the CPU motherboard header and just connected via the Molex adapter. I’ve included the Coolink stock fan as a reference point since we already know that fan is silent and performs well with this CPU cooler.

Connecting the fan to the CPU header does make them run below their rated speeds as one would expect, all of the fans ran quietly while connected this way, with the 1900RPM version being the only one that was audible over the other components in my system.

As we can see 1200RPM and 1600RPMs seems to be where the best performance lies while using this CPU cooler.

Here we have the temps for the fans connected directly to a Molex connector via the supplied adapter. Here the fans all run at their rated speeds, the 1600RPM was audible but not overly so, while the 1900RPM was personally unbearably loud, the other lower RPM version were virtually silent.

Here again we can see the 1200RPM and 1600RPM fans have the best noise/performance ratio. Of course we can see the 1900RPM offers the lowest temperatures but at a cost of a very loud system. 800, 1200 and 1600RPMs all offer virtual silence and great performance over the stock Coolink fan.

Depending on your needs you’ll choose what’s best for your setup of course.

Summary:

Obviously depending on your needs and your tolerance for sound you’ll choose the right fan for you, these fans offer something for everyone, from a silent HTPC to a serious overclockers needs.

From my testing I’ve seen the sweet spot with these fans is between the 1200RPM and 1600RPM fans, they offer a nice balance of noise and performance. That’s not to say the others are not good though, it all depends on the situation you’ll be using then in.

DragonSteelMods gives the Scythe 120mm Slip Stream Fans collectively a 5 out of 5 score.

Pros:

-Dual power options

-Quiet

-Good airflow

-Included adapters

-Well made

Cons:

-Higher rpm is loud

I would like to thank Scythe for the chance to review the Slip Stream 120mm Fans and for their continued support of DSM.