Previously on DragonSteelMods..Kris reviewed the Scythe 120mm Slip Stream Fans. Today, I will be looking at the bigger brother of the Slip Streams, the Ultrakaze fans. With three rpm versions, there is bound to be one Ultra Kaze fan to fit your cooling needs.
The Slip Streams scored a perfect 5/5 on Kris review; lets see if the Ultra Kaze 120mm fans can match that rating. Lets get started..
Review: Scythe Ultrakaze 120mm Fans
Reviewed by: Tomas Ratas
Sponsor: Scythe
Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
Static Pressure Type (38mm Thickness)! Silent to Power User Ready!
Features:
Silent to Power User Ready
Silent user can obtain more airflow without sacrificing in noise level (1000rpm ~ 2000rpm) and power user can get extra airflow from the static pressure feature (2000rpm ~ 3000rpm).
4-Pin Peripheral Adapter Provided
To be versatile, this case fan comes with the 4-pin peripheral adopter.
Specifications:
Model Name:
ULTRA KAZE 120mm Case Fan 1000rpm
ULTRA KAZE 120mm Case Fan 2000rpm
ULTRA KAZE 120mm Case Fan 3000rpm
Model Number:
DFS123812L-1000 (1000rpm version)
DFS123812L-2000 (2000rpm version)
DFS123812H-3000 (3000rpm version)
Manufacturer: Scythe Co., Ltd. Japan
Model Number:
Fan Speed
Noise
Airflow
Rated
Voltage:Rated
Current:DFS123812L-1000
1,000 rpm
19.81dBA
44.44CFM
DC12V
0.25 A
DFS123812L-2000
2,000 rpm
32.91dBA
87.63CFM
DC12V
0.25 A
DFS123812H-3000
3,000 rpm
45.90dBA
133.60CFM
DC12V
0.60 A
Dimensions: 120 x 120 x 38mm
Weight: 225g
Connector: 3-pin (3-pin to 4pin adapter included)
Bearing Type: Sleeve Bearing
MTBF: 30,000 hour
Price: $12.00
A Better Look at Things
:
The Scythe Ultra Kaze fans come in a clear rectangular plastic box with the fan prominently seen below a small rectangle with the fans specifications. The boxes for the different fan speeds are all the same except for the rotation speed of the fan being a different color for the 1000, 2000 and 3000 speed fans.
The back of the package lists the specifications in a table format along with the two year warranty information.
Inside the package, one finds the fan, four screws, a three pin to four pin adapter and four screws. The center of the fan has a golden sticker with the Scythe name and logo and the model number listed below it.
The fan weighs 225 grams and is black with seven fins. The Ultra Kaze are 38mm thick, this is a thick fan! Compared to the Antec Evercool 120 mm, they are almost doubly as thick.
The three pin fan cable measures approximately 11 inches long, when fully extended.
Installation, Testing and Comparison
For testing, I decided to attach the Scythe Ultra Kaze to a CPU cooler to see how well they perform. Of course performance results will vary from system to system, but this should give a good idea about the fans capabilities.
My test system is :
Motherboard: ABIT IP35-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU: Intel E2140
HeatSink: Cooler Master GeminII using Arctic Cooling MX-2 thermal compound
RAM: Crucial Ballisitx DDR2 800 – 2GB
PSU: OCZ Powerstream 520W
Graphics: eVGA 7600GT
Hard Drive: 300GB WD SATA running Windows XP Pro (SP2)
The E2140 was overclocked to 2800MHz (350×8) with the memory running at 1:1.
This system was running outside of a case with an ambient room temperature of 18C.
Speedfan 4.33 was used to monitor fan and CPU temps. The CPU temperature was logged via Speedfan and the high is listed for each fan.
In addition to the Ultra Kaze fans, I used a stock Intel C2D HSF from a E6600 retail kit.
For idle temps, the PC was run with just the antivirus active in the background. For stress testing, I used Orthos Beta to run both cores. The idle and stress tests were run for half hour each.
As you can see, the performance of the Ultra Kaze became better with increase in RPMs. However, the volume of the fans became exponentially louder from 1000 to 3000.
In fact the Ultra Kaze 3000 is unbearably loud compared to all the other fans. Unless you are running a jet engine simulator, you should best avoid this fan if you value silence.
The 1000 RPM Ultra Kaze did easily best the stock heatsink cooler, but that can also be attributed to the massive GeminII cooler.
Summary:
What can I say about the Ultra Kaze. Their performance speaks for itself. If you have a machine that needs some heavy duty cooling, then the Ultra Kaze series is the one for you. As long as you are willing to sacrifice some silence for performance, you will not be disappointed.
DragonSteelMods gives the the Ultra Kaze 120m Fan Series a 5 out of 5 score.
Pros:
– Excellent cooling
– Solidly made
– Solid construction
– Great for Overclockers
Cons:
– The higher rpm fans are loud
I would like to thank Scythe for the chance to review the Ultra Kaze 120m Fan Series and for their support of DSM.
review#342