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Written by RotoSequence
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The FP-52 is an excellent way to control your system fans without
worrying about temperature problems, noise, or any sort of maintenance
on your part. Great style, aesthetics, and ease of installation. Shame
that you cant manually adjust anything.
| Product: | Silverstone FP-52 |  | | Manufacturer: | Silverstone | | Common Price: | $35.49 USD | | Where to Buy: | Check Here | | Details: | - Dimension: 5.25"¯ drive bay unit
- Automated fan controller
- Blue LCD screen
- 3 fan connections
- Ease of installation
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*Specifications found at the FP-52 Product Page.
Silverstone has a wide variety of products that cater to the needs of
the computer enthusiast. One of the most common elements of an
enthusiast PC is a fan controller. Silverstone caters to that market
with their FP-52 Automatic fan controller. So how well does the FP-52
work? Read on and find out!
The FP-52 is styled like other Silverstone products, and is made from
solid aluminum. In the center is the LCD screen that provides
information about temperature and fan speeds. To its left and right are
two air intakes in order to improve system airflow. With its solid
construction, the FP-52 epitomizes the term well made.¯
The FP-52 in detail.
Silverstone's FP-52 caters to users with a variety of features. The
FP-52 tells the date, Time, Temperatures of three locations, The Fan
speed of three fans, Power on, and hard Drive Activity. There is even a
temperature alarm function to let you know if temperatures are
exceeding levels that you get to specify.
The FP-52 in action.
Setup of the FP 52 is fairly straightforward despite the large number
of wires present. There are connections for the three fans, three
temperature sensors, and the standard power molex. Installation is
straight forward thanks to a well written installation guide, and
thorough labeling of all connections. This kind of dedication makes use
much easier. Finally, there are connections to the power LED and HDD
activity light. Don't worry; you won't be sacrificing your front
panel lights for these, as there are connections for both the front
panel and the FP-52.
Backside view of the PCBs
After simple installation and setup, the FP-52 was up and reporting the
temperatures and fan speeds for the CPU, Hard drive fan, and a case
fan. The unit is easy to configure with a little help from the
installation guide.
But how useful is the device? This is a little more subjective. With
complete automation, the user cannot directly control fan speeds.
However, the unit is responsive towards temperature changes, as
evidenced from pinching of the temperature probe. After the FP-52 was
installed, the system noise level decreased, but as expected, there was
a slight increase in temperature due to fan speed adjustments. The
thing I most commonly end up using the FP-52 though, when I do pay
attention to something besides its looks, is the current temperature of
my hard drive, CPU, and chassis. If things get too toasty though, it
will also let you know.
The FP-52's style is undeniable, and its cost is respectably low.
While you cannot manually control fan speeds, which is something many
users may want, the automation leaves the less attentive free to go
about their other business. Others may find that there aren't enough
connections for all their fans. But with its solid construction, ease
of use, and exquisite design, the Silverstone FP-52 earns a 90 on our
scale and our Gold award. With manual control and perhaps an extra fan
connection, the FP-52 would earn 100.
Look for this package to find your own FP-52
Pros:
Easy to setup
Respectably priced
Great style
Lets you know when things go wrong
Cons:
Only enough connections for three fans
No manual control
Special Thanks go to Silverstone for making this review possible.
This review will have more images added later; Some problems with my files database are preventing me from posting them.
Correction on the functionality of the alarm made.
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