Reviewed by Barry Little -
July 17, 2007
Manufacturer:
Sunbeamtech
Model: MFPP
Price: $12.99 at Xoxide.com
Fans are the
most commonly-used method of keeping a PC cool. More
affordable and easier to implement than more exotic
(and expensive) cooling solutions, noise is not the
only drawback to air powered cooling—it’s
providing power for all of those fans, which can
turn into a nightmare of wiring using splitter and
extension cables. Fortunately, Sunbeamtech
has come up with a simple and affordable solution
that makes powering multiple fans inside your rig’s
case without resorting to a lot of messy, additional
wiring and adapters, a snap: the Sunbeamtech Multi Fan
Power Port.
Cases designed for
gamers and power-users typically support more fans
than most motherboards can provide headers for.
Depending on the case and the layout of the
motherboard, the headers aren’t always located in
the ideal spot for a fan's power cables. Also, the power requirement for some
fans is greater than what the motherboard header can safely provide. If a 4-pin Molex
from the power supply isn’t available, that means
using a Y-cable to daisy-chain it with another
device. As you might imagine, the more fans you add,
the greater the problem.
The additional
cabling itself can quickly become another issue.
Keeping the inside of your case free from the
clutter of excess wires and cables has more than
just an aesthetic value whether you use a windowed
side panel or not. In addition to making it easier
to work on and upgrade your system, neat wiring
improves airflow and cooling—so all those fans you
installed won’t go to waste. Cable routing can be
Heaven or Hell depending on your specific case.
Either way, the more cables you throw into the mix
means more work for you to make them neat.
Fan controllers can
help solve this problem and provide the additional
benefit of allowing you to control the RPMs of the
connected fans for noise reduction or hi-performance
cooling. Some are even thermostatically controlled
and provide additional I/O ports. Like everything
else, fan controllers vary in quality, features and
price. The better ones with additional I/O can run
anywhere from thirty to sixty bucks (or more). Fan controllers also
require that your case have at least one drive bay
free and available to install it in.
Let’s say that you’ve
already got multiple fans that move plenty of air
with an acceptable noise level; and all you really
want is a simple, single connection point to provide
power for them without resorting to a bunch of
Y-adapters, extension cables, and additional Molex
connections from your power supply. Let’s also say
that you really don’t want a bay-mounted fan
controller—or that your case may not even have a
spare bay that’s free. What do you do?
That’s what the folks at
Sunbeamtech.com probably thought—and the result
is the Multi Fan Power Port.
About
Sunbeamtech.com
Sunbeam Company, a
true art innovator in the field of PC modification
and accessories at all aspect, targets on providing
the top quality and state of art computer products
to high tech PC users. We dedicate outstanding high
quality control as our number one priority and
deliver the products with the highest level of
excellent Performance, as well as the coolest
Innovation and an Appearance that draws your
attention.
Launched as a
promising new company in the field in 2000, Sunbeam
Company specialized in developing cold cathode
fluorescent lamps (CCFL), and furthermore extended
to manufacture various modding equipments.
Throughout the years, we now expand our product
coverage to provide pioneering and fancy computer
application at all aspects, while focusing on, but
not limiting to, cooling systems and computer cases.
Our mission is to satisfy PC players all over the
world who are tired of boring traditional computer
impressions and longing for experiencing the
excitements of revolutionary hardware designs.
Sunbeam Company
has manufacturing factories located in Dongguan
City, China. In order to provide exceptional product
quality combined with superior customer support, we
keep updating and advancing ourselves to meet the
diverse changes and increasing market demands. We
strive to continue designing and developing
ground-breaking, exciting, and appealing products as
well as being the one stop resource and solution for
all computer enthusiasts seeking to turn their
ingenious visions into the coolest and fanciest
reality.
Packaging
The Sunbeamtech
Multi Fan Power Port comes in your typical
blister package designed to hang from a rack in a
store. The Multi Fan Power Port is clearly
displayed against a dark blue cardboard inset with
the Sunbeamtech logo and “Multi Fan Power
Port, “with a small photo of the device in
action and the Sunbeamtech.com signature on
the front. Look closely and you can see a
watermarked image of the device in the background.
Features, specs and installation instructions are
clearly printed on the back with the same subtle,
watermarked close-up of the Multi Fan Power Port.
What’s not typical about the package is how easy it
is to open simply by snapping it open—rather
than having to break out the box cutter or scissors.
