Scythe AD1212DS-A73GL(6TCL3)Ever since our first Scythe product review back in 2003 we have see them bundle a wide range of fans with the CPU Coolers, as time went by they decided to be more picky about which fan they wanted to use, and in the end they decided to just build and spec their own. In our roundup we have a group of brand new Scythe fans, as well as a collection of older products.
First one came bundled with a CPU cooler, nothing fancy, large motor area, and simple colors:
Rated at 1200rpm at 12v this fan is not really unique at first sight, the performance/noise ratio at full speed is above average, undervolting at 7v doesn’t pay off much, as its efficiency is below average. At 5v it goes up again slightly. Motor noise is present but nothing irritating.
Scythe DFS122512L-PWMThis one is a new product, you can see the new Scythe logo featured on the sticker, it’s a PWM fan and comes with 4-pin connector for motherboard header as well as one for your PSU connector if needed.
It’s also rated at 1200rpm at 12v as the older fan tested above, efficiency is on par with the older fan too at full speed, above average for sure. At 7v the performance/noise ratio is quite good as this PWM fan scores above average. At 5v the fan doesn’t start so no data obtained here. Motor noise is only slightly audible at 12/7v. So overall a rather “ok” fan without any outstanding features except for the PWM.
Scythe SA1225HP12LVRThis is one of the first retail fans available from Scythe, it comes with its own fan speed controller hooked up to a PCI bracket. If you see a VR or V in the product name of Scythe fans chances are high the fan comes with a fan speed controller.
This fan is rated at 1600rpm at 12v which is quite high, and it’s definitely not quiet at full speed, efficiency rating is below average at 12v as expected. At 7v the fan does much better, scoring quite high in fact performance/noise wise. Unfortunately motor noise is very noticeable either at 12 or 7v; so not recommended for silent computing.
Scythe S-FLEX SFF21EThe S-Flex series put Scythe in the spotlight of many enthusiasts when they were released, using Fluid Dynamic bearings they have very low motor noise. The SFF21E model is first on the test bed:
The “E” model is rated at 1200rpm at 12v as many of the fans in this roundup, efficiency at this voltage is quite good and well above average, at 7v it manages only to be on par with average score; at 5v it’s noticeably lower than the average. Motor noise is completely gone when undervolted, so that’s a definite bonus.
Scythe S-FLEX SFF21FThe “F” model is rated at 1600rpm at 12v and its specs sticker gets another color:
At full speed definitely no candidate for silent computing, it scores below average. At 7v things are better but not good enough to be better than the average. Sweet spot for this fan is at 5v where it offers a very good performance/noise ratio.
Scythe SY122512WH-VROur second new Scythe fan is white color and equipped with fan controller and LEDs for visual effect.
A nice effect when powered on, this fan doesn’t have a Fluid Dynamic bearing as the S-Flex but the more familiar Sleeve bearing. Rated at 1600rpm at 12v let’s see how it compares to the S-Flex F. At 12v both are evenly loud, but motor noise is slightly higher with this model. At 7v the performance/noise ratio of the WH-VR is higher than average and much better than the S-Flex, despite it’s slightly noisier motor. At 5v this fan is very quiet with no audible motor noise and performance/noise ratio is very good, in the TOP.
Scythe SY1225SL12LThe SY1225SL12L and SY1225SL12SL (see below) are part of a larger product line-up of these fans with very thin blades, they go from 500rpm to way over 1000rpm ; we included the two most interesting products in this roundup.
Rated at 800rpm this fan is silent out of the box, it scores amazingly high in the performance/noise ranking, top of the list in fact for all fans running at 12v, the gap with the second best is huge. We can undervolt this fan, at 7v the efficiency remains well above average but it’s actually slightly worse than at 12v. The fan starts at 5v but no performance/noise ratio is below average. Motor noise is absent at 5/7v, only slightly audible at 12v.
Scythe SY1225SL12SLThe slowest spinning fan in this roundup clocks in at 500rpm :
This fan is just too slow, granted that at 12v it scores above average performance/noise wise than most fans, it doesn’t run at 5v (what a surprise) and efficiency is lower at 7v than average. This product should not exist, the
SY1225SL12L has this fan’s performance range covered.
Scythe SY1225SL12VBLOur last Scythe fan in this roundup comes with LED lighting and has its own fan controller. It’s very similar to the Scythe SY122512WH-VR, and also spins at 1600rpm, the blades and frame are made from transparent plastic:
A nice blue LED lighting makes it one of the more flashy products in the roundup. The outcome of this fan almost on par with the SY122512WH-VR, they excel at 5v, do ok at 7v, and below average at 12v.
Sharkoon Silent Eagle 2000The
Sharkoon Silent Eagle is better known as the « golf ball » fan, as the surface of its fan blades look exactly like that. We’re testing the 2000rpm model here, unfortunately the 1000rpm model we no longer have in our labs. Sharkoon does not label their Silent Eagle model so we added our own “2000rpm” tag to the label.
At 2000rpm this is a very high performance fan, also means that efficiency is quite low at 12v, undervolted to 7v the fan is immediately quieter but even at 5v remains very noticeable. Efficiency at 5/7v is below average, best performance/noise ratio had at 5v but it’s nowhere close the top.
SilenX Ixtrema Pro IXP-74-11SilenX is a company also specialized in producing low noise products for the PC enthusiast market. They send us their Ixtreme Pro 120mm fan. Inside the retail box you’ll find 3to4 pin power connector, mounting screws as well as anti-vibration mounts.
A special color this fan, it doesn’t have any LEDs or UV but the paint finish does set it apart from the other fans. What we noticed most was the frame of the IXP-74-11, all it’s completely straight, no curves or cutouts like all the other fans in this test, the inner side of the frame is just like the inside of a tube. Whether or not this affects performance…
At 12v the Ixtrema Pro runs at 1100rpm at and offers a better performance/noise balance than the average fan in the roundup; unfortunately motor noise is an issue at 12v as it was quite noticeable. Undervolting improves this though, at 7v and 5v the motor noise is much quieter. The best efficiency is had at 7v where the Ixtrema Pro scores all above average and grabs a spot in the TOP 10. At 5v perf/noise ratio remains very good, only slightly lower than at 7v.
Xthermal BTF120PROThe last fan in our roundup is also a new comer,
Xthermal is a Polish company focused on silent and performing products, their first commercially available product is the BTF fan series; we’re testing the BTF 120 Pro here. In the retail box you’ll find 3to4 pin power adapter, soft rubber mounts and a 9v power adapter.
A transparent frame and semi translucent fan blades make this quite a unique looking product. There’s LED version available for those who want to make it even flashier. Good things first, motor noise is as good as absent, their Sleeve bearing pays off here, at different voltages the noise was not distinguishable. At 12v this fan runs at 1200rpm, the performance/noise ratio here is above average, on par with the SilenX IXP-74-11 in fact. Unfortunately undervolting doesn’t improve things, at 5v the fan doesn’t spin, at 7v the efficiency is quite low and below average.
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It would be nice to have multiple scatter graphs with different groups of performers so differences can be seen better. I still prefer them over the MER.