EK Launches Meltemi - 38mm Thick High-Performance Fan

[AleksandarK]

EK, the premium liquid cooling gear manufacturer is launching its newest fan on the market, the EK-Meltemi 120ER. It is a 38 mm thick extreme high-static pressure computer cooling fan, designed purely for highest-performance computer liquid cooling systems. Developed in-house on the basis of renowned EK-Vardar fans, they have a wide PWM range of operation. Due to a 38 mm thick frame, there is space for an upgraded motor and far superior performance compared to any standard 25 mm thick fan at the same RPM range.

The Meltemi family of cooling fans carries the name of a type of strong, dry northern winds of the Aegean Sea. The name Meltemi is derived from Italian mal tempo meaning "bad weather", while we can say that the EK-Meltemi is "bad news" for high temperatures.


The key characteristics of EK-Meltemi fans are:

• High-static pressure - unlike other general-purpose computer cooling fans, the EK-Meltemi family of fans is built specifically for computer liquid cooling systems, namely radiator cooling. The new 7 fan blade design is optimized for extremely high-pressure built upon a massive motor housed in a 38 mm thick frame.
• High-quality motor and bearing assembly - New electrical design, and the Dual-Ball bearing with 50.000 hours of lifespan (MTBF) @40C operation ensures uninterrupted operation for years to come. Precise Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) for fan speed adjustment allows performance adjustment on demand.
• Sealed-edge fan casing - The classic, yet the effective square shape of the fan casing provides optimal performance in either pull - (suction) or push (pressure) regime without hydraulic losses, thus ensuring the optimal cooling capacity of your liquid cooling radiators. The classic shape of the fan frame also allows easy cable routing while grouping more fans on one radiator.
• Robust design - The EK-Meltemi 120ER fan fits subtly into any liquid cooling computer giving it an industrial look based on quality and performance.
• Sleeved cable - It comes with a 500 mm long, nylon-sleeved 4-pin PWM cable.

The operational range of the EK-Meltemi 120ER fan is 500-1800 RPM (+/-10%) with the typical power draw of 1.6 W. Maximum airflow at 1800RPM is 62CFM with 2.75 mm H2O pressure.

Availability and Pricing
The EK-Meltemi 120ER is readily available for purchase through the EK Webshop and Partner Reseller Network. In the table below, you can see the manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) of €25.90 with VAT included.

Order now!

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Ferrum Master]

The moment you count up 75eur just to upgrade 3x fans... inner gut says it is wrong.

These are worthy to take place of my Typhoons...

 

[EarthDog]

Lol at the "dad" joke about temps...yikes. lol

Edit: that motor/hub is huge... I bet these work better with a shroud...

 

[RH92]

Hopefully VSG review coming soon .

 

[Ferrum Master]

Lol at the "dad" joke about temps...yikes. lol

Edit: that motor/hub is huge...

Yea, first power up in sync could remind a proper V8 lol

 

[Zareek]

Hmm... I was excited but this doesn't stack up to my 120x25MM Nidec Gentle Typhoon. Better static pressure, lower RPM, but claimed CFM is lower and maximum noise level is much higher too.

Figured I might try one out and compare it, HOLY COW $29.99 plus $15 for shipping! I'm not paying $45 for a fan. I can almost get two of the Gentle Typhoons for that much.

 

[cdawall]

Oh snap I can finally replace my scythe ultra kaze's in my radiator sandwich!

 

[kapone32]

This reminds me of the Kamikaze from Scythe the only this is they spin at 2x the speed of these fans. They are really thick though and the CFM does not in anyway excite me.

 

[LocutusH]

I like crazy fans
Maybe something will be worthy after all, to replace my Gentle Typhoons.

Is it just me, or does this fan have a much larger diameter hub in the middle? Its like an 8 or 9cm fan with the proportions.

 

[EarthDog]

Is it just me, or does this fan have a much larger diameter hub in the middle? Its like an 8 or 9cm fan with the proportions.

Edit: that motor/hub is huge... I bet these work better with a shroud...

It wasn't just you...

...as I said, that hub is so big, these things would almost NEED a shroud for best results. That's a huge dead area.

 

[TechLurker]

I wonder if they'll end up going for 120mm x 76mm fans on the extreme high end, similar to the behemoth fans from the likes of SanAce and Delta, since they now seem to be targeting those who buy and mod server-grade fans for watercooling.

I mean, having visited the extreme fans thread on the Overclockers forums, many of them take high CFM/SP models and just downvolt them to near-silence, while still outputting more CFM/SP than typical non-server grade fans.

 

[RichF]

One review found that the extra-thick fans it tested did not outperform 25mm models. Let's hope that it's different with this one.

