Noiseblocker PK2 Mini-review
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 8:51 am
I've just fitted the PK2 to replace my faulty OCZ StealthXStream PSU fan ( viewtopic.php?f=6&t=63715 ) and whilst it seems like a nice package at first, there's a few things that let it down a bit IMHO.
Firstly, the rubber surround to go between the fan and the PSU case seems like a good idea, but whilst it has plugs to go in the fan corner screw holes, although the sides have a notch the fan doesn't have a corresponding ridge for it to be pressed on to, leaving the sides flapping around and making it that much harder to fit the fan. They've actually provided four individual rubber bungs to go in the screw holes and I've used these instead, but I can't imagine why anyone would want to try and use the full rubber surround considering it doesn't fit properly and they could have probably reduced the cost slightly by omitting this (and saved me a bit of time faffing around with it!)
It comes with two power extension leads, one short and one long (you have to use one or the other as the lead attached to the fan is very short). Unfortunately these are both three pin and my PSU connector is only a two pin, so I've had to pull the plastic surround off the PSU connector so that I can fit the lead with the spare (white) pin of the lead overhanging and not connected. Would have been nice if they'd provided a two-pin lead/adapter so that this wouldn't have been necessary. Perhaps it's marketed more as a case fan though and most (if not all) motherboard connectors are 3-pin, so I guess this is understandable.
Lastly, the PK2 comes with long bolts which go all the way through the fan screw holes, with round nuts to secure it on the other side. I'm not sure of the wisdom of having these nuts on the inside of the PSU, where they could potentially work loose over time and fall into the PSU (unlikely I know but still), shorting something. I would have thought it better just to provide slightly longer than normal screws (to accomodate the extra thickness from the rubber surround). I've just re-used the screws that were securing the old fan, so they could probably have omitted the bolts and nuts completely to reduce costs a bit, although again if the customer bought it to use as a case fan they might not have the necessary screws, so I guess I can understand them including some fixings, although I still think screws would have made more sense.
I was surprised to find the existing PSU fan is a Yate Loon D14SM-12, as I've never had a Yate Loon or Nexus go bad on me before, but I guess any brand has it's bad eggs. This is a 1400RPM, 62CFM fan compared to the PK2's 1200RPM, 54.7CFM but I think that's close enough not to worry about. The PK2 specs claim 20dB/A compared to the D14SM-12's 29dB/A though, so it should run quite a bit quieter which will be nice.
The D14SM-12 had a plastic deflector fitted on the AC input side of the fan, covering about half the fan. Obviously the PSU is designed to work like this, so it seems sensible to fit the deflector to the PK2 as well.
I'll update with my impressions of the noise level once I've worked up the courage to turn it on!
Firstly, the rubber surround to go between the fan and the PSU case seems like a good idea, but whilst it has plugs to go in the fan corner screw holes, although the sides have a notch the fan doesn't have a corresponding ridge for it to be pressed on to, leaving the sides flapping around and making it that much harder to fit the fan. They've actually provided four individual rubber bungs to go in the screw holes and I've used these instead, but I can't imagine why anyone would want to try and use the full rubber surround considering it doesn't fit properly and they could have probably reduced the cost slightly by omitting this (and saved me a bit of time faffing around with it!)
It comes with two power extension leads, one short and one long (you have to use one or the other as the lead attached to the fan is very short). Unfortunately these are both three pin and my PSU connector is only a two pin, so I've had to pull the plastic surround off the PSU connector so that I can fit the lead with the spare (white) pin of the lead overhanging and not connected. Would have been nice if they'd provided a two-pin lead/adapter so that this wouldn't have been necessary. Perhaps it's marketed more as a case fan though and most (if not all) motherboard connectors are 3-pin, so I guess this is understandable.
Lastly, the PK2 comes with long bolts which go all the way through the fan screw holes, with round nuts to secure it on the other side. I'm not sure of the wisdom of having these nuts on the inside of the PSU, where they could potentially work loose over time and fall into the PSU (unlikely I know but still), shorting something. I would have thought it better just to provide slightly longer than normal screws (to accomodate the extra thickness from the rubber surround). I've just re-used the screws that were securing the old fan, so they could probably have omitted the bolts and nuts completely to reduce costs a bit, although again if the customer bought it to use as a case fan they might not have the necessary screws, so I guess I can understand them including some fixings, although I still think screws would have made more sense.
I was surprised to find the existing PSU fan is a Yate Loon D14SM-12, as I've never had a Yate Loon or Nexus go bad on me before, but I guess any brand has it's bad eggs. This is a 1400RPM, 62CFM fan compared to the PK2's 1200RPM, 54.7CFM but I think that's close enough not to worry about. The PK2 specs claim 20dB/A compared to the D14SM-12's 29dB/A though, so it should run quite a bit quieter which will be nice.
The D14SM-12 had a plastic deflector fitted on the AC input side of the fan, covering about half the fan. Obviously the PSU is designed to work like this, so it seems sensible to fit the deflector to the PK2 as well.
I'll update with my impressions of the noise level once I've worked up the courage to turn it on!