Lamptron FAN-ATIC 5-Port Military Switch Baybus Review

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Product: FAN-ATIC
Manufacturer: Lamptron
Supplied by: Lamptron
Price: 34.99USD/RM127
Launch Date: May 2008

PC is getting higher end nowadays and with that noise will be gradually increased as well; one of the most efficiency ways to reduce the noise will be the fan speed controller. After we have reviewed Lamptron latest fan speed controller; FC-2, today we will continue to review another kind of fan speed controller from them; FAN-ATIC 5-Port Military Switch Baybus.

Company Profile

Lamptron develops and markets the next generation of high performance computer peripherals using the latest technology that enables a new level of interaction between the end-user and their personal computer. Products developed are through a combination of proprietary technology, innovation and ergonomic industrial design. There are three principal business sectors: PC Gaming products, PC Silence products and PC Modding products.

Products are designed and developed by our experienced Reseach and Development Department.Our engineering and R&D staffs specialize in user analysis, material control and industry design. Lamptron not only has expertise in product easy-to-use and product design, but we also plays a vital role in the enhancement of production efficiency and marketing analysis. We are constantly developing new products and technology to meet market demands and to generate new markets for our innovation products.

Features

- The baybus allows you to be a professional modder!
- It controls over 60Watt per channel with 3 different voltage output (12VDC, 5VDC, Off)
- And total power consumption of 300W across the baybus
- CNC milled heavy metal faceplate & drilled mesh will bring you cool looks
- Functions to fix any your heart loved cases
- 5 independent control channels
- Super bright LED voltage indicator (Blue/Red) on each channel (High Voltage- red, Low Voltage- blue)
- Easy Access: 5 3-pin control connectors, 1 4-pin molex connector at the rear of panel
- Non-direct light technology LED voltage indicator to avoid any light interfere

Specifications

Package & Contents

Lamptron FAN-ATIC is packed in a small rectangular box with a shrink wrapped packaging. Both of the FAN-ATIC and HUMMER are sharing this packaging box hence on the other sides of this rectangular box, it also shows the HUMMER description as well so user need to check probably before purchase to avoid purchase the wrong one although both of them are fan speed controller with fabulous design.

As usual, Lamptron will have a see-through panel on their product packaging box so that users can confirm the right product before purchase. This is a very user-friendly kind of packaging although it doesn't have any add on benefit on the product but it is no harm to have it. The whole FAN-ATIC is well protected by some thick foam even though the packaging looks simple.

Besides the FAN-ATIC, Lamptron also includes a complete set of accessories for this product such as screw kit, a 6" length power extension cable and 5 x 20" length 3-pin fan extension cables. The 3-pin fan extension cables are important to ensure all the fans that inside the case will able to reach this fan speed controller but we believe if these cables are sleeved then it will be much better since this product is targeting for PC modders market.

Lamptron FAN-ATIC 5-Port Military Switch Baybus

Lamptron is one of the PC manufacturers that produces quite number of fan speed controllers and most of its products are very unique and interesting. Both FAN-ATIC and FC-2 are 5.25" fan speed controllers but FAN-ATIC is not really same with FC-2 as it has predefined fan speeds; 3 stages with 12V, 5V and off stages. The predefined fan speed stages are good for those don't want to manually adjust the troublesome analog tuning but it will greatly reduce its flexibility as well. For the LED portion, each of the channels have its own LED lightning according to its fan speed stages; red for 12V, blue for 5V and no light for off status.

Lamptron FAN-ATIC has two colors; black and silver which should fulfill majority of the users as these are two most common colors for PC case. The whole FAN-ATIC is made by CNC milled heavy metal faceplate and drilled mesh which is something very unique than other boring, standard fan speed controllers. However the mesh design for PC component will be a problem as it will be dusty and hard to be cleaned up after certain of period.

Lamptron FAN-ATIC has total five independent channels and each of them can support up to 60W per channel which is pretty amazing and more than enough to support even a highest wattage PC cooling fan. The fan speed controller switch is made by chromed material which looks very cool but since the switch is quite long, it may block certain of cases that are having front panel door to be closed up.

Here are the inner views of Lamptron FAN-ATIC and since FAN-ATIC doesn't have any analog tuning like FC-2, it doesn't come with any rheostat, voltage regulators and other electronic components. Overall the structure of FAN-ATIC is pretty simple where it is just required to have some major components like 3-way switches, LED and etc. FAN-ATIC is a 5.25" panel fan controller and we believe Lamptron shouldn't have any problem to design an exact version of 3.5" of FAN-ATIC; maybe just with 3 channels supportability.

In order to power up Lamptron FAN-ATIC, a Molex connector is required to be connected to PSU as shown in the first picture above. On the back of the FAN-ATIC, besides the Molex connector there are five more 3-pin fan connectors for connecting to cooling or case fans. Luckily Lamptron includes five 20" 3-pin extension cables else users will be headache to find a way to solve the cabling issue with this FAN-ATIC.

Installation, Testing & Performance

For the installation of this Lamptron FAN-ATIC, we would like to say that the screw kit that comes along is not so user friendly as it is unique which maybe troublesome for users to get the replacement if these screws are lost. Another major concern will be the installation where users need to secure the bolt and nut which will be extremely troublesome for certain PC case.

Test Bed

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8300
Memory: 4GB 800MHz DDR2 Memory
Hard Drive: 250GB 7200RPM 8MB Seagate HDD
Graphic Card: OEM Nvidia GeForce 8800GT 512MB
Optical Drive: 16x DVD RW
System BIOS: F7
Operating System: Microsoft Window XP SP2
Benchmark Software: Gigabyte Easy Tune 6
Ambient Temperature: 27 Degree Celsius

Here are the LED displays of Lamptron FAN-ATIC; blue is medium fan speed and red is full fan speed. The LED will display the fan speed accordingly as they are independent to each other although all the fan speeds are not same. This direct LED reflection of the fan speed is simple but very useful where users are not required to check the fan speed manually.

We have tested this Lamptron FAN-ATIC with several of 120mm fans and the respond of the fan speed adjustment is almost instantly; very fast responding. Besides that there is no heat is generated compare with FC-2 because FAN-ATIC doesn't have any voltage regulator.

Conclusion

Lamptron FAN-ATIC is another kind of great choices of fan speed controllers especially those are tired to manually tune the analog rheostat where FAN-ATIC provides predefined 3-stage of fan speeds; 12V, 5V and off. Besides that each of the channels has its own LED lightning according to its fan speed stage and one of the greatest features of FAN-ATIC is this fan speed controller can support up to 5-channel and 60W per channel. One of its cons of this product is that this product is a bit overpriced with such simple product. If you can get this product cheaper in somewhere else then we'll recommend this fan speed controller to you especially those are looking for a simplest fan speed controller with charming outlook.

Pros:
* 5