Remember when UV first became popular? I must have spent my entire McDonald’s salary tricking out my case with every UV light I could get my hands on. My PC glowed like a street racer. It was in its own movie. I eventually moved out of the UV phase and into the LED era, where I remain even today. It seems a little more conserved to me. But UV is still popular, and today’s review is living proof. But this fan is much more than just a glow recipient.
It’s called the Wing 12 from Gelid. Here is the down low:
WING 12 UV Blue (FN-FW12-15-B)
120mm Gamer Fan
The WING UV Blue case fans are premium quality, UV reactive, ultra- quiet, dust and water proof cooling fans for gaming enthusiasts. This series features an unique bearing with patented design, winglet fans blades and low starting voltage. Only the highest quality materials have been used to manufacture this state-of-the-art cooling fan. Control the fan RPM speed according to your desire using the supplied voltage regulator. To add to the silence fan mounts replace traditional screws and are made of high quality, ultra-soft silicone which stop vibrations from the fan motor from traveling into your PC case.
Nanoflux Bearing (NFB)
Patented Nanoflux bearing incorporates a clever magnetic design, very high precision manufacturing and runs friction-free and operates noiseless. Electromagnetic fields are exploited to keep solid parts from touching. The load is carried by a magnetic field.
The Nano-technology composite ensures lowest abrasion and extreme durability (MTTF 100’000 hours). Compared to other Magnetic bearings this technology allows the impeller to be detached and thus the fan blades can be cleaned easily.
b) Nanoflux Bearing (NFB) compared to sleeve and ball bearings
Even though conventional sleeve and ball bearings currently dominate the fan market however both have their disadvantages. While sleeve bearings have very low noise emissions and are very cost effective, they tend to leak oil; once the oil has dissipated the fan can no longer operate. Ball bearings, on the other hand, while providing longer operating life are costlier, noisier and are prone to damage.
GELID’s Nanoflux bearing uses magnetic flux to limit contact and friction between the bearing and the shaft. High precision self-lubricated material eliminates oil leakage. The result is a ultra quiet long life bearing.
Fan Speed Control
The RPM speed of any fan can be controlled from full speed to low speed manually according to desire using this voltage regulator. This product is suitable for all high RPM fans and regulates between 5 and 12V.
Rubber Fan Mounts
Vibration from fan motors can travel into a PC case and become amplified when a fan is fitted tightly. This ‘vibrational’ noise is annoying if you wish to build a very quiet or virtually silent PC.
Features
- High quality materials insures long life even at high temperature
- Ultra-soft silicone polymer will not break or tear during installation
- Universal-Design fits most open chassis fan sizes (80mm,92mm,120mm) and PC cases
- Quick & Easy Tool Less Installation
Okay, so you got that much. But does it do the job? Looks are great, but if it can’t keep things chill I don’t want it near my case. I hooked it up to my fan controller so I could adjust speeds and check the airflow and dB levels. They claim that this fan operates “noiselessly”, then put right on the box that it operates at 25dB. A slight contradiction in writing, but it’s performance that counts. So here we go.
I plugged the fan into the controller and set my speed for 800 rpm. Using a Radio Shack DBA meter, I checked the sound levels at each speed. Here were the results for this test:
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So they at least keep the dB levels down. But how easy is it to take apart, as they promise? Actually not hard at all, it turns out. The blades pop off without having to deal with taking the back sticker off and trying to work that little plastic O ring out. I hate those things. And putting them back on has got to be one of the worst ways to spend half an hour. But the Wing 12 has done away with that. A little pressure on the blades, and it comes right off.
So to conclude, I find the Wing 12 to be fairly handy, even without the added UV potential. The ease of fan removal is a reason in itself to buy it. Gelid has taken all the stress out of cleaning fans with their innovative fan assembly. With the floating magnet and self-lubricating material instead of oil, it’ll be the cleanest fan assembly you ever did. Good airflow, quiet (not noiseless, however), and easy to clean. Also, you can light it up like a car in downtown L.A. Not too shabby, but airflow is definitely something that could be improved.
Even at top speed (1600rpm) the airflow was nothing more than what you get with factory fans. Still, this kit comes with everything you need in one box: a silencer module, rubber mounts, and an easy-to-clean UV fan.
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