Page 4 - Conclusion
On the weekend at a gathering, we were sharing logic puzzles, and one was this. Let us say you have eight billiard balls and a balance scale. You know one of the balls is slightly heavier, but you do not know which one. Using the scale only twice, how would you determine for sure which is the heavier one? For those who want to figure out the puzzle, I will not spoil the answer. In today's review, we can see Cooler Master had to figure out which aspect of silence or performance had a bigger impact in their design. After our inspections and tests, I can happily report Cooler Master has seemingly struck the right balance. Its performance throughout our tests were up to the task, as the fan moved the air well and held up in our tissue paper tests. The result is a steady flying sheet of tissue paper, held up both near and away from the fan. Even though this fan is targeted at creating high pressure, it is also capable at moving a high volume of air too. In the silence department, the output noise -- or lack thereof -- is pretty good, especially when considering the high 2400RPM maximum speed. It seems Cooler Master's Silent Driver IC is paying off in keeping a low noise output. As for build quality and the rest, it seems like everything is as we should expect from Cooler Master. Their loop dynamic bearings are backed up with their 5 year warranty, and will probably not need to be replaced before your system is. Really my only request would be to add some vibration dampeners to the mounting of the fan to suppress any extra noise. At a retail price of $20 USD, these fans are not necessarily the cheapest PWM fans out there, but your return on investment will be apparent with a relatively quiet but good performing cooling option for your computer.
Cooler Master provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH:Renewal Award | APH Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks; but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Numeric Rating is 7.9/10
Please note that the APH Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other sites.
Cooler Master has found the equilibrium between performance and low noise output, and it is evident in the Silencio FP 120 PWM Performance Edition fans.
Do you have any comments or questions about the Cooler Master Silencio FP 120 PWM Performance Edition? Drop by our Forums. Registration is free, and it only takes a minute!
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware
3. Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
