Introduction

It’s easy to overlook fans when you are putting a system together. One 120mm fan looks pretty much like another, and you might expect that performance and quality would be similar. However, this is not always the case. Low quality fans can cause some real headaches in a number of different ways. Aside from the obvious cooling problems, due to lack of airflow, and motherboard warnings and shutdowns when they go bad, fans do some odd things.

Right now my rig is in a mid-tower that weighs in at 15 pounds and is solid as a rock. Add in a weighty power supply, a couple of hard drives and the rest, and you are over twenty pounds. Recently, I began getting an occasional rattle from one of the side panel grills, so I tightened the grill and it stopped. I was still getting a hum, however, and a noticeable one, at that. Then, one day I was sitting at my desk and I realized my computer was moving from side to side….enough to notice with the naked eye. I put my hand on it and there was a heavy vibration when it moved in one direction. So….my first thought was a HDD problem. I unplugged them, but it persisted. I went through every component in the case to track down the source that was causing enough vibration to move twenty pounds of components and was coming up empty. Finally, I unplugged the least likely culprit, a $3.00 80mm case fan that had developed a bad bearing. Hours of time tracking down a problem, all because I overlooked the quality of an 80mm fan that was going in.

The Enermax Cluster 120mm case fan is hard to overlook. With several new technologies and attractive looks, the Enermax Cluster stands out from the crowd. Immediately evident is the Enermax Cluster’s white finish and kinked “Batwing” blades. The Enermax Cluster also boasts increased airflow and quieter performance, due to technologies such as their patented “Fairy” frame, “Twister” bearing and “Halo” carved frame. Let’s see what these unique features bring to the Enermax Cluster.