The noise of the loud 38cfm Delta fan on my Globalwin CAK38
was really starting to get to me. This was especially rubbed in when building
my friend's computer and installing a Globalwin WBK68 to find it was almost
silent. I almost considered going over to something like the WBK68 but I wanted
the performance the Delta an offered.
The only solution I saw was to get an 80mm fan and attach that
to my CPU. 80mm fans can deliver the same power as a 60mm fan but at a lower
RPM therefore lower noise.
Makeshift ducting using gaffa tape is a well-known effective
and cost-effective solution and this seemed the best idea until Below
Zero offered me one of their pre-built adapters made of moulded plastic.
They offer this solution in either green, red or blue at a price of $21 -
this is around US $10. Some people might find this too much, but it does have
aesthetic pleasing as you will soon see (esp. important to case modders out
there).
Here you can see the mouldng is quite nicely done. It's a translucent
blue, so if you have got andy neon lights installed they might pick up on
this nicely. It looks like it's been vacuum formed out of 3mm sheet plastic
(it's 3mm at the outside edge and gets thinner as it gets to the center).
It's fairly strong and wll probably take quite a bashing.
Now we've finished looking at it (which for some people is very
important), lets see how it performs. Personally as long as it brings down
my noise level and performs admirably I will be happy - but other people have
better expectations..
