Cooling

Sunbeam Round Cold Cathode Fans

By Miguel Blanco ⋅ April 30, 2008 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

It isn’t your typical computer user that loads up his computer case with glowing fans, and lights, and replaces the side panel with Plexiglas so you can see the inside. But modding is not so rare anymore either. Nowadays you can pick up a premodded case along with some cold cathode tubes and LED fans at the Comp USA! Why has this phenomenon gained such popularity? Well, cause it looks so cool, of course.

Today we will take a look at the Round Cold Cathode Fan from Sunbeam. A Taiwanese company, Sunbeam has been developing cold cathode fluorescent lamp technology for the last three years for use in scanners, LCD backlights, and decoration. More recently the company has been focusing on the growing field of casemod equipment, and claims to be the dominant brand in this field.

The Sunbeam Round Cold Cathode Fan comes in three color combinations: orange, green, and blue. All three are UV reactive, which means that the plastic housing and fan blades react to the cold cathode light by glowing brightly. In fact, the cathode tube looks rather dim compared to the rest of the fan which makes for a very cool effect.

For those of you who have never heard the term “cold cathode” before, go to your kitchen and turn on the lights. Chances are you’re standing under several glass tubes of low pressure mercury vapor, otherwise known as “fluorescent lights”. Those are cold cathode tubes. They emit a large amount of light without consuming much power or getting too hot (heat and computers don’t mix well). They could call them fluorescent light fans, but that doesn’t sound as cool.

There are three versions of fan kit available: the simple, the sound activated, and the switched. We got the switched model which comes with a backplate for one of your case’s PCI slots with a switch for turning the light on and off. You can also opt to purchase Sunbeam’s Rheobus which allows you to control up to 4 fans from your case’s front panel, but each kit will work independently without the need for a fan controller.

Installation is fairly easy. There are separate power connectors for the fan and the light. The Cathode light plugs into an inverter which is necessary component for this type of light. The inverter is a small baby blue box which can be used for up to 2 cathode lights. Sunbeam’s kit includes some Velcro to securely attach the inverter to the inside of your case.

The fan looks and works great. The quality of the materials is top notch. The only thing I didn’t understand was why they could not have made the inverter in a more interesting color than baby blue. A quick look at Sunbeam’s website answered this question. They sell a transparent inverter with blue LED’s separately. One more way to get some cash out of you I guess. Another qualm is that the screw holes are not grooved, so when you first install the fan you have to force the screw through.

Product SpecificationsCathode Tube
Diameter of Round cold cathode: 80mm
Input voltage: 12V
Output voltage: 620V
Power compsumption: 2.4watts
Current draw: 0.005A Brightness: 28,000 cd/m2

Fan
Bearing Type: Sleeve
Fan Dimension: 80 x 80 x 25mm
Rated Voltage: 10.2 - 13.8VDC
Current Draw: 0.13A
Power consumption: 1.56WATTS
Air Flow: 31.73CFM
Rotation Speed: 2700RPM
Noise Level: 28dB(A)

Conclusion

Overall, the Sunbeam Round Cold Cathode Fan makes an impressive addition to your modded case. Its $11.99 price makes it a highly affordable addition to your system. More importantly, it is bound to impress your friends and maybe even cool your case a little.

Pros:

Looks great
Very affordable
Easy installation

Cons:

Ugly baby blue inverter

Quality: 9 out of 10
Features: 9 out of 10
Price: 9 out of 10

Overall: 9 out of 10