TMD fans

[campbellcopeland]

I have just upgraded my heatsink - got an SLK800 (bloody big lump of copper) and it seems to be good. CPU temp gone from about 54C under full load before to low 40C now - case temp about 28C.

Now I am looking for a good fan to go with this (salvaged current fan from old PSU so obviously looking for a new one).

I like the idea of the Smart Fan II from Thermaltake, but have also been reading about the new <A HREF="http://www.ystech.com.tw/Tmd/tmd-0.htm" target="_new">Y.S. TECH Tip-Magnetic Driving Fan</A>. Does anyone have any experience of either of these - or an alternative (preferably not too loud - some of the Deltas and the Tornado (about 55 DBa) have great air flow but would drive my girlfriend mad - not a good thing)

Campbell...

 

[bum_jcrules]

The Smart Fan II or <A HREF="http://www.thermaltake.com/products/dcfan/a1357.htm" target="_new">Thermaltake A1357</A>, is by far the best fan or one of the top by far for 80mm fans.

The A1357 (Smart Fan) for example runs between 20.55 CFM and 17 dBA at 1300RPM at the low end and 75.7 CFM and 48 dBA at 4800RPM. There are not any other fans in the 80mm range that can beat them.

If you don't have any personal experience with the Y.S. Fan. I have only looked at it from afar. It makes sense to have a edge driven fan to mazimize airflow through the middle. However I don't know if it is easier to get one now, because a way back access to buying one was difficult. Another good fan is the Panasonic, Panaflo, FBA08A12U1A. Use a rheostat with it and drop it down to 2950RPM to get 39.6 CFM at 32 dBA. (100 grams, Min - 7 V = 24 CFM and 21 dBA, Max - 13.8 V = 46.9 CFM and 38.2 dBA. You can also use the Paspt.

I know that the Thermaltake is the best by far unless that Y.S. fan is better for airflow.

I hope this helps...

<b>"If I melt dry ice in a bathtub, can I take a bath without getting wet?" - Steven Wright</b>

 

[phsstpok]

When I first read about the TMD fans I liked the idea of them. I think the projection was for 30% more air flow for a given size and RPM. There were also claims that there would be less noise because there are no exposed fan tips, supposedly the source of much of the total noise from a fan.

Now that the fans really exist I'm not so sure I do like them. Here is why. For one thing, I seem to be able to find them in 70x70x15 mm size only. This is not bad for me since I have a rare 70mm heatsink but the size does not allow for much flexibility of use. I can't find any information regarding the amount of airflow for this fan but it spins at 4500 RPM and produces 32 dBA of noise. My present fan is the same size and spins at 5000 RPM and also produces the same amount of noise. So far this does not say much for the "quietness" of the TMD fan. At least it's not quieter than my fan. I can't really compare the noise level of the two fans unless I know the relative difference in air flow. I read a review of the fan (I forget the source) that wasn't very favorable. That's about it.

<b>I have so many cookies I now have a FAT problem!</b>

 

[cakecake]

Comprehensive review. This guy loves to stroke his ego so try to read between the lines when he starts going off.

<A HREF="http://www.dansdata.com/tmdfan.htm" target="_new">http://www.dansdata.com/tmdfan.htm</A>

1° of separation between my monopoly and yours. That's business with .NET

 

[campbellcopeland]

I have ordered a SmartFan II today since according to the Y.S. Tech web site, the TMD fan will not be available in 80x80x25mm size until the end of August (no doube a fair bit longer until they appear in UK shops).

Will probably buy a TMD fan when they appear (just cos they are different). Got a feeling they will work well with my SLK800 since a 80mm fan hangs over the heatsink at the sides - my thinking is that the smaller the centre of the fan is, the more air passes over the heatsink...might not quite work like that though...

Anyway, I'm sure the SmartFan II will work well until then (and as a good case fan afterwards).

Campbell...

 

[phsstpok]

Nice review but now I've got to try one. Anything that promises a little more quiet.

<b>I have so many cookies I now have a FAT problem!</b>

 

[phsstpok]

Well, I got around to buying one of those TMD fans, the 5800 RPM, 70 mm model. I think it blows only 36 CFM of air but supposedly produces 38-39 dBA of noise. It really does not seem that loud being less than half as loud (subjectively) as the 32 dBA fan I replaced which was about 2/3 as loud (also subjectively) as the 60mm, 46 dBA Delta I had in the beginning. The TMD fan is about as loud as each of my 80mm case fans. In other words, quiet, not silent but quiet.

