Turbine fans by Aerocool
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
Well fan has arrived and 1st impressions are excellent !
Fan is quite lightweight and held in the hand is vibration free.
Airflow at 12v is marginally higher than Nexus (observation only) and noise about same as Nexus (again observation only).
At around 7v - VERY quiet - again IMHO comparable to the Nexus 120mm. Airflow *MAY* be very slightly higher.
At 5v the fan emits no clicking or other noise - nice and smooth.
Blue LEDs stay on at 5v but only slightly - at 12v the Blue LEDs are subtle rather than glaring.
On the whole EXTREMELY impressed - well worth a closer look.
Fan bought from Tekheads - £11.32 + shipping each. I am off to order another as they seem to me to be as good as the Nexus, have open corners (so you can use fan isolators without cutting) and have Blue LED's for free (which may put some off I know).
Fan is quite lightweight and held in the hand is vibration free.
Airflow at 12v is marginally higher than Nexus (observation only) and noise about same as Nexus (again observation only).
At around 7v - VERY quiet - again IMHO comparable to the Nexus 120mm. Airflow *MAY* be very slightly higher.
At 5v the fan emits no clicking or other noise - nice and smooth.
Blue LEDs stay on at 5v but only slightly - at 12v the Blue LEDs are subtle rather than glaring.
On the whole EXTREMELY impressed - well worth a closer look.
Fan bought from Tekheads - £11.32 + shipping each. I am off to order another as they seem to me to be as good as the Nexus, have open corners (so you can use fan isolators without cutting) and have Blue LED's for free (which may put some off I know).
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Saw in the newegg pics that you can take off that cone thing. That thing actually do anything?acaurora wrote:FrozenCPU now carries it. I have TWO on order.
EDIT: Newegg now carries them, but only teh one with the silver blades / black frame. Personally, since it 's going to be sitting inside my case, I don't care. Plus, it's cheaper, but only by a few bucks ;P
No one has yet mentioned anything about the unusual shape of the blades, besides that it's supposed to look like a turbine. I don't remember any other fans with fins that aren't curved and angled inwards. I'm under the impression that this will make it blow more centrifugally, which would handicap it at blowing straight at something, but might make it a lot better at pulling air.
Awesome. Looking forward to hearing from you with orders on the way! The pitch of the fan looks pretty shallow...a good thing for high restrictive enviroments. And with that many blades and little if any gap between the blades, it gets even better from the theorical side of things.
To quote ferdb from a responce he once PMed me concerning another fan...
DrCR
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To quote ferdb from a responce he once PMed me concerning another fan...
Makes since when you think about it.My experience with the fans I have used is that the more complete the blade coverage is (the smaller the gaps between blades) the better it does on a restrictive environment. Also blades with a shallower pitch angle seem to do better on restrictive environments. This is countered by the fact that more blades means the blade noise pitch will be higher for the same RPM and more noticeable to the ear.
Personally I wouldn't jump to any conclusions as there are so many variables. The only real way to find out is to test one
DrCR
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Well, I got the fans in. My results are pretty much comparable to w00dy's.
and man these things ARE quiet....
but not AS quiet as the Nexus =[
While I do not have any raw measuring tools for CFM and noise, at full power the AeroCool seems to be a touch louder and of a medium pitch, unlike the Nexus which is of a low pitch. But I think I'll still keep 'em ;P
In terms of airflow, I don't know if it is just me, but the AeroCool seems to push more air, and I'm guessing because of the high number of blades is why the air feels to be moving faster in certain areas (i.e., the air will be moving faster around the perimeter of the fan, and less air from the middle), whereas the Nexus seems to push air in a uniform fashion.
Oh, and anyone that has this - Have any of you tried taking the hub cap off? I tried but wasn't able to - those things are screwed on tight! I tried using a rubber can opener mat and it wouldn't work and I didn't want to break one of the blades =[
and man these things ARE quiet....
but not AS quiet as the Nexus =[
While I do not have any raw measuring tools for CFM and noise, at full power the AeroCool seems to be a touch louder and of a medium pitch, unlike the Nexus which is of a low pitch. But I think I'll still keep 'em ;P
In terms of airflow, I don't know if it is just me, but the AeroCool seems to push more air, and I'm guessing because of the high number of blades is why the air feels to be moving faster in certain areas (i.e., the air will be moving faster around the perimeter of the fan, and less air from the middle), whereas the Nexus seems to push air in a uniform fashion.
