Corsair has built an RGB fan with a diameter of 500 millimeters. The single piece cuts a fine figure as a case fan. Used as a replacement for a side panel, temperatures drop dramatically. What looks strange at first glance can be a harbinger of a trend.
Framework data of the giant fan
Gamers Nexus placed the experimental, hand-assembled fan in front of the camera. Its design corresponds to that of the LL series, which also has a circumferential ring of RGB LEDs. Corsair left it open whether it was a study, a concept or just a joke. In principle, the fan is fully functional.
Only the printed performance information turned out to be incorrect: a maximum consumption of 36 watts became 10 watts. Lowering the measured maximum speed via an integrated rotary control led to further savings: from 280 to 290 rpm at full power to 100 rpm, consumption fell to 1 watt – the level of normal case fans in 120 mm format.
A profit as a side part
Gamers Nexus tested the fan as a replacement for a glass side panel using an MSI Sekira 500X. The site chose the case because it's a combination of expensive materials and “some of the worst design decisions we've ever seen”. As a result, the tower could throttle components at or above the temperature limit.
The temperatures of the processor were observed in this worst-case scenario. In the load test, it reached a temperature that was 67.8 degrees above room temperature. Without the side panel, this value sank to 61.2 degrees, with the 500 mm fan fully turned on, 48.2 degrees remained at around 290 rpm.
An idea for manufacturers
Such a fan does not have to be a mere gag . It may seem grotesque, but it fits in with the trend: after housings have been provided with ever more glass for years, manufacturers are increasingly opening their towers in search of cooling performance – in view of ever higher consumption values in the high-end sector, also out of necessity. Products like the Fractal Design Torrent bear witness to such a turnaround. Packing the glass side panels back into the box and installing a large-format fan instead would not be an innovation but would bring out old concepts that were used by Thermaltake in the 2000s, among others, but also almost contemporary again.
< p class = "p text-width"> The editorial team thanks ComputerBase reader “DerKabelbinder” for pointing this out to us!