Thermaltake SWAFAN 12 RGB

[VSG]

Thermaltake introduces a unique swappable fan design to its latest fan series called SWAFAN RGB, thus allowing users to customize their fan airflow layout without compromising on aesthetics.. It comes in 120 and 140 mm sizes and features also a new unified controller with software support over fan speed and LED control too.

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[thegnome]

They sure look like LL120's. Hopefully more manufacturer's take over the concept, much less ugly to just have the fan reverse rather than having to turn around the whole unit (which can make it look quite bad).

 

[dirtyferret]

PCgamer hit the nail on the head when they stated "Thermaltake's swappable fans solve a problem no one has"

 

[Rotorama]

PCgamer hit the nail on the head when they stated "Thermaltake's swappable fans solve a problem no one has"

In my opinion it's not really a problem but an aesthetic consideration. I personally like the idea!

I ordered two types of Thermalright fans recently, both exactly the same but one is specifically a 'reverse flow' fan, basically what Thermaltake is achieving here with swappable fan blades.

 

[Chaitanya]

Rated power consumption figures are way too high to be practical these days. There are better fans(Delta, Noctua, etc...) on market for that kind of power consumption figures.

PCgamer hit the nail on the head when they stated "Thermaltake's swappable fans solve a problem no one has"

If they are talking about removable fan blades then Enermax has been making fans with removable fan blades for good part of decade now. Only good thing TT has done is provide lubricant for bearings which Enermax never did and I remember reading a lot of complaints about their implementation(we will have to wait and see how TT fares with regards to that).

 

[VSG]

Rated power consumption figures are way too high to be practical these days. There are better fans(Delta, Noctua, etc...) on market for that kind of power consumption figures.

Those are independently tested and are the worst case scenario, so includes in-rush/start-up power draw as well. Nothing companies can do about it. In this case it's also the 30 LEDs per fan on top of the motor itself.

 

[MDWiley]

I can at least credit TT for trying something new. I personally love the concept of modular fans, especially if there are options for static pressure vs airflow, rgb or non-rgb etc. My only peeve is the awful rainbow effect, which looks janky compared to similar fans.

 

[LTUGamer]

So they take a premium because their blades are swapable. Enermax have it for about 10 years.

Enermax says that this design could make easier to clean the fans. Ofcourse themaltake added second pair of blades which costs cents to manufacture. Three pcs of enermax fans with this cleaning function and RGB costs 40 usd: https://www.newegg.com/p/0SS-00ZT-00001 As far I know they have acceptable performance without any additional bearing noises.

It looks like Thermaltake forgot that fan should let acheve minimal temperatures with minimal noise output. I think that those fans were OK if they remove bearing noises and ask 40 - 50 usd for a triple pack. Now they are asking 120 usd for a three poor quality fans. It is a robery.

 

[wheresmycar]

the wobbling logo is annoying... deserves a spot in the CONS. If the centre piece is gonna tremble about, why not just keep it neutral with a solid colour for less of that sea-sick hazard

 

[vermis]

I'm aware of time constraints while doing this review. I'd like to propose a couple of possible ammends:
- Dip switches on the back of the controller (if they work like they did on previous iterations) are meant to specifiy the number of controllers, not fans.
- Related to the former, you can apparently connect up to 5 fans per controller

 

[VSG]

I'm aware of time constraints while doing this review. I'd like to propose a couple of possible ammends:
- Dip switches on the back of the controller (if they work like they did on previous iterations) are meant to specifiy the number of controllers, not fans.
- Related to the former, you can apparently connect up to 5 fans per controller

It's extremely unclear, but I did mention the first part. For the second, there is a clear note about power limits to where only 3 fans/controllers are "highly recommended" so I'll leave that as-is. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Mussels]

Ah damnit.

These seemed interesting til i saw the connectors - I've had to bin over 20 working thermaltake fans now, since the owners destroyed or lost the original hubs the fans shipped with (Often, a single cable like the USB header one) and TT keep changing the designs, so you cant buy replacements :/

 

[KaitouX]

The idea of having fans with swappable blades could be interesting combined with a 3D printer, but not a big fan of the proprietary connectors and the way the blades connect with the base, unless you can actually remove the part with the rubber ring and middle shaft to place it in other blades. It would be nice to see how the Enermax ones compare to this.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

Static Pressure:	2.58 mm H₂O in standard configuration; 2.19 mm H₂O in reverse configuration

IDK if this is for 120mm or 140mm fans, or both but this above average, 2.6+ would fall into the high SP category, unlike the last fan that I post about the static pressure.