Thermaltake 'Thunderblade' 120mm and 80mm Fans - My Review.

[Chaz]

21 Decibals? You’re having a laugh!

I recently got hold of three of Thermaltake’s ‘Thunderblade’ fans. Reviews of them were few and far between, so I was reliant on the manufacturers info on the quality of the fans, along with Thermaltake’s reputation.
The first thing to mention is the manufacturers claims, as found on the site, and on the back of the box. As you’d expect, they vary with the size of the fan, but basically all you need to know is that according to Thermaltake, the 120mm fan will push an impressive 78 CFM at only 21 dBA, while the 80mm version will push a far less impressive, 27.8CFM, again, at 21 dBA.

Clearly the fans are aimed at the noise conscious user, like me, which is the main reason I took the plunge and ordered two 80mm fans, and one 120mm fan. They arrived a few days later, and I got a bit of a shock.

I took them out of their boxes, and I’ll admit they look the part. The build quality is very good, the cables are nice and long, and have been sleeved to keep them tidy, and the most impressive thing I noticed was that they had come with four very long screws, and a nut. It took a while before it dawned on me that they were included so that you simply had to thread them through the holes from the inside of your case, and then twist the nut on at the end until it was tight, with your fingers, and you’re done. No screwdriver required.

I wired the 120mm fan up first, on its own, to see whether or not it actually pushed a decent amount of air at just 21 decibels. I flicked the switch, and one word popped into my head. “Hairdryer”. “Hairdryer with pretty green LEDs”. I was shocked – the 21db advertised on the site and on the box was a blatant lie, I’m no sound expert but this single fan is far louder than the rest of my PC put together, and none of my parts are particularly quiet.

On the upside, the LEDs did give it a nice glow, and it was pushing a lot of air – probably around about the advertised figure of 78cfm. But this was at the expense of my eardrums, so I hastily unplugged it.

Next up were the two 80mm fans, I didn’t even bother mounting these in my case, as I had a bad feeling they would be no better. Well from one extreme to the other, these 80mm fans, also advertised as 21dBA were very quiet, and subsequently pushed a mediocre amount of air. I felt the amount of air being pushed by the cheap and cheerful fans 80mm fans I bought off Ebuyer for £1.47 a pop, and they were doing a much better job. I mounted them anyway, since they did look pretty cool, and I had to put my ear right up to them to hear them quietly whirring away.

And so, in conclusion, the 120mm fan is only really any use for the performance enthusiast who cant afford real cooling, and the 80mm fan is for the sound enthusiast who… cant afford real cooling.

I hope you enjoyed my review.


PS. I'll probably get some photos tomorrow.

[AMDRules]

I was all ready to buy one of those 80mm fans tonight, with the inlcuded 90mm adaptor per "A2013 Silent 92mm Fan Kit - Thermaltake"

Now I have to reconsider.

[Gizmo]

Originally Posted by Chaz

PS. I'll probably get some photos tomorrow.

Yes, please. Post some photos.

[Chaz]

More photos, and a video of the 120mm fan to show just how loud it is will be included shortly, once it has been uploaded to aoafiles.com.

[Gizmo]

The video is available in AOAFiles here.

[Gizmo]

You're up in lights, dude! www.aoaforums.com

Thanks for the review!

[robbie]

WOW that sucker is pretty loud!!
Thanks for the 411 and the review!!

[Chaz]

Originally Posted by gizmo

You're up in lights, dude! www.aoaforums.com

Thanks for the review!

I'm honoured.

[danrok]

Very good work Chaz! Nice clear pics and the video is a nice touch.

[cadaveca]

Yep the video is great. i have both the 80mm and the 120mm as well..i figure the noise level to be around 34db.

[hoinar]

Hey Chaz, at least you've got a nice avatar for yourself

[Chaz]

Yup.

[ebwibble]

Cheers for the review Chaz, I'm always interested in making the computer quieter.

I might try the 80mm thermaltake. I'm currently using YS Tech 80mm and 92mm Silents, cheap, averagely quiet and the bearings seem to last well. Probably all start rattling on me now!

[Daniel ~]

Nicely done Chaz!

[jnansley]

I have yet to find an exception to the rule of Thermaltake = poopy. And I don't really want to waste any more money to continue proving that point.

[cadaveca]

One product...the Big Typhoon...

[alexkerhead]

Great job chaz, wish I did that first..
I've had 3x 120mm thunderblades in my main rig since last december..lol
1 intake, 1 outtake, and one on my hyper48 with a 92mm to 120mm funnel.
they run full speed over 70cfm each, and I can barely hear them compared to my other rigs.
I measured my case with a decibel meter, was 36Db.
Thats quiet to me, considering I run 3 fans in my room all day, because my dad keeps the a/c off all the time, and has the heat on all winter.
btw chaz, flimsy cases make the fan seem louder.
No offense chaz, but that case looks like your basic run of the mill flims-0-ramas.

Heres a pic of mine with the thunderblades mounted.

[Logan]

At high RPMs it's been my experience that anything Thermaltake sounds like a hairdryer. I had the Thermaltake Extreme Volcano 12 cooler, and thankfully it had a speed controller on it. I was able to get it to inaudible levels and it still cooled like a mad fiend.

That fan, though...lol. Holy crap. Sounds exactly like the Volcano 12 did on high speed setting.

[danrok]

You made the press Chaz!

See paragraph 4:
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=27323

[MONKEYMAN]