Joe42 reviews... Yate Loon D12SL-12 Blue LED

Joe42 · 6 Mar 2007 at 21:57

As promised, a little review of the Yate Loon D12SL-12 Blue LED.

Noise:
I've compared it with the standard black D12SL-12, and after much listening my conclusion is that although the noise of the motors is exactly the same, as it should be as the motors are identical, the Blue LED version is considerably nosier due to the clear plastic housing. This housing causes a lot of extra resonance and noise, but the good news is when isolated from the surface or case this is almost completely eradicated.

So, if you want to get the Blue LED fan but want the noise levels of the standard black one i think you'll need some rubber fan mounts, i experimented with some of these and they almost completely eliminated the resonance. That said, the blue LED one is still a very quiet fan. The extra resonance of clear plastic fans is a problem often observed by SPCR and i have also encountered it on many other clear plastic fans.

As always, the noise level of the D12SL-12 (and the blue led version when isolated) is superb, at 5v they are inaudible from 30cm and at 7v inaudible from 1m. Very very quiet fans, and for the price simply the best fans you can get.

Airflow:
I felt airflow was roughly the same between the two, despite the fact that the fins on the blue LED version are somewhat different to those on the standard black one. There may be an airflow difference, but i'd say if there is its probably fairly minor. RPM was very similar between the two.

Further Observations:
I noticed that the blue LED version is identical in construction to an Akasa blue led fan i have, although i would guess that the Akasa is a D12BM-12 (medium speed, ball bearing). Its certainly a ball bearing fan. This would suggest that Yate Loon make the Akasa fans, and since the Akasa ambers are similar in construction to the Akasa blue led i would guess that the Akasa amber is a D12BL-12.

The LEDs are not uniform. This particular fan has two that are slightly dimmer and a slightly different colour to the others.

Things to be aware of:

SPCR said:
Fan Mounting: Fan orientation does not affect the longevity of ball-bearing fans because of preloading, the procedure by which manufacturers build an initial side load, such as a spring or a wave washer against the balls of the bearing. When mounted in vertical positions, sleeve-bearing fans can maintain life spans comparable to their ball-bearing counterparts. However, when sleeve-bearing fans are mounted in any position other than vertical, the fan's life span decreases.

SPCR said:
Typically, sleeve bearing fan noise does not increase due to life. This remains true up until the system begins to fail due to loss of oil. However, ball bearing fans can begin to get noisy in a very short time. This increase in noise is due to many facts, such as grease channeling, loss of grease, damaged bearing camouflaged by the grease, etc. Also, as time goes on, the grease may begin to dry out which allows for a very noisy fan, but it will continue to run for a long time. This brings up an interesting point: the reason for the use of ball bearing fans is to extend the fan life past sleeve bearings. However, if usable life were defined to end when the fan became noisy, it is quite possible the sleeve bearing fan would out live the ball bearing one.

SPCR said:
Typically, sleeve bearings deteriorate under high temperatures because they are made from porous, powered metals from a sintering process.

I've been running a nexus (identical to the D12SL-12) on a scythe ninja at 45-50 degrees for about a year with no problems, and i'm now running a nexus horizontally and that's been running for about a month with no problems. There was also no extra noise, and only a small 100rpm drop between mounting vertically and horizontally. However, i think the above is still worth mentioning, and i may well run into problems later on.

Availability:
This fan is readily available in the UK, it costs around £6.

Alternatives are:
The Noctua series - Quieter by a very small amount but inferior air pressure.
The Scythe S-flex series - About the same noise levels but uses fancy fdb bearings so more suitable for high heat environments or for being mounted vertically.

Pictures:

Hope that helps anyone who was thinking of getting one of these, and may the silence continue!

Joe42 · 6 Mar 2007 at 21:58

More pics:

mishima · 6 Mar 2007 at 23:04

Great stuff, interesting review. I didn't know these babies were so cheap been hearing some interesting reports about them and based on this too looks like I may have to invest in some! Thanks for the review!

w3bbo · 7 Mar 2007 at 12:30

Heres a 'few' in my case.

hehe

Joe42 · 7 Mar 2007 at 14:10

w3bbo said:
Heres a 'few' in my case.

<snip>

hehe

Have you also noticed differences in two of the leds in some or all of yours?
They look uneven just like mine in that pic, with two brighter and two dimmer...

w3bbo · 7 Mar 2007 at 14:22

The brightness is the same but the shade of the blue is different - some are a deep blue some others are more cyan/sky blue-deffo not a uniform colour.

Joe42 · 7 Mar 2007 at 14:32

w3bbo said:
The brightness is the same but the shade of the blue is different - some are a deep blue some others are more cyan/sky blue-deffo not a uniform colour.

Yeah thats what i noticed.
Is it two of each with all of yours or does it vary?

I found the brightness varies when you undervolt them.

w3bbo · 7 Mar 2007 at 15:13

No its random, some have all the dark blue ones, some not. I have mine all @7v apart from 4 on a fan controller. Tbh the brightness loss between 12v and 7v is minimal.