Gelid WING 9 & Silent TC case fans

GELID Solutions has come up with a good balance between air flow and fan RPM’s. They also came up with a unique way of temperature control fans. Lets check out how these did.

INTORDUCTION

When it comes to fans, people look at them as, a fan is a fan. There’s not much difference in the way a fan operates from one to another. The only real difference is that some have high air flow but at the cost of noise, and some are silent but at the cost of high airflow. Trying to find a fan that is both quiet and provides enough airflow we need for our computers is a difficult challenge. So we end up buying several different types of fans in the hopes that we find that perfect one that meets our needs. And let’s not forget that we also want them to be visually pleasing.

GELID Solutions, has a couple of different types of fans for those who want extreme silence along with the ability to speed itself up if it starts to get warm without getting loud, even at a full speed. This fan is called the Silent TC (TC is short for Temperature Controlled). I know what you’re thinking, “They never work properly”. Because half the time the probe is located on the wrong spot on the fan and it is always getting air blown across it so that causes these types of fans fail, or the little probe just does not work period. Well, I will say this that. This probe works and that it’s not located on the fan at all. In fact its located on a extension.

The other type of fan from  GELID Solutions is a Gamer fan. This fan is balanced to give the user both a decent amount of airflow and also have a quiet operation.

About GELID Solutions

GELID Solutions

GELID Solutions Ltd. is a Hong Kong based company with Swiss Management and founded in 2008 by Gebhard SCHERRER and VC TRAN. Both have worked in the PC Cooling industry for a number of years and successfully built up an  IT company with their expertise. 

GELID designs and manufactures thermal solutions, CPU coolers, fans, and other computer hardware for both gamers and silent enthusiasts. We provide computer hardware distributors, retailers and system integrators with innovative, virtually silent, high- performance and top quality thermal solutions.

Quality and innovation are key. And, being Swiss, we leave nothing to chance. That’s why we provide a total solution – from bearings to thermal compound, from design to shipping, from the moulding of the fan to the print on the box – with state-of-the-art machines and experienced staff.

Our Vision:

Combine quality and ingenuity to set the standard in creating best- in- class products for global computer enthusiasts 

As their latest venture, GELID Solutions Ltd. is a privately owned limited liability company with a registered share capital of HKD 1’000’000. Strategically based in Hong Kong, “Asia’s World City”, it enjoys an unrivalled location at the geographical and economic centre of Asia. For our customers, this means easy and quick access to our vast manufacturing base in mainland China.

SPECIFICATIONS

I am going to review both of these fans in one review. I will list both fan’s Specifications, and also show both fan’s packaging and installation. The fans that were Tested were the 120mm fans.

Silent TC Fan Specifications 120mm
*INCLUDED:	4 Rubber Fan Mounts
Air Flow (CFM):	58
Bearing:	Hydro Dynamic Bearing
Cable Length (mm):	500
Connector:	3 Pin Molex
Current (A):	0.18
Dimension (mm):	120 x 120 x 25, 92 x 92 x 25, 80 x 80 x 25
Fan Speed (RPM):	750 (22C) – 1500 (42C)
Noise Level (dBA):	12-25.5
Safety Approvals:	CE, RoHS Compliant
Sensor Cable Length (mm)	300
Static Pressure (mmAq):	1.6
Voltage (V):	12
Warranty (years):	5
Weight (g):	120

Gamer Fan Specifications 120mm
*INCLUDED:	4 Rubber Fan Mounts
Air Flow (CFM):	64.3
Bearing:	Naon Flux
Cable Length (mm):	500
Connector:	3 Pin Molex
Current (A):	0.22
Dimension (mm):	120 x 120 x 25, 92 x 92 x 25, 80 x 80 x 25
Fan Speed (RPM):	1500
Noise Level (dBA):	25
Safety Approvals:	CE, RoHS Compliant
Sensor Cable Length (mm)	300
Static Pressure (mmAq):	1.925
Voltage (V):	12
Warranty (years):	5
Weight (g):	119

PACKAGING

Gamer Fan			SIlent TC Fan
Looking at the Gamer fans front packaging, GELID Solutions made sure you knew what the color of the fan was also what came inside the packaging.			The Silent TC fan, GELID Allows you to see the color of the blades, also let you know that this fan is a TC (Temperature Controlled).
Turning the packaging 90°, we see the general features of the Gamer fan.			Flipping the package over 90°, GELID Solutions gives general features of the SIlent TC fan.
Turning the package over to the backside. We are given Key Features, information on the Nanoflux Bearing, and also the Fans specifications.			As I turned over the Silent TC fan packaging to the backside, general specifications. Also a little information about GELID Solutions Silent fans.
Figured I better show ya’s the last side of the packaging.			Since I did the last side of the packaing on the Gamer fan, I better do this one too.
Once I opened the packaging and took out the little plastic insert. For a fan there’s quiet a bit included with the packaging. In the upper top Is a blue 120mm fan, to the bottom left, the rubber mounts (double ended), to the right of these is a fan controller similar to Zalman’s. Finally, right above the fan controller is the connector you will need to use the fan controller.			The Silent TC fan did not have much in the way of packaging. Pretty plain, Just a white 120mm fan and 4 rubber mounts.
Everything laid out outside of the packaging			Everything laid out out side of the packaging
The included fan controller			Up close shot of the 3-pin fan connector and the Temperature controller.

