SPECIFICATIONS: P/N : A1214

Fan Dimensions: 80x80x25 mm

Rated Voltage: 12VDC

Started Voltage: 7VDC

Rated Current: 0.18AMP - 0.45AMP

Power Input: 2.16W - 5.4W

Fan Speed: 2900rpm at 25deg C - 5000rpm at 35deg C

Air Flow: 46CFM at 2900rpm - 53CFM at 5000rpm

Noise: 27dB(A) at 2900rpm - 39dB(A) at 5000rpm

Bearing Type: Two Ball Bearing

Life Time: 50,000 Hours

FIRST LOOK

As the heading suggests , the fan is in deed a smart fan , as much as a smart bomb is smart , let me explain . The fan has a thermal sensor attached , that controls the fan speed depending on case temperature . The hotter the inside of the case the faster the fan turns , there by moving more air through the case , causing the case temp to drop. Also during cold days the fan will run silently at 2900rpm and on those hot days (35deg C + ) run up to 5000rpm pumping out 53cfm of hot air . Just think , with two of these bad boys , they could be churning  out over 100cfm on those hot days , and hardly be noticeable on cooler days . Smart case fan , yes I think so , and Smart Thermaltake . In fact this is the same fan that is used on the Volcano 7 , and should work really well on a 60 to 80mm fan adapter. The fan still has the second lead which  is for rpm monitoring , and I will be testing this fan on my 80mm adapter . The Smart case fan comes  neatly boxed with a Chrome TT fan grill , Bolts and a 3 to 4 pin adapter .

LETS TAKE LOOK

You can hardly see the sensor in this picture , but you can see the extra set of wires that lead out to it .

You can see the sensor  clearly in this picture , and no its not very large .

DOES IT WORK

First I dont think a company like Thermaltake would release a product that did not work , and to answer the question , yes it works . Current room temp is 24deg Celsius , I connected the Thermaltake Smart Case Fan to my AT power supply , and the fan ran nice and quietly , gently pressing the sensor with my finger made the fan speed increase , gently taking the sensor between two fingers made the fan speed up noticeably . Taking my fingers of the sensor , made the fan slow back down  . I did this several times and the speed increased and decreased accordingly every time .

CONCLUSION

Well I love it , could hardly wait to bolt it inside my case . My MB temp was about 28deg C with 24deg C room temp , thats 4deg C over room temp .  Unfortunately with a 120mm fan and another 80mm fan and 60mm fan , all sucking air out, there was no noticeable difference   , not at 24deg C room temp in anyway. I must say that for the first time ever Im looking forward to a hot day,  just to see this fan do its thing . In all seriousness this is the next step in case fans , ones that run slow and quiet when the temps are cool ( still pumping out 46cfm ) and turning up the speed when things heat up. Well folks there is a new fan in town , the Thermaltake Smart Case Fan

Smart Case Fan on my 80mm Fan Adapter on my Volcano 6cu

Well thats a mouthful , Im putting the Thermaltake fan on my 80mm fan adapter and bolting it onto the Volcano 6cu. In the past a standard 80mm fan drops the cooling performance by 3deg C over the standard 32cfm Volcano 6cu fan .

High performance 80mm fans tend to equal the cooling power of the 32cfm 60mm TT fan that comes stock with the Volcano 6cu , so lets see how the TT 80mm Smart Case Fan performs. Well it beats the Stock Volcano 6cu , I was unable to get the fan to really turn on the rpm , with room temp at around 24deg Celsius  the fan hit 3200rpm inside the well ventilated case. Taking the side cover off and the fan slowed down to 2743 rpm , taking the sensor in my fingers the rpm rose to 4000rpm , and at 4000 rpm there was about a 2-3 deg Celsius drop in the cpu temperature under load . I could not make the fan do more than 4000rpm holding the sensor  with my fingers, but it certainly has proved itself a capable unit.

Room temp 24deg Celsius . cpu @ 133mhz x 8.5 = 1133mhz , 46deg C under load with the TT80mm fan + adapter/43deg C @ 4000rpm . Stock 6cu = 48deg C under load. 

2nd CONCLUSION

There's fans and there's fans , here is a fantastic fan . Use it on your side cover use it on a fan adapter , you cant go wrong . I love this fan , its the next generation in cooling solutions . The hotter it gets the harder it runs , there by giving you more cooling when needed . I just dont know what to say , I have nothing negative to say about it , I can only praise Thermaltake for creating the Smart Case Fan , and highly recommend it to anyone interested in purchasing a 80mm fan . For the ultra serious overclocker this may not be the best solution , esp when more power is the motto , a fan that puts out a constant 5000rpm and 53cfm is most likely what you would be looking for. But for you noise sensitive folks  , here is the good news , the fan was hardly noticeable , even at 4000rpm. The nitty gritty : this is one well made and thought out quality product , and if such things interest you then here is something you should take a serious look at  . Hell folks , Ive been playing around with this fan for two days now , and I never though that a 80mm fan could interest me for more than a few minutes at best , so if you can find one, buy it , you wont regret it .

This review was kindly sponsored by : THERMALTAKE

Matt Korhonen