Zalman's New ZM-DF12 Fans Have Hub Control Button

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Zalman's new fan looks like lightning, and might make as much noise as well.

Zalman has announced a new fan – the ZM-DF12. This is the company's flagship fan, and its design differs from traditional fans in a number of ways.

For starters, the fan's blade and motor hub assembly is mounted to the fan frame from the opposite side as compared to traditional fans. Also on that side users find the 3-way fan control, which can change the blade's rotation speeds from 800 RPM to 1200 RPM or 1600 RPM. Due to this hub being up front, it might be difficult or impossible to mount this fan in certain positions. The blades are also different, as they are split, which Zalman calls a "Dual Impeller" design. The idea behind this is to hold on to more airflow while the fan spins at lower RPMs.

At the full 1600 RPM the fan will push 63.76 CFM of air while making 33 dBA of noise. As those numbers aren't very impressive, we do hope that they are better at lower speeds. The minimum noise level is provided as 18 dBA, though the company gave no minimum airflow number. Power is brought to the fan through a standard 3-pin connector, and the fans do not support PWM.

No official word on pricing yet, though it has been spotted for about £15/€15, so we expect it to cost about $20 in the US.

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Niels Broekhuijsen
Niels Broekhuijsen

Niels Broekhuijsen is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He reviews cases, water cooling and pc builds.

13 Comments Comment from the forums
  • jossrik
    20$ for a fan seems like a premium price to me. Doesn't seem special, especially since you don't see the blades when they spin, they have to perform well, from the article, these don't seem to move a lot of air for not a lot of noise.
    Reply
  • vmem
    33dBA at 1600 RPM is supposed to be quiet o.O there are SO MANY fans on the market quieter than that
    Reply
  • Zepid
    You can tell these fans are good because the blade is shaped like a lightning bolt! Now all we need is some flames painted on for more power and maybe a little chrome.

    Reply
  • dovah-chan
    we all know its scythe or go home (or corsair if you're a ricer or cooler master if you're on a budget or fractal if you want to be classy)
    Reply
  • jimmysmitty
    13551333 said:
    we all know its scythe or go home (or corsair if you're a ricer or cooler master if you're on a budget or fractal if you want to be classy)

    The shop I worked at had issues getting Scythe for a while. And while they are nicer for some situations, they are not the best for all.

    I am not sure on the Corsair ricer comment. Last thing I associated with ricer was the people who took Honda Civics and tuned them up yet Corsair is an American company. All I know is that Corsairs SP fans are some of the best for radiators due to their high SP.
    Reply
  • dovah-chan
    13551556 said:
    13551333 said:
    we all know its scythe or go home (or corsair if you're a ricer or cooler master if you're on a budget or fractal if you want to be classy)

    The shop I worked at had issues getting Scythe for a while. And while they are nicer for some situations, they are not the best for all.

    I am not sure on the Corsair ricer comment. Last thing I associated with ricer was the people who took Honda Civics and tuned them up yet Corsair is an American company. All I know is that Corsairs SP fans are some of the best for radiators due to their high SP.

    http://imgur.com/Zyp1eyc.jpg I-it's not like I use corsair fans ;-;
    Reply
  • jimmysmitty
    13551730 said:
    13551556 said:
    13551333 said:
    we all know its scythe or go home (or corsair if you're a ricer or cooler master if you're on a budget or fractal if you want to be classy)

    The shop I worked at had issues getting Scythe for a while. And while they are nicer for some situations, they are not the best for all.

    I am not sure on the Corsair ricer comment. Last thing I associated with ricer was the people who took Honda Civics and tuned them up yet Corsair is an American company. All I know is that Corsairs SP fans are some of the best for radiators due to their high SP.

    http://imgur.com/Zyp1eyc.jpg I-it's not like I use corsair fans ;-;

    You need to flip that PSU around. It is sucking air from the GPU. The PSU should have its own independent air flow.
    Reply
  • qlum
    I am seeing this again and again: zalman should stick to the lower end of the spectrum, they have some really nice stuff there. Their T4 (following up their t1) is awesome at the price, A nice case with maybe breakaway pci slots (except the top one) and maybe feeling a tiny bit flimsy but at a price of less then 30 euro's its still an usb 3 case with plenty of space and a decent look while also holding cable management in the back.

    And their clip on mic is just the best thing you can get before you start looking into the higher teir mikes.

    Other then that they have their fan mates and their cheaper fans but on the higher end they have not produced anything great in years.
    Reply
  • thundervore
    I miss when Zalman use to make good stuff. I use to praise the CNPS CPU coolers and their videocard coolers were top notch in fact I still use their CNPS 9900 and VF1000.

    Their fans however were not always the best. I see everyone using Corsair fans because of the color rings and gentle typhoon. Personally I went with Cougar fans because they move as much air at low noise and have a 18" cable as apposed to the 12" standard. That extra 6" does wonders when cable routing. I never see someone with a Zalman fan in their case when doing a build, NEVER!
    Reply
  • thdarkshadow
    I'm no fan scientist but wouldn't that blade design cause turbulence? I mean with all the hard corners and stuff that's bound to make more noise and push less air in the right direction.

    If someone with more experience could weigh in I'd appreciate it
    Reply