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GELID Silent 12 TC & PWM


Date
: 09/25/08 – 06:42:21 AM

Author
:

Category
: Cooling

Page 1 : Index

Manufacturer
: GELID Solutions

GELID Solutions Ltd. is a newcomer to the industry. The company, based in Hong Kong but with Swiss management, apparently chose to go with the name ‘GELID’ based on the fact that the word ‘gelidus’ means ‘extremely cold, icy’ in Latin – a fitting name for a company specializing in cooling products.

In this review, we will take a look at two of GELID's 120mm fans from their
Silent
series, the thermally controlled
TC
and the pulse-width modulation controlled
PWM
.

Page 2 : Package

We will go through this section in the normal fashion, looking at the two products side-by-side with the TC on the left and the PWM on the right.

Both fans are from the Silent 12 series and labeled ‘Low Speed Optimized Silent Fan’ and the packages are identical except for the ‘TC’ and ‘PWM’ labels to identify the fans.

The sides are identical, advertising a long lifetime, rubber fan mounts, and a 5-year warranty.

Same story with the other sides advertising silent operation, optimized fan blades, and high airflow.

Turning the box over, we get all the features and specifications.

The view is identical once again. There is a general description, applicable to both fans and a section consisting of three separate specification lists for the three fans in the Silent series. We do not have the normal Silent 12 so the first column doesn't apply.

We'll take a closer look at these specifications in the next section before proceeding to getting our hands on the fans themselves.

Page 3 : Features & Specifications

GELID's well-designed website has dedicated webpages for both the Silent 12 TC and PWM versions from where I got the following information.

We will cover the TC first, followed by the PWM.

TC:

Description:

There is a graphic consisting of a fan speed vs. temperature plot, provided by GELID:

Features:

Specifications:

PWM:

Description:

Another fan speed vs. temperature plot:

Features:

Specifications:

Both fans have a variable noise level between an extremely quiet 12 dBA to an audible 25.5 dBA, with corresponding fan speeds of 750 to 1500 RPM at a maximum airflow of 58 CFM.

Based on both specifications, it is obvious that these two products appeal to different users. The TC fan automatically adjusts its speed based on the temperature and includes a sensor cable that can be placed wherever the user pleases. The PWM fan adjusts its speed based on data provided to it by the motherboard. In this sense, the TC fan gives more control to the user while the PWM fan is more autonomic in its function.

Let's take a look at the actual fans and then proceed to testing.

Page 4 : Package Contents

Once again, we will return to displaying the images concurrently with the TC on the left and the PWM on the right.

The white fan blades really set off the black frames of the fans, giving them an elegant, refined look. The cables are sleeved; even the TC's sensor wire is sleeved, a nice touch. A small bag with four rubber posts for mounting the fans as well as a GELID sticker is included.

If it weren't for the stickers on the other side of the fans, you wouldn't be able to tell them apart. Nothing out of the ordinary here.

Now that we've covered the looks, let's move on to the performance.

Page 5 : Testing & Performance

Since it is relatively straightforward to install the fan using the rubber mounting posts, I will skip the instructions. However, if you want to review the process, refer to this installation page of the Noctua NF-P12 fan, the installation of which is identical to that of the GELID Silent TC and PWM.

The fans were all connected to the CPU fan header, in order to allow the Silent PWM to use PWM management. The temperature sensor from the Silent TC was placed in a central location in the case.

First will be the CPU temperature measurements when the each of the different fans is used as an exhaust in the Antec P182.

Case temperature measurements were taken under idle and load conditions using three temperature probes of the NZXT Sentry LX placed at different areas of the case, the measurements from which were averaged to yield a final value. Idle measurements were taken with the computer idling at the desktop for 2 hours and no CPU or hard drive intensive programs, such as antivirus software, running. Load temperatures were taken while running 3DMark06 for 2 hours. All tests were run thrice on separate days, and the values were averaged.

The average ambient temperature was 26C throughout all the tests.

The generic 120mm fan takes the lead, by only 1C, in the idle temperature measurement, perhaps due to its higher airflow rate of 93 CFM. However, the load temperatures were the same for all the fans. What the generic fan accomplishes at a sound level of 40+ dBA, the GELID fans do at less than 25.5 dBA. Over the course of the tests, I don't think the Silent TC and PWM ever reached their maximum speeds or maximum sound levels although I don't have a sound meter to measure it other than my ears.

Page 6 : Conclusion

I was extremely pleased with the GELID Silent 12 TC and PWM. They seem to be designed very well and perform exceptionally. The performance to noise ratio is also excellent, making these fans worthy of having ‘Silent’ in their names. The installation is easy, thanks to the rubber mounting posts which I prefer over screws. Even the MSRP for these fans is attractive at $10.80 for the TC and $10.50 for the PWM.

One thing that wasn't clear to me was the major difference between the TC and PWM. Other than the fact that one is thermally controlled and one is pulse-width modulation controlled, there was no reflection on the performance as far as I could tell. Perhaps it is just a user preference as to which fan is best.

All in all, I would recommend these fans as a great alternative to generic fans as they are not that much more expensive but the performance and quality is much better.

Advantages:

• Great performance and extremely silent
  
  
• Excellent design, includes sleeved cables
• 5 year warranty

Disadvantages:

• Low availability

Overclockers Online would like to thank GELID Solutions for making this review possible.