Oh, and anyone that has this - Have any of you tried taking the hub cap off? I tried but wasn't able to - those things are screwed on tight! I tried using a rubber can opener mat and it wouldn't work and I didn't want to break one of the blades =[
In other words, it might best be used as an exhaust fan?... or even an inatake fan... just not as well as a CPU fanmathias wrote:No one has yet mentioned anything about the unusual shape of the blades, besides that it's supposed to look like a turbine. I don't remember any other fans with fins that aren't curved and angled inwards. I'm under the impression that this will make it blow more centrifugally, which would handicap it at blowing straight at something, but might make it a lot better at pulling air.
interesting.. still a little too expensive for my tastes but you get what you pay for
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Hello:
As somebody pointed out earlier, since the AeroCool's blades are basically straight, it is going to "flare" the air out more, since the air "slips off" the ends of the blades. Most fans have blades that are swept forward and so the air "slips" towards the center hub, and so they "hold" the air in a straighter column as it blows away from the trailing edges. The air coming away from the AeroCool is going to be more conical; getting wider as it blows away from the trailing edges.
As somebody pointed out earlier, since the AeroCool's blades are basically straight, it is going to "flare" the air out more, since the air "slips off" the ends of the blades. Most fans have blades that are swept forward and so the air "slips" towards the center hub, and so they "hold" the air in a straighter column as it blows away from the trailing edges. The air coming away from the AeroCool is going to be more conical; getting wider as it blows away from the trailing edges.
Sorta sure. The LEDs on the sunbeam controller switch colors at 7V supposedly. My panaflo 80mm L1As stop rotating just after the color changes on the LED.Rusty075 wrote:I've never had an L1A that doesn't start at 5v, and I've had plenty. Tiamat, are you sure about the voltage, there's no real accurate way to judge just from the knob on the controller.
I got them from Jab-tech - they are all chinaflos though.
I probably just got a bad batch...?
I think it would be lousy as an intake fan, if you're using it to cool hard drives, and good as a CPU fan, as long as it's pulling air away from the heatsink.GameManK wrote:In other words, it might best be used as an exhaust fan?... or even an inatake fan... just not as well as a CPU fan
Damn. I guess I still want my 50mm thick fan.acaurora wrote: While I do not have any raw measuring tools for CFM and noise, at full power the AeroCool seems to be a touch louder and of a medium pitch, unlike the Nexus which is of a low pitch.
Regarding the "hub cap" thing:
Of course if you have higher airflow at similar rpm's... you can run your fan slower = quieter
There's an interesting thing there about a conical addition to the fan hub (they call it a "conical center body"), and its effect airflow...RonG (on NeilBlanchard's Fan Idea thread) wrote: This article discusses air conditioner fans, but has some ideas that might be applied to smaller ones. Specifically, they talk about using foam to close the gap between the shroud and the blades of the fan, and letting the fan blades wear out a groove in the foam if there is some overlap. They also write about extending the shroud ( approximately one diameter ) and putting a cone over the center hub.
http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/bldg/baihp/pubs/develop/
Of course if you have higher airflow at similar rpm's... you can run your fan slower = quieter
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the fans are here, i got one Wednesday from www.coolpc.com.auvahagn wrote:Any projections as to when these will reach melbourne/australia? ...
not too bad, quiet at 750rpm, decent airflow too. i'm using it as an intake fan mounted on the side cover. doing a pretty good job, cpu is at 49C on prime95 for an hour, the 6800 vga is in high 40s idle, 67C after 3dmark05. hdd stable at 33C. all of these cooled by the Aerocool titanium turbine at 750rpm, everything inside the case being passive, ambient atm is 18C.
so yeah, is a good fan, quiet, decent airflow, but at the nominal speed (950rpm) is buzzing a bit. i think the rated 19.66 dBA is a bit optimistic, hehehe. anywhere below 800rpm is extremelly hard (if not impossible) to hear from 1m.
since Nexus fans are not available here in Oz, it seems the turbines are your best bet if looking for a quiet fan. oh, did i mention that, unlike the PAPST and SilenX fans, it works well with PWM?
okay, sweet! thx atomidude.
I'm going to use one of these in my shuttle SB83G5 'cause i hate the noise level of the stock cooling fan on this rig. Will take a small amount of work to fit the 120mm fan in their tho' as the stock on is 92mm, but i've checked and there is *only just* enough space if i make some interesting changes.
I'm going to use one of these in my shuttle SB83G5 'cause i hate the noise level of the stock cooling fan on this rig. Will take a small amount of work to fit the 120mm fan in their tho' as the stock on is 92mm, but i've checked and there is *only just* enough space if i make some interesting changes.
I live in Australia as well, and as mentioned previously we can't get any of the Nexus fans locally. I was looking at getting some 120mm Coolermaster NEON LED fans as they appeared to have good specs (low rpm & noise) but after seeing these turbines I might get the turbines instead. What do you guys reckon?
listen to me mate, don't touch the coolermaters, they're crap. i've got one a few weeks ago, it will buzz at any speed... turbines are much better imhoSutcliffe wrote:I live in Australia as well, and as mentioned previously we can't get any of the Nexus fans locally. I was looking at getting some 120mm Coolermaster NEON LED fans as they appeared to have good specs (low rpm & noise) but after seeing these turbines I might get the turbines instead. What do you guys reckon?