I never trust claimed specs. Look at the ridiculously low noise claims on many fans. Only high-quality reviews will let us know for certain.

 

[Voodoo Rufus]

This is rather amusing. Back in "the day" 120x38mm fans were all the rage. Panaflo, Delta, Sanyo Denki, etc. Then they went away with the emergence of thin radiators. Now they're making a come back.

it's hard as heck to find the thick fans anymore. I wish I kept all mine now.

Now, I'm waiting for 140x38 or 50mm fans for my rads.

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

It wasn't just you...

...as I said, that hub is so big, these things would almost NEED a shroud for best results. That's a huge dead area.

Ek's Varder are similar in that regard , massive hub and obviously motor, they are really good fans though , EK I mean.
They are expensive these though, too much for me and I did ponder them for pullers on a 360 rad, but with shrouds(i have some not in use too) they wouldn't fit anywhere , I could only fit them in two places and my case is above average for mounts.
There are better cases though.

 

[Nephilim666]

I still have a bunch of 120x38 panaflo fbk12g12lh fans which look badass. Fitting a thick rad and thick fans in modern cases is challenging though!

It's nice to see something new in the 38mm thickness class. I'd like to see a best-of-both-worlds 32mm thick fan though.

 

[Crackong]

I thought with such a low rpm in the 38mm class, it should be quiet.
But their website listed it is 44 dBA .

On the other hand a F12 iPPC-3000 will do
110 CFM
7.63 mmH2O
43.5dBA

Is there any magic in this EK fan?
Otherwise why not a iPPC-3000?

 

[CheapMeat]

Woah, I'd like to try these in my Rosewill 4U chassis.

I suppose the benefit is the thickness, thus depending on the case, higher pressure. I'd be using them for mid-plane (middle of the chassis) fans. In other setups, maybe the Noctua F12 iPPC-3000 are more practical.

 

[turbogear]

I wonder what Meltemi offer better than the EK-Vardar EVO 120ER.

According to spec, the Vardar has higher static pressure and makes less noise.
Vardar is rated 33.5dBA and Meltemi at 44dBA.

I own six EK-Vardar EVO 120ER and satisfied with them on my rads.

 

[Mysteoa]

I thought with such a low rpm in the 38mm class, it should be quiet.
But their website listed it is 44 dBA .

On the other hand a F12 iPPC-3000 will do
110 CFM
7.63 mmH2O
43.5dBA

Is there any magic in this EK fan?
Otherwise why not a iPPC-3000?

You can't compare one vendor fan to another using the published specification. The test are not done the same, each vendor has different setup. You can use it to compare only fans from the same vendor.

 

[claster17]

I wonder how it compares to an NF-A12x25.

 

[Chrispy_]

I've always wondered why we're still stuck using the 25mm fan standard when the modern case trend is for near-empty ATX cases with insane amounts of spare space inside.

Drive cages used to limit the thickness of intake fans but cases today rarely have 5.25" cages and if there are any 3.5" cages they are either hidden out of the way or entirely optional.

And yeah, it's not my thing but 38mm means moar room for RGBLEDs!

 

[Blueberries]

You can't compare one vendor fan to another using the published specification. The test are not done the same, each vendor has different setup. You can use it to compare only fans from the same vendor.

From EKWB's Website:

EK-Vardar F3 120mm 1850RPM:

Performance characteristics:
- Max Air Flow: 63 CFM = 107 m³/h
- Static Pressure: 2.24mm H2O = 22 Pa
- Sleeved cable length: 300 mm
- Noise Level: 29.5 dBA

EK-Meltemi 120mm 1800RPM:

Performance characteristics:
- Max Air Flow: 62 CFM = 105 m³/h
- Static Pressure: 2.75mm H2O = 27Pa

- Sleeved cable length: 500 mm
- Noise Level: 44dBA

Ouch. I like the initiative for more fan designs but the F3 is clearly the preferred fan here.

 

[Mysteoa]

From EKWB's Website:

EK-Vardar F3 120mm 1850RPM:
EK-Meltemi 120mm 1800RPM:

Ouch. I like the initiative for more fan designs but the F3 is clearly the preferred fan here.

The person I was quoting was compering them to F12 iPPC-3000.

 

[Vlada011]

Thick fans and thick radiators are not worthy. Now when every case have place for 2x 360mm radiator, Black Ice Nemesis GTS + Noctua Sterrox are fine.
No such radiator and fans capable to give you more then 5C difference on two radiators and 6 fans compare to them.

Maybe someone want to install Sanyo Denki 120x38 silver metal fan with huge motor in middle and noise like jet plane.

 

[Blueberries]

The person I was quoting was compering them to F12 iPPC-3000.

I understand that, and I correctly compared vendor specific specs as you pointed out in your post.