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GELID Wing 12 Fan
Submitted by jwhitakr on Fri, 05/08/2009 - 16:19.
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Fans are definitely not be the sexiest PC hardware component – they do the dirty work while high powered graphics cards, RAM and CPUs get all of the fanfare. But a set of high quality fans are essential to keep any air cooled computer running at its best.
For those who choose air cooling over the more expensive choice of water cooling, a company called GELID has released a new series of 80mm, 92mm and 120mm fans called the “Wing” series. We have a couple of fans from GELID to take a look at, but today we will focus on the Wing 12 “Gamer” Fan. Read on as we take a close look.
Design
A black frame surrounds the blue blades of this 120mm fan, with the GELID logo adorned on the center. The main design feature, and the one from which the Wing 12 gets its name, are the tips on the end of each of the blades. These winglet tips are intended to improve airflow while keeping the noise level produced by the whirring blades to an absolute minimum.
The company used a long life Nanoflux Bearing (NFB) Patented Nanoflux bearing to hold the fan impeller in place. This sounds cool – but what does it actually mean? Essentially the fan impeller is held in place and is operated entirely on a magnetic cushion. Electromagnetic fields are used to keep solid parts from touching while the fan spins.
A couple of nice features with the fan are the rubber mounts instead of traditional metal screws, the included fan speed controller and the fact that the power cable is sleeved to hide the bare wires.
Features and Specifications
- Nanoflux Bearing (NFB)
- Optimized Winglet Fan Blades
- Waterproof & Dustproof
- Long Lifetime (100'000 h MTTF at 40°C)
- Silicone Fan Mounts
- Fan Speed Control
| DC Fan Dimension: |
120 x 120 x 25 mm |
| Material: | UV reactive Plastic |
| Color: | Blue |
| Bearing Type: |
Nanoflux Bearing |
| Airflow: | 64.3 CFM |
| Fan Speed: | 1500 RPM |
| Noise: | 25 dBA |
| Rated Voltage: | 12 VDC |
| Weight: | 119g |
| Cable Length: | 500 mm |
| Warranty: | 5 years |
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| Wing 12 Box | Box Contents | Closeup of fan blades |
In the Box
The test unit included the following:
- GELID Wing 12 fan
- Fan Controller
- 4 Rubber Fan Mounts
Installation
Not a whole lot to say here - the fan comes with four rubber mounts and a 3-pin power connector. I had already installed another GELID fan – the Silent 12 – so I already had experience with the rubber mounts and was able to get them into place much easier the second time around. I removed my old case fan and popped in the Wing 12. The only thing I would have liked to have seen is a 4-pin Molex as another power option for the fan.
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| Wing 12 Outside View | Overhead View | Side View |
Performance Testing
Case temperature measurements were taken under idle and load conditions. Fan speeds were kept the same for each testing round. Idle measurements were taken with the computer idling at startup for 30 minutes. Load temperatures were taken while running 3DMark06 for 1 hour. All tests were run two times on separate days, and then the values were averaged.
Test setup:
- Motherboard: ECS KN1 SLI Lite
- CPU: AMD Athlon X2 3800+ Dual-Core
- Memory: 2GB Corsair TWINX (2x1GB) DDR400 RAM
- CPU Heatsink: Spire Verticool IV
- Video card: EVGA 7800GT
- Hard drive: Western Digital 250GB SATA2 16MB cache
- Power supply: Ultra XVS 700W
- Case: Ultra Grid
| Temperatures |
| Idle | Load | |
| Generic case fan | 30 | 34 |
| Wing 12 | 30 | 33 |
Test results showed that the Wing 12 kept the case at the same temperature as the stock case fan at Idle speeds, and at Load speeds the Wing 12 outperformed the stock fan by 1 degree. While this may not seem like much improvement, keep in mind that the stock fan was MUCH louder when compared to the Wing 12. The fact that this fan from GELID was able to keep the case cool under load, and remain nearly silent while doing it, is actually quite impressive.
GELID Wing 12 Fan
The GELID Wing 12 fan is a very efficient and well performing product. Due to its relatively higher cost than your average case fan, I would say that that it would best be served by those people aiming for the quietest cooling solutions that they can find for their PC. The performance is outstanding when compared to the amount of noise that the fan produces.
At 1500rpm the fan produces much less noise than generic fans, and will rival other more expensive fans on the market. Using the included fan speed control, you can even dial down the RPM and make the fan run at inaudible noise levels. I also like the couple of nice touches that are included with the fan – a sleeved power cable, rubber mounts and a 5 year warranty. If you like the looks of the blue, green or other available color choices of the Wing 12 – I would have no hesitation to recommended it.
Pros: Very quiet and efficient, sleeved cable, rubber mounts and a 5 year warranty.
Cons: Not the cheapest fan around, no 4-pin Molex power connector, not widely available in the U.S.
Rating: 4.0 out of 5
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