Review: FanAdapters

FanAdapters

Fan Adapters

With so many people wanting to overclock their cpu's temperatures become an issue, the cooler the cpu the longer its lifespan.

Many people have done a 'Blue Peter' and added 80mm fans to their heatsinks using spring clips, cardboard and sticky back plastic to direct the airflow, now there is a ready made solution to the problem.

In this review we will look at fan adapters supplied by OCH and see if there is any benefits to be gained from using them.
The main purpose of the adapters is to allow you to add a bigger fan than the normally used 60mm and reduce noise. The adapters are designed for heatsinks where the fan is screwed on and not for ones using spring clips.

(80,92 and 120mm adapters)

The adapters are machined from high impact white plastic, smooth with no sharp edges to speak of, they come supplied with four good quality screws for holding the fan in place.


We have the following adapters to look at,
120-60mm Fitted with YS Tech fan (135cfm)
92-60mm Fitted with Thermaltake fan (56cfm)
80-60mm Fitted with 80mm Thermaltake fan (37cfm)



Test system is :
Asus A7m DDR mobo, 1.2gig(266)T'bird, 256mb PC2100 Crucial Cas2.5and Kanie Hedgehog copper heatsink
SETI will be used to test the system under load
The room temperature was 16oC at time of testing.
A new layer of Servisol thermal paste was applied each time an adapter was changed and tested.

Cost

120-60mm $16.99
92-60mm $13.99
80-60mm $12.99

Price does not include carriage.

Dimensions and Weights
120x120x30mm 200g(370g with fan)
92x92x25mm 100g(190g with fan)
80x80x25mm 60g(140g with fan)

Fitting the adapters

No real problems with fitting any of the adapters just like fitting a fan. Make sure to support the weight of the 120mm until screwed into place and when screwing the fan to the adapter.


80mm adapter



92mm adapter



120mm adapter



Results
I have added the results of what I normally get using the Kanie heatsink and the 60mm Delta at the end to compare with.

This first set of results is with fans pulling air onto the heatsink

These results are with the fan pulling air away from the heatsink

Conclusions

As you can see from the results the 120mm adapter in particular performs much better with the fan pulling air away from the heatsink, the 80 and 92mm also do better with the fans reversed but only marginally.

The only reservations I have is due to the position of the 60mm hole on the 120mm adapter the weight of the adapter and fan may pull the heatsink away from the cpu and would be better if it came with a brace to fit to the case chassis for safety.
I think it may perform better if the hole had of been central rather than offset to one corner

If you are looking for bigger temperature drops you may need to add a higher rpm fan of appropriate size, if its peace and quiet you are after they are all ideal especially for 24/7 SETI or UD crunchers to get a good nights sleep.

Are they worth the money and you rushing out and buying one?

They work out at about £17.50 each by the time you get them to the UK, which is alot cheaper than the metal adapters sold elsewhere.

If you are going to have the fans drawing air away from the heatsink then yes I think they are a worthwhile investment you may even get better results if you were to apply AS II, also if you are into case mods and have the money then why not.