GELID fans – quiet, effective, and very cool

Matt Jancaitis 14 Jan, 2009 at 12:12pm ET Article published in Tech

Conclusion

The Silent 12 TC is an excellent fan when used in its intended environment—as a fan present for supplemental and low-RPM cooling. It is extremely quiet in those situations and more than adequate for airflow. If it gets into the high RPM stages, it’s no worse than most other fans in terms of noise, but airflow may not be entirely adequate if the temperatures are on the high end.

ic_approve_2001 Pros:

Quiet operation
Automatic temperature control
Sleeved cables
Anti-vibration mounts
Fair price

Cons:

Does not include screws
Low CFM in some cases

The GELID Wing 12 case fan is, in a word, spectacular. The tech is impressive, the quality is excellent, and the temps and silence improve the package even more. They were able to keep my scorching Q6600 under 60°C at all times, a feat not achieved by many, and did so with nary a peep. I am wonderfully impressed by these fans and will gladly give them the Icrontic Golden Fedora for their excellence in design and performance.

Pros:

Quiet operation
Innovative magnetic bearing
Long life expectancy
Easy cleaning
Sleeved cables
Anti-vibration mounts
Fair price

Cons:

Does not include screws

Are any of our readers as geeked about magnetic levitation in a case fan as I am? See you in the comments!

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Comments

14 Jan 2009 ~ 12:19pm BuddyJ I want to put some WINGs in my Antec Nine Hundred. Their serviceability sells it for me.
14 Jan 2009 ~ 12:20pm Snarkasm They are absolutely ridicucool. My case is quiet as a mouse, but cool as the other side of the pillow.

Do recommend, A+++++.
14 Jan 2009 ~ 12:57pm Thrax If only they had temperature control like the Thermaltake A2029.
14 Jan 2009 ~ 1:03pm Snarkasm

Thrax wrote:

If only they had temperature control like the Thermaltake A2029.

The Silent 12 does.

A great case setup for these fans would be Silent 12s over the HDDs and exhausts and Wings for a heatsink fan or on a radiator for watercooling. Power and silence for where you know you'll always want it, and variability for places that can use it.
14 Jan 2009 ~ 1:05pm Thrax The silent 12 just has a thermistor. The A2029 has a thermistor and a pot. Quiet as hell, too.
14 Jan 2009 ~ 1:31pm Snarkasm Ah, I see. A quick spec comparison for everybody's benefit, then -

Thermaltake A2029:
RPM
1300 Â±20% RPM at 20C
3500 Â±10% RPM at 55C

Air Flow
35.43-95.22 CFM

Noise Level
25.5 dBA at 1300RPM
45dBA at 3500RPM

Silent 12:
RPM
750 RPM at 22C
1500 RPM at 42C

Air Flow
? - 58CFM

Noise Level
12 dBA at 750 RPM
25.5 dBA at 1500 RPM

95 CFM is nothing to sneeze at, but it sounds like if you don't need all that much, the Silent 12 will be quieter.
14 Jan 2009 ~ 1:38pm GHoosdum The Wing sounds like a fantastic fan!
14 Jan 2009 ~ 2:06pm mas0n I've been a long time fan of the Scythe SFF21E (I have 10+ around the house) but might be willing to give Gelid a chance. Being able to disassemble and clean is pretty nice.
14 Jan 2009 ~ 2:57pm primesuspect I am SOLD on the removable impeller. You can probably take the impeller out and put it in the dishwasher. IN.
14 Jan 2009 ~ 3:02pm Snarkasm Just make sure the mag ring in the impeller is smooth and debris-free before you put it back on, heh.
14 Jan 2009 ~ 3:31pm DrLiam I've been a huge fan of magnets for the longest time and to see them being implemented here in a fan blows my mind! One quick question, are we dealing with electro-magnets or material magnets? I never heard of nanoflux bearings before and I was wondering how it maintains it's charge if it is not plugged in. Will the fan fall off after a month of inactivity? (Let's say I went on a long holiday.)
14 Jan 2009 ~ 3:48pm Snarkasm I believe they're electromagnets, as the wire spools would indicate, but it takes some effort to remove the impeller from the housing when powered down. They will never just fall off, so there's no worry there.
14 Jan 2009 ~ 3:57pm Zuntar Material magnet on the blade side. I have one of these Enermax "Everest" and I cannot bring myself to use it in my rig simply because the color of the leds is a horrid light blue.

I just wanted a nice silent fan on the back cause it's an 80mm. I might be trying one of these...... blue or green?
14 Jan 2009 ~ 4:01pm DrLiam

Zuntar wrote:

Material magnet on the blade side.

Ahh, that makes sense now, why didn't I think of that earlier. :P
14 Jan 2009 ~ 5:11pm MachineDog OMG Geekgasm! DO WANT. I need to get new fans anyway, my case is around 5 years old and the fans are loud. >_< It's bad when your parents mind how loud it is.
14 Jan 2009 ~ 9:30pm TurboPenguin Where?

Has anyone been able to find somewhere that sells these? I looked on Newegg but had no success? Grr I hate it when reviews come out on cool stuff and nobody can find to buy them....
14 Jan 2009 ~ 10:04pm Snarkasm

Prices match up well with other fans in its class, down under the $10 mark from AeroCooler, one of GELIDâ€™s precious few North American distributors.

AeroCooler. I believe they sell both models in multiple sizes. Go there and search by manufacturer on the left side and you'll see everything they carry.
15 Jan 2009 ~ 12:16am BuddyJ GELID just replied to an email I sent them. The GELID Wing fan will run underwater, so they say!!!
15 Jan 2009 ~ 12:17am Thrax Video incoming.
15 Jan 2009 ~ 2:20am DrLiam

Buddy J wrote:

GELID just replied to an email I sent them. The GELID Wing fan will run underwater, so they say!!!

lol... You asked them if the fans are capable of running underwater!? Why did you think of that question. xD
15 Jan 2009 ~ 10:28am BuddyJ That's just it, I didn't ask! They just responded saying "PS They run under water."
15 Jan 2009 ~ 10:43am Khaos

primesuspect wrote:

I am SOLD on the removable impeller. You can probably take the impeller out and put it in the dishwasher. IN.

Totally with you on that one Brian. Dishwasher-safe fan impellers = win win win win win WIN.
15 Jan 2009 ~ 1:32pm Snarkasm PS, the video is up in the article, in case you've missed it. 3rd page at the bottom.

Underwater fans! How rad.
16 Jan 2009 ~ 9:40am Zuntar

Snarkasm wrote:

AeroCooler. I believe they sell both models in multiple sizes. Go there and search by manufacturer on the left side and you'll see everything they carry.

TurboPenguin wrote:

Where?

Has anyone been able to find somewhere that sells these? I looked on Newegg but had no success? Grr I hate it when reviews come out on cool stuff and nobody can find to buy them....

Performance PCs FTW
16 Jan 2009 ~ 10:05am Snarkasm More 'spensive.