This is what happens when hardware reviewers smoke too much crack

[Ilmater]

First off, this is a repost from Cases & Cooling, but since it's about a hardware review in general and not really about the fan being reviewed, I'm moving it in here. Here's a link to that thread if anyone wants to read the responses there.

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Anyone looking to buy a Panaflo fan? Wanna know how they perform? Let me tell you where NOT to get advice from:

Link to the PC Extreme review

To make this as easy as possible for you, I'll list all of the specs of the Panaflo 80mm line:

L1A - 24cfm @ 21dBA @ 1900rpm
M1A - 32.1cfm @ 28dBA @ 2450rpm
H1A - 39.6cfm @ 32dBA @ 2950rpm
U1A - 46.9cfm @ 38.2dBA @ 3450rpm

Now, here is what the reviewer is claiming to be reviewing:

I have reviewed one 80mm Panaflo fan here for testing, this model is the low end model, but let me tell you, I was surprised to see how well this fan performed when it was only the low end model.

But later, he says:

EliteCool.com were kind enough to supply me with 1 80mm fan, which is the mid-range model. EliteCool also has the 1 higher end, and 1 lower end Panaflo fan as well.

Didn't he just say it was the low-end model?? Anyway, I assume that he means the M1A, but I don't know. Here are the specs for the part that he lists. In italics are my comments:

46.98cfm <-- this corresponds to a U1A
44dB <-- this doesn't correspond to any Panaflo 80mm fan, so who knows
2950rpm [same as the H1A] (it is supposed to be 2500 [M1A] according to the site but mine is running at 2950[H1A] ...)
Input Power: 3 Watts <-- the U1A is 3.24W
Current: .25 Amps <-- the U1A is .27

Then he has a picture of "the fan" which is clearly a U1A because of the model number (ends in a U).

Next, he compares the fan to an LED 80mm fan that he already had. He says:

As you can see, there was 14 CFM difference in air flow and a +12 dba change in noise level, it was pretty much a draw, but the Panaflo offers more air flow at the same decible level.

You mean to tell me that by increasing the cfm by a factor of ~43% and increasing the noise levels by (remember, every three decibels is twice the noise) a factor of 1600% that it's a fair trade?! Even if his original dB numbers were wrong, the U1A still makes almost 400% more noise. So I'd disagree with his sentiments, but you can come to your own conclusions.

Then he tests the fan (I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he kept the same ambient room temperature) and says that it dropped case temps by 6C and CPU temps by 2C, which is fine (and very likely).

What's his conclusion (my issues in italics again)?

It's all well and good to have massive CFM flowing through your case or radiator, but this usually comes as a compromise to the noise levels [and this differs from our current situation, how?]. Things like the Delta fan push through a lot of air, but also sound similar to a mini hairdryer at the same time[see last comment]! For some people, this noise wouldn't worry them (I put up with a 80mm TORNADO for a while) but others simply can't stand any extra noise.

The Panaflo fans are certainly recommended if you want to increase your case cooling without increasing the noise levels too much I don't think there's "technical" definition for "too much" but...]. Although I only looked at the low end 80mm version, the same quality and low noise levels should carry across the entire range[again with the "low-noise" claims, this is getting tiring].

Overall, the Panaflo 80mm is an outstanding product and the only "con" is that it had no commercial packaging. I give it an overall rating of 4X 's.

And my overall rating for his review? Three blunts and a crack rock. We license people to drive, maybe we should license some hardware reviewers.

P.S. Oh, and just before you say, "Maybe he didn't know the correct specs of the fan," he has a link to Panaflo's fans in his review. That means that he doesn't even have an excuse for not knowing.

 

[Adul]

he was hitting the crack pipe hard.

 

[Sunner]

I thought going from 10->20 decibels would increase the sound power by 10 times, while the audible difference would be about 100%, that is, 20 decibels being 10 times as powerful as 10, but "only" twice as loud to the human ear?
But then, I don't really have a clue, just off the top of my head 🙂

Anyways...funny review... 🙂

 

[Ilmater]

Originally posted by: Sunner
I thought going from 10->20 decibels would increase the sound power by 10 times, while the audible difference would be about 100%, that is, 20 decibels being 10 times as powerful as 10, but "only" twice as loud to the human ear?
But then, I don't really have a clue, just off the top of my head 🙂

Yeah, decibel levels are a tricky thing. Personally, I think that we should come up with something better, but oh well.

A 1dB increase in a sound is the slightest increase that's audible to the human ear. An increase in 3dB's = double the sound "pressure." How loud is a 38dB sound compared to a 35dB sound? Well, there is no exact science to spell out if it really "sounds" twice as loud, so we go by the intensity of the sound. But, if you think about it, at higher volumes, it would take more and more for you to actually "hear" a difference, so it wouldn't surprise me that 38dB is actually twice as loud as 35dB.

Yeah, this is just too imprecise so let's just agree this guy was stoned.

 

[Sunner]

so let's just agree this guy was stoned.

Fair enough 🙂