Speeze UV CCFL Fan and Red CCFL Ring

Manufacturer: Speeze
Retail: $16.95 (CCFL Fan)
Retail: $12.95 (CCFL Ring)
Review Date: September 1st, 2003

Bringing UV to the case modding arena has made for some interesting mods. Not many modders use UV though. If you like UV, Speeze has provided us with their UV cold cathode green fan. Speeze also sent a red CCFL fan ring which we will take a look at in this review.

The cold cathode fan, not only provides cooling for your system but will fully light most cases. For those that might not know, a Cold Cathode Fluorescent Light (CCFL) is a neon light that produces very little heat and virtually no noise.

A CCFL fan uses a round cold cathode tube in the shape of a ring. The ring fits around the outside of the fan. A 360 lighting view is obtained with the ring as opposed an LED which is a focused form of light. This means that a CCFL will light a larger amount of space than a LED. UV lighting is not a bright light to the eyes. UV light reacts with the UV sensitive sources around it.

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To protect against shipping damage the fan and cold cathode ring come securely packaged. However, there were several spelling mistakes on the back of the packaging. These mistakes are not very professional and Speeze should clean up there marketing print.

Fan Specs:

• Dimension: 80 x 80 x 25mm
• Noise: 28.0 DB
• Air Flow: 31.7 CFM
• Speed: 2700 RPM
• Power: 1.56 Watt, 0.13 Amp, 12 Volt

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The CCFL transformer supports two cold cathode rings or tubes. An on/off switch is mounted to a PCI slot bracket. This gives the user more control over the lights function, unlike the Galaxy CCFL that was recently reviewed. If purchasing the ring only, the same transformer and switch is included.

The CCFL ring on the fan can be unscrewed and switched to the other side of the fan. This allows the user to control how the air flows inside the case.

Both the fan and CCFL transformer use a 4 pin AT power connector. The fan can also use the 3 pin ATX connector. Power leads into the fan are completely covered in heat shrink which protects the user from accidental shock.

Other package contents include screws and mounting Velcro witch a sticky back. The separate ring comes with long screws that allow a fan guard to fit over the ring if desired.

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Installation:

Fan and ring installation is basic. Just screw the fan into the case or screw the ring unto the fan.

UV light is not very bright. Its job is to react to with UV sensitive objects like the fan blades. The UV CCFL reacts very well with the fan. Unfortunately, the UV light is not very strong and will not cause reactions unless the object is very close to the fan. The CCFL must be within a foot or so of the UV sensitive object to react strongly.

The fan is very quiet. I felt this fan was quieter to the ear than Galaxy Tech's CCFL fan.

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The red cold cathode ring is bright and uses less white light than Galaxy Tech's CCFL fan. Galaxy Tech's fan was a light blue with a strong present of white light and a bit of blue mixed in, if this makes any sense. Speeze's red light is bright and casts more of a reddish color. Of course, comparing red to blue is like apples and oranges. The best result would be to have a red CCFLs from both manufacturers.

Conclusion:

While the UV is not as strong as colored CCFL lights, I would like to see more intensity from the UV. The red CCFL light is a solid case mod light. It provides enough red to light the interior of your case. The quiet fan with the UV light makes will save you from some headaches.

Pros:

• Quiet fan
• Ring can be mounted on either side of the fan
• Red CCFL ring is a truer color compared to other CCFLs
• Power leads are covered
• On / Off switch

Cons:

• UV light should be stronger

Rating:
Very Good

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