Zalman ZM-SF3 120mm Ultra Quiet Case Fan

Product(s): Zalman ZM-SF3 120mm Fan
Provided By: Zalman
Price: ~$14.99 USD at time of publishing

Introduction: 

Anyone who has tried to build a quiet PC has quickly realized that cheap (and usually included with your case) fans just don't cut the mustard when it comes to performance and noise levels. In years past pretty much every fan used a very similar fan design and there really wasn't too much to get excited about when it came to fan design. This all has changed in the past couple years as companies have started to re-design the fins to help increase performance as well as reducing noise and today we are going to take a look at Zalman's newest fan, the ZM-SF3 120mm case fan.

There isn't really much to say about this fan, the pictures in the next section will really show you how this fan is different. We will also compare this fan to some other that we've tested from Thermaltake (full review of the Thermaltake ISGC Fan here) and Noctua (full review of the Noctua NF-S12B FLX here).

First Impressions:

Here we go, as you can tell really quickly the Zalman ZM-SF3 120mm fan is a bit different thanks to it's "Shark-Fin Blade Design".

Zalman ZM-SF3 Fan - Packaging

Zalman ZM-SF3 Fan - Packaging

 

At closer inspection you can see the fan blades are pretty "extreme" looking and if nothing else make the fan look pretty mean-looking. You can also see the black "Anti-Vibration" pads on the four corners of the fan which help reduce vibration noise.

Zalman ZM-SF3 Fan - Top View

Zalman ZM-SF3 Fan - Bottom View

 

As you can see in the next picture you get 4 "Anti-Vibration" Silicone Pins to help you get your fan installed and reduce noise. You also get a resistor cable that when attached will reduce the RPM from 1500 (Full Speed) down to 900 RPM. For someone wanting to build a quiet PC you might want to use the resistor cable for the extra noise reduction.

Zalman ZM-SF3 Fan - Accessories

So that's what the ZM-SF3 fan from Zalman is all about. Nothing too out of the ordinary other than the unique fin design. In the next page we'll take a look at some other case fans that use non-traditional fin designs to see how the Zalman ZM-SF3 can compare.

Zalman ZM-SF3 Fan - Specifications:

Features

• Anti-Vibration Silicone Pads & Pins
• 150,000 Hours Guaranteed Product Lifespan
• ELQ (EverLasting Quiet) Bearing Technology
• Shark’s Fin Blade Design

Detailed Specifications