Overall, a clean, effective and simple design that
shows you what you’re getting and how to use it
without the usual marketing fluff. Also included is
a strip of padded, double-sided tape for mounting
the Multi Fan Power Port.
The Muti Fan Power
Port
As you can see from
the photos, the Sunbeamtech Multi Fan Power Port
has a very compact, elegantly simple and effective
design. With dimensions of 8.8 x 5.4 x 1.9 cm (the
package erroneously states the measurements in
inches), and made of tough plastic, it will fit
just about anywhere inside your case. The
Sunbeamtech Multi Fan Power Port supports up to
six 3-pin fans via a single 4-pin Molex
male
connection from your power supply.
The toughest part of
the installation is deciding where you want
to install the Multi Fan Power Port.
Obviously, this will be determined by your
particular case, the number of fans involved; the
length of your Molex and fan cables, as well as your
personal preferences—whether you want to tuck it out
of sight or mount it somewhere conspicuous for a
little extra “Bling” if your case has a windowed
side panel. Either way, the primary function of the
Multi Fan Power Port is to provide a single
connection point for multiple case fans, while
avoiding the dreaded “Rat’s Nest Wiring Syndrome”
responsible for ruining the aesthetics and airflow
of your case.
Installation
For this review, I’m
installing the Multi Fan Power Port in a Core
2 Extreme Rig with a
SilverStone Temjin TJ09
tower case. To provide some extra cooling, I popped
a pair of Cooler Master 120mm blue LED fans
in the TJ09’s upper fan brackets to serve as exhaust
fans. Unlike some 3-pin fans whose wiring harness
consists of three separate wires, the Cooler Master
fans I used have their wires joined at the seams
like a "single" wire. This made them easier and neater to strategically
route through and behind the TJ09’s fan brackets the
way I wanted—as opposed to having to ‘braid” 3
separate wires to keep the entire wire harness neat—and
making it bulkier and less flexible in the process.
Once I got an idea of
how I wanted to route the additional fan wires and an available
4-pin Molex from the
Themaltake Toughpower 750W PSU,
and where I wanted to mount the Multi Fan Power
Port, I gave the mounting surface a few blasts of compressed air and
a good wipe-down with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol. Make sure
that you mount the Multi Fan Power Port exactly
where you want it, because the adhesive on the
mounting strip really sticks! Not only is it a pain
to get loose and leaves behind a real gummy mess,
but it loses most of its sticking power if you try
to re-stick-again. If you plan on
relocating the Sunbeamtech Multi Fan Power Port
in the future, I recommend you use common Velcro
strips or tabs found in any hardware or office
supply store, rather than the foam mounting tape
that comes with it. Not only
will Velcro do just as good a job holding the
Multi Fan Power Port in place, but it will be
easier
to remove; and the adhesive residue is easier to
clean up, too.
Final Impressions
The Sunbeamtech
Multi Fan Power Port makes it easier to connect
multiple fans without spending hours trying to tuck
away a lot of additional wiring to keep
things neat inside your case. Drawbacks? If you’re
looking to control the RPM of your
fans, then the Multi Fan Power Port isn’t
for you— the Multi Fan Power Port only provides
power—not adjustable fan speeds. You’ll
need to go with a regular fan controller for that.
As far as LEDs for
the sake of “Bling” goes, you can have any color you
want—so long as it’s blue. It would be nice
if Sunbeamtech offered models with different color
LEDs. Modders will undoubtedly find a way to swap
the blue ones out with the color of their
choice—which should be easy, considering that the
Multi Fan Power Port can be opened up by
removing the four scews in the back.
The only other issue some may
take with the Multi
Fan Power Port, is that all six LEDs light up as
soon as power is applied—whether fans are actually
connected to the ports or not, rather than an LED
lighting up only when a fan is connected to a port.
I personally didn't consider this an issue, as I was
more concered with the Multi Fan Power Port's ability to
help keep the wiring clean inside the case (which
does have a side panel window), while powering the
two fans I installed—all of which it did quite
nicely.
Innovative,
useful and affordable are three terms that get thrown
around quite often when it comes to PC accessories,
and few products pass muster in all three areas. But if
you’re looking for a way to power multiple 3-pin fans
while keeping your case’s wiring under control at a
great price, the
Sunbeamtech Multi Fan Power Port thankfully,
is the exception.