Cooling isn't as good as I had hoped. Right now my CPU is running at 45 degrees which is 2 degrees higher than I was getting with my previous fan. It's a hot day so I'm going to guess that the CPU runs about a single degree warmer than my with my other fan. This not so good as I was hoping for an improvement due to the claims of higher thermal efficiency (or whatever) from these fans). I used to have an aluminum heatsink with a 60mm Delta fan which ran my CPU at 40 degrees but I just could not take the noise.

All in all, I'm happy now that my system is quiet.

By the way I have a Tbird 1.0 overclocked to 1.33 Ghz normally and 1.5 Ghz while gaming on an Epox 8KTA3PRO KT133A motherboard. My heatsink is an <A HREF="http://www.nexfan.com/29/331.htm?457" target="_new">Evercool CUD-715</A> which was the largest heatsink that would fit my motherboard. Epox mobos have very tall capacitors. On the 8KTA3PRO they are about 40mm tall and sit very close to the socket. (I think the SLK800 will fit but it wasn't available when I was looking).

Now for the bad news. I've recently learned of an alleged recall of Swiftech HSFs using TMD fans. I don't know if this is true but I heard the inrush current is about 0.8 amp which may be enough to burn out many mobo fan headers. The nominal current demands of these fans (the 5800 RPM, 70mm model) is about 0.32 amp which wouldn't be a problem to fan headers.

I'm powering my fan directly from the power supply.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How did you do with the SmartFan II?






<b>I have so many cookies I now have a FAT problem!</b>

 

[bum_jcrules]

How much does that 70mm fan weigh?

<b>"If I melt dry ice in a bathtub, can I take a bath without getting wet?" - Steven Wright</b>

 

[phsstpok]

The Evercool fan is kind of heavy since it is made of aluminum. It's a little heavier than an 80mm case fan, maybe a third of a pound. The Y.S Tech TMD fan is much lighter, maybe only half as much.

<b>I have so many cookies I now have a FAT problem!</b>

 

[phsstpok]

Thought you would be interested in <A HREF="http://www.envynews.com/review.php?ID=163&page=3" target="_new">this review of the SLK800</A> with Antec SmartFan and TMD fan and others. (I'm assuming the Antec fans are rebadged Thermaltake and Y.S.Tech models).

The TMD fan does quite well.

<b>I have so many cookies I now have a FAT problem!</b><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by phsstpok on 09/12/02 01:24 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[bum_jcrules]

Interesting...

Thanks for the link.

One comment on this reviewer's setup:

Did you see the <A HREF="http://www.envynews.com/reviews/images/163/28.jpg" target="_new">120mm fan right next to it</A>? That will most certianly skew things a little. Just an observation.

I like his cabling job. Very neat and clean.

<b>"If I melt dry ice in a bathtub, can I take a bath without getting wet?" - Steven Wright</b>

 

[phsstpok]

He's got two 120mm case fans but they are only the 90 cfm variety. Not the ear shattering 120 cfm'ers. So I can't really compare to my own system (although I have roughly the same speed processor). Although the relative performance between the different CPU fans should still be valid.

I really like this TMD fan. Despite the factory numbers it's really quiet. It's roughly equavlent to my two 30 CFM case fans in noise. Up close it sounds really strange. Besides the "whoosh" sound I hear a lower pitched hum and a faint high pitched clickty sound. Three feet away I only hear the whoosh.

I'm finding some strange and surprising results. My old heatsink with the Delta fan gave me the best overclocking but it was way too noisy so it doesn't count. I picked up this Evercool CUD-715 heatsink which was about 2/3 as loud, has about the same number of CFMs, 42, but didn't cool as well. My CPU ran about 3 degrees warmer for both idle and max load (using Toast). This TMD fan (still using the CUD-715 heatsink) doesn't seem to cool that well maybe a degree or two warmer, idle and load. The strange thing is my case temperature went up about 3 degrees. When I remove my intake fan nothing changes. Before, though I had a lower case temperature to start, my temperature would go up 3 degrees only after I removed the intake fan. If I tried to remove that fan with the other configuration I'd run into stability problems.

Somehow I can still overclock to the same 1.5 Ghz (Tbird is a 1.0 Ghz). My case is 3 degrees warmer. My CPU is 1 or 2 degrees warmer (than with the Evercool fan not the Delta) but now I can run with one case fan and much quieter CPU fan.

My new results were not intuitive.

<b>I have so many cookies I now have a FAT problem!</b>