Deepcool Reveals New Frameless Smart RGB Case Fans

News
By Derek Forrest
published

Deepcool announced a new set of RGB fans that feature a frameless design and WiFi capabilities.

The new Deepcool MF120 fan set features three 120mm PWM fans with an all-aluminum skeleton frame that is designed to allow the double-layer blades to generate positive air pressure without obstruction from the fan structure. The fans also sport vibration-dampening technology, and they can spin anywhere from 500RPM to 2,200RPM with their fluid dynamic bearings.

The new fan kit’s RGB lighting (light bars that run along the inner sides of the aluminum frame) can be controlled by your smartphone – the included controller hub can be connected to a WiFi network and made accessible to your Apple or Android devices with a companion app. The software will allow you to change the colors (all 1.67 million of them) and customize the five built-in lighting effects (dynamic, static, breathing, comet, and fashion collision) for a total of 36 interchangeable lighting modes.

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The controller itself appears to be compatible with a 2.5” drive bay mount, making it easy to mount to a variety of cases. The company didn’t specify whether or not the fans could be controlled via traditional PC software (and the screencaps of the software provided by the company are certainly from a smartphone), but the inclusion of a 4-pin “IN” port on the controller makes us hopeful that the Smart Fan approach is optional, not mandatory.

The new Deepcool MF120 frameless RGB smart fan kit will be available this April with an MSRP of $110.

Derek Forrest
Derek Forrest
Derek Forrest is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He writes hardware news and reviews gaming desktops and laptops.
12 Comments Comment from the forums
  • BaRoMeTrIc
    stop making stuff like this, jesus, i'm going to go broke.
    Reply
  • metalcraft218
    $110?!?! They can cram it.
    Reply
  • BaRoMeTrIc
    20745207 said:
    $110?!?! They can cram it.

    Same price as corsairs ll120s

    They are unique and would go well with a steampunk style build
    Reply
  • uglyduckling81
    Now with 500% more restricted air flow, come on down.
    Reply
  • Giroro
    If you're putting RGB lighting into a "steampunk" PC, then I'm afraid you're drastically misunderstanding that aesthetic.

    Believe it or not, though, a frame is actually suuuper important to the whole "making air go where you want it" part of a fan's operation. I imagine this fan will mostly scatter air randomly instead of effectively pushing/pulling air through your case.
    But hey, I guess you can use wifi to control something that's literally hard wired to a computer. Hopefully that unnecessary extra radio won't interfere with you PC too much.
    Reply
  • turkey3_scratch
    Usually I don't care about these fans but admittedly these ones are slick looking.
    Reply
  • BulkZerker
    "WiFi capabilities"

    Yey. More interference for my network
    Reply
  • cryoburner
    ...an all-aluminum skeleton frame that is designed to allow the double-layer blades to generate positive air pressure without obstruction from the fan structure.
    I get the impression that you would want the surrounding fan structure. Not having a frame to prevent air from escaping around the fan blades will likely result in air moving back in the opposite direction through those areas and cycling back into it. There's a reason nearly all case fans block that off. These fans instead block off an area in the direct path of the blades. This looks like a case of form over function to me. And why would anyone want to manage their case fan lighting from a phone?
    Reply
  • ajr1775
    This is the most advanced fan design yet..........no question about it. But, I don't like proprietary lighting controls. I used the NZXT RGB fans and could only control their lighting with the NZXT HUE controller. It works. But, an unnecessary feature. Make it open ended and you will sell a lot more fans.
    Reply
  • Tanyac
    Yawn!
    Reply