My impression
Ok mine arrived and I've played with it for a day or so. Here is my mini review:
I purchased the "2000" model which has chrome blades and a black surround.
Here are some photos - click to enlarge to full size.
Here's what it looks like in the packaging:
and rear:
Looking at the front of the fan:
and the rear:
and the all important (open) corners:
Down to business:
It looks very nicely constructed and I was surprised at how light the whole fan was. The blades are extremely light and appear quite fragile. Removing the turbine shaped cap required some force and I was really worried I'd break the blades in the process. The leds are nice blue things on all four corners embedded in the surround, but generally I don't go for the bling factor so I couldn't care less. However for those that are interested, the LED illumination works at 5v or at minimum pwm control albeit much less brightly. I can see how hard my pc is working by the ambient light level as well as the noise Looking at the fan while the LED is working it acts like a strobe and the fan blades appear to move in different directions depending on speed. I have no idea if the rpm monitoring is active or not because the rpms are just too low for my sensors to pick up, and there is no mention on the packaging or web site if rpm monitoring is supported.
At 12v this is a very quiet fan, but not absurdly quiet. The pitch of the fan sound is definitely different to other 12cm fans being significantly higher and resembles more that of an 8cm fan - presumably due to the 16 blades. Dropped to about 7v it is virtually inaudible over my other fans. It turns at all voltages from 5-12 and all levels of pwm control from my motherboard. It did not reliably start at 5v in all planes though. Strangely in one horizontal plane blowing down it was ticking madly like it was hitting something but I could not see anything hitting the blades and they moved freely. Fortunately I did not plan to use it in this direction. Over the range of voltages or pwm it exhibited no unpleasant noises dropping flow smoothly. Compared to a Nexus? Probably at the same airflow it is subjectively noisier, however the important thing is if you drop the voltage enough, this fan is inaudible.
The airflow pattern from this fan is indeed going to limit its effectiveness in certain applications. The blown air is sprayed outwards from the fan blades and not forwards from the fan which would create a massive dead spot if you tried to blow it towards something . It's much more suited to a case airflow position or sucking from a heatsink. It should also be fine blowing into a PSU since all the air will be directed the correct way. All in all a very decent fan with some caveats, and definitely worth its money. In Australia where our choice of locally sold fans is limited it is right up there.
I purchased the "2000" model which has chrome blades and a black surround.
Here are some photos - click to enlarge to full size.
Here's what it looks like in the packaging:
and rear:
Looking at the front of the fan:
and the rear:
and the all important (open) corners:
Down to business:
It looks very nicely constructed and I was surprised at how light the whole fan was. The blades are extremely light and appear quite fragile. Removing the turbine shaped cap required some force and I was really worried I'd break the blades in the process. The leds are nice blue things on all four corners embedded in the surround, but generally I don't go for the bling factor so I couldn't care less. However for those that are interested, the LED illumination works at 5v or at minimum pwm control albeit much less brightly. I can see how hard my pc is working by the ambient light level as well as the noise Looking at the fan while the LED is working it acts like a strobe and the fan blades appear to move in different directions depending on speed. I have no idea if the rpm monitoring is active or not because the rpms are just too low for my sensors to pick up, and there is no mention on the packaging or web site if rpm monitoring is supported.
At 12v this is a very quiet fan, but not absurdly quiet. The pitch of the fan sound is definitely different to other 12cm fans being significantly higher and resembles more that of an 8cm fan - presumably due to the 16 blades. Dropped to about 7v it is virtually inaudible over my other fans. It turns at all voltages from 5-12 and all levels of pwm control from my motherboard. It did not reliably start at 5v in all planes though. Strangely in one horizontal plane blowing down it was ticking madly like it was hitting something but I could not see anything hitting the blades and they moved freely. Fortunately I did not plan to use it in this direction. Over the range of voltages or pwm it exhibited no unpleasant noises dropping flow smoothly. Compared to a Nexus? Probably at the same airflow it is subjectively noisier, however the important thing is if you drop the voltage enough, this fan is inaudible.
The airflow pattern from this fan is indeed going to limit its effectiveness in certain applications. The blown air is sprayed outwards from the fan blades and not forwards from the fan which would create a massive dead spot if you tried to blow it towards something . It's much more suited to a case airflow position or sucking from a heatsink. It should also be fine blowing into a PSU since all the air will be directed the correct way. All in all a very decent fan with some caveats, and definitely worth its money. In Australia where our choice of locally sold fans is limited it is right up there.
Last edited by ckolivas on Wed Jun 29, 2005 7:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Re: My impression
ckolivas, you have more or less said it in the above but just wanted to confirmckolivas wrote:
The blown air is sprayed outwards from the fan blades and not forwards from the fan which would create a massive dead spot if you tried to blow it towards something . It's much more suited to a case airflow position or sucking from a heatsink.
The fan won't be a good in a psu? I have a Yate Loon LED fan in the psu and was hoping to swap as the Aerocool seemed quieter.
Thanks.