If there's one issue that RGB made, it's the sheer number of cables that it adds to your system. Next to all the power and data cables you already have, each individual RGB device needs cables too, and when you pack a system full of six RGB fans that can add up painfully. Lian Li now has a solution for that: interlocking fans, so that each group only needs one RGB lead.
The fans are called Uni Fan SL120, and for now they only come in the 120mm size either in black or white. These are high-static pressure fans capable of spinning at speeds between 800 and 1,900 RPM, producing between 17 and 31 dBA of noise.
(Image credit: Lian Li)
The sides and tops of the fan are made of sandblasted aluminum, and the lighting consists of 32 LEDs in each fan. The end result is quite a neat looking fan.
To connect the fans, you simply slide them into each other, interlocking them to create one long fan array, which you then secure into place in your case or on your radiator. Add a controller, hook that up, and you're all set.
(Image credit: Lian Li)
To control the addressable RGB fans, Lian Li made its own L-Connect software.
Pricing for a set of three is set at $80, which includes the required controller. Each additional fan will run you another $25. The kits are available on Newegg, shipping out on September 15.
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Given the fact that these are high static fans, they would be targeted towards being used on rads.
Yeah, that's what I thought as the ideal use case for these fans, but some people live to disappoint, and they will either not use them correctly, or in scenarios where they weren't needed at all...
Lian Li's Uni Fan SL120 have an interlocking mechanism to eliminate clutter.
Lian Li Fixes the Biggest Issue With RGB Fans: Cables : Read more
Would like to see schematic of the method used to transmit power and see if a catastrophic failure in one of the first fans has the ability to stop power from reaching the others in series.
The biggest issue with RGB is being a waste of time, effort, board space, money... It hasn't got the slightest relation to the tech it's pasted on. It's the PC component makers' desperation move when CPU development stagnated under Intel. Something - anything - to boost sales. And some people will buy anything.
