Rheobus comparison: Evercool,Coolermaster, SunBeam

Modding/Small Mods by evangeliz @ 2004-02-15

If you are looking for ways to silence your PC, then read on to find out which one of these fan controllers is up to the job! We turn the knobs on the Evercool SCP-A, Coolermaster Aerogate II and a SunBeamTech Rheobus.

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Aerogate 2 & Conclusion

Coolermaster Aerogate II

Next up is the Coolermaster Aerogate II which has a very impressive look. It also has the best packaging of the 3 fan controllers we reviewed here; this translates into a higher asking price.

Unloading the box I end up with:
  • Extension cables
  • Temp probes
  • Bag of screws
  • A little manual
  • The fan controller

    Madshrimps (c)


    The Aerogate II is taking its power from a Molex and can control up to 4 fans, but one of the ports is already taken to power the little fan of the controller itself. If needed you can unplug this fan and put another fan on that port.

    Madshrimps (c)


    On the left of the controller you have a 40mm fan which is protected by a good looking fan grill. In the middle you have an LCD which provides speed and temperature read out of the fan selected and is black lit in blue.
    On the right you have several buttons and a knob to change the selected fan and change its speed.

    Madshrimps (c)


    A nice little option is that you can change the color of the knob on the right, there are 7 different colours but it only changes the color of the knob and has no affect on the LCD. This would have been a very nice option as now you have to live with 2 different colours.

    Madshrimps (c)


    I noticed some cool extras:
  • You have the choice between Celsius and Fahrenheit.
  • The extension cables are labelled which helps a lot as you don’t have to follow the wire to plug you fan.
  • The unit beeps if the speed of the fan is too low and is going to stop.
  • And a last option which I consider one of the best is that when the Aerogate II starts up it starts up the fans at 12V to return to their last known setting. This takes care of the fans which otherwise won’t start up due to not enough juice being fed to them. So you can use the Aerogate II safely on every component you have.
    As I stated earlier it looks difficult but the controller is very easy to use in fact. And everything explains itself once you work with it.

    Conclusion :

    Positive:
    Very complete package
    Good looking
    Gives good temp readings
    Changeable colours
    Labelled extension cables
    Hard disk cooler as extra use
    Easy to work with

    Negative
    Contra Points Unable to change backlight of the LCD
    Contra Points No thermal tape to stick the thermal probes to the correct spot.



    Global Conclusion

    If you need a fan controller that is very good looking, easy to work with, very complete and your not afraid to pay the price, go for the Coolermaster Aerogate II, which simple is the Rolls Royce of the fan controllers.

    Otherwise the Evercool and SunBeamTech are almost evenly matched. The Evercool has an alarm for fans that stop spinning; the SunBeamTech gives you the option to completely stop the fan. The Evercool is not really good looking and the SunBeamTech has a good finish. If you don’t want to spend a lot of money one of both would be good. Now it’s up to you to look which one would be the best looking one with your case.


    Comments/Questions: Forum thread
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