Silverstone Air Penetrator AP121

[ilya]

Mods: Not sure if this topic warrants a thread in this section, so go ahead and move it if necessary.

I got one of these at NCIX recently, and I must say I'm extremely impressed and would like to recommend these things to fellow HWCers looking for a cheaper alternative to high performance/low noise fans like San Ace/Noctua/Noiseblocker. It can be PMed to $13.79 at NCIX from Best Direct ATM.

The video demonstrations of this fan DO NOT LIE. The listed specs also appear to be fairly accurate to my untrained ear. You can actually feel the airflow from well over a metre away. (in open air of course)

For a 1500RPM fan, I find it really quiet, and I'm a bit of a noise freak. It's honestly not much louder at 1500RPM than my NF-P12 at 1300RPM. It also undervolts fairly well, only problem is at 5v it doesn't push very much air.

Overall the amount of thought and engineering put into the design of the fan really shows once you try it out for the first time. The fan blade design appears to be very well thought out, the dead zone behind the fan hub has been minimized, the sleeving is of fairly good quality, the finish on the plastic is very thorough, and the overall appearance was well thought out. I don't think anyone would find this fan repulsive in terms of appearance. (unlike the Noctua's)

One thing I did notice though, was that this fan does not play very well with the Prolimatech Megahalems. (I think it's a design incompatibility) I tried in on a Venomous-X and it did quite well compared to my NF-P12.

Way to go Silverstone, you just got another fanboy.

I'll try and get some pics posted once my mom decides to un-borrow my camera and tripod.

[Soultribunal]

I've been looking at them since I first did the news article a long while back.

However, I want to test on some High Static enviroments first before rendering full judgement.

Good to hear though mate.

ST

[JD]

I'm interested in these too. Always up for better/quieter fans for my radiator!

[lowfat]

I almost bought some earlier this week but the colour wouldn't have matched my build

[Linus]

They look amazing in person and I was blown away (:p) by their silence.

[BootlegUsher]

Would these be good for a Zalman flex?

[ultraman7k]

sorry to bring back this thread from the dead, but i figured it was better to use an existing one than create a new one.

Currently using a CM R4 120mm fan as bottom intake in my TT Chaser, but when it's cranked it's probably the loudest fan in my case next to my GPU (but for 6 bucks I can't really complain).

Are these penetrators a great deal quieter than the R4s? Also, are the lights brighter?

Thanks.

[ilya]

I would say the AP121's are quieter than the R4's at similar RPMs. I haven't used the LED versions, but from what I've seen in pics and videos I wouldn't expect the LEDs to be any brighter than the R4's.

After using them for such a long time, I've found that these AP121's are a specialty fan. They don't have very good static pressure compared to the competition, but they provide good laminar airflow without too much noise or vibration. Makes them great for side/bottom case fans as well as the occasional case exhaust and certain heatsink designs. I probably wouldn't recommend them as a front intake. (unless you mean the actual bottom fan next to the PSU, in which case I can recommend it)

[JJThomp]

I have a 180mm one that came in my Silverstone TJ08B-E and it is super quiet... As a matter of fact my case is siting about 60 cm from my ear and I can't hear it. I can hear my idle 560 ti twin frozr II over it at all times.

P.S It's running at 917 RPMs according to speed fan

I would highly recommend them to anyone.