Silverstone Variable Speed Fans Review

This second fan has the unique distinction of being the first fan we've seen that incorporates all the benefits of a 92mm fan, but in the 80mm package. As you can guess it moves as much air as a 92mm fan, but fits where a normal 80mm fan would. Another cool feature is the small louvers in the side that allow air to escape or enter depending on the available pressure. The benefit of this is to help reduce fan noise near the tips especially if there is a restriction near the fan casing (typical of most off the shelf cases).

Here are some quick specs on the FM82 80/92mm fan. The fan is made from polished white plastic and is intended for use at 12 VDC with a minimum starting voltage of 5 VDC. Rated current is 0.40A, with a maximum of 0.45A. Rated Power is 4.8W with a maximum of 5.4W. The speed controller allows a variance of 1800 to 3800rpm and will move a maximum of 72.48CFM. Maximum static pressure is 5.73mm H20. Noise is variable starting at 17dBA @ 1800rpm and 40.4dBA @ 3800rpm. Life expectancy is 50,000 hours.

This fan is a little louder than the 120mm unit though given that it is intended to replace a standard 80mm fan you can't really complain.

Combining the above features with variable speed control really gives you a lot of options. The only thing we missed from both of these packages is a thermal option that would allow you to control fan speed by temperature as well as by dial. Since both fans will spin at maximum RPM when the dial is disconnected it would seem reasonable that in place of the speed dial you could plug in a thermal sensor and control the fan the same way. Maybe Silverstone can add this feature to their next release.