OVERVIEW

Gamer Fan			SIlent TC Fan
Let’s start off looking at the Blades of the Gamer fan from the front			This is the TC (thermal probe) part of the Silent TC fan. This is on a separate set of wires and it will allow you to place the probe anywhere it is needed.
Looking at the blades from the rear.			Pretty much the standard fan blades we have seen before.
Looking at the backside of the entire fan itself. That gives us the AMP rating of 0.22, the voltage of 12, finally the speed of the fan of 1500 RPM’s			Looking at the backside of the entire fan itself. That gives us the AMP rating of 0.18, the voltage of 12, finally the speed of the fan of 1500 RPM’s
Looking at the front side of the fan. But is this one the blades themselves? This will need investigating farther.			Looking at the blades of the fan from the back.
Well, now that’s pretty cool looking. GELID Solutions has a raised portion on the fan itself (or better known as a Winglet design).			The blades of the fan(s) can be removed very easily for cleaning purposes. and do not require you to rip apart the entire fan housing to do so. All I did was gently press the blades of the fan forward and the blades popped out.
As I was removing the Silent TC blades I decided to see if the Gamer fan did the same thing. Guess what? it did.			Just the casing from the back side showing that this fan was not torn apart.
A little better view on how I removed the blades of the fan itself.			On the steel shaft of the blades was a little notch where a clip inside of the housing will lock the blades into.
The blades removed, and the casing together.			The blades removed, and the casing together.
Put the blades of the fan in and gave ’em a quick spin, showing they still work after tearing them apart.			Same as the Gamer fan. I did a quick test to make sure the fans still worked.

INSTALLATION

This is where I install the fans. I used these as a normal Chassis type fans.

Gamer Fan			SIlent TC Fan
I Installed the fan using the included rubber mounts.			Showing you how I installed the rubber mounts onto both fans. Insert the longest end of the rubber isolation mount into the screw holes.
This is shere each of the fans will be mounted, as exhaust fans to the rear of my ATCS 840 chassis.			And tug on them gently til they completly pull through…
One the short end of the rubber isolation mounts insert that through the fan mounting holes on the chassis…			until you meet up with the rubber stop on each of the rubber isolation mounts.
and pull til the fan gets secured.			FInal installation of the SIlent TC fan.
Final Installation of the Gamer blue fan. This fan did not “glow” or was not UV reactive. Even though I did not have UV lighting, the blue light I had coming from my other fans should have lit these up a bit. I even used UV LED’s as well, and again nothing.			The SIlent TC fan, in and running. The Thermal probe did work quiet well. I placed it near the IOH of my motherboard and, as the IOH heated up, the fan started to spin up as well. But it has such a low air flow from the beginning it was difficult to tell by noise.

CONCLUSIONS

The GELID Solutions fans performed as expected. What separate these fans from other fans on the market is the 5 year warranty and good airflow to fan RPM ratio. The winglet design of the Gamer fan helped in the reduction of fan noise, while slightly increasing the amount of airflow this fan produced. Having a movable temperature probe with the Silent TC fan is another good feature. It allows the user to place the temperature probe in the area around the fan itself to keep it out of the direct airflow of the fan.

There are a few things that GELID Solutions could add or change on these fans. GELID could give the Gamer fan a little more airflow, in the 80 CFM range, or add a higher CFM range of fans. Like many other temperature sensing fans, the Silent TC fan has such a low air flow, the idea of temperature controlling it seems kinda pointless from the get go. What I mean is, why control the fan speed for noise control when it is barely audible at full throttle and does not produce enough air flow to make much of a difference. GELID Solutions should have made the Silent TC fan with an air flow of at least 90 CFM or greater. That way the temperature controlling portion would better suite its purpose.

Looking across the web the Gamer fan goes for around $13-$17 USD, while the Silent TC fan ranges from $6-$10 USD. With these prices, that makes these fans in a great bargain for those needing a quiet reliable fan in their computer systems.

• Performance 7
• Value 9
• Quality 9
• Warranty 9
• Features 9
• Innovation 9

Pros:

+Quiet operation

+Good air flow to RPM ratio

+Temperature Probe on the SIlent TC fan

Cons:

–The Sient TC fan could be have a slightly higher CFM rating

Final score of 8.0 out of 10 and receives the Bjorn3D Seal of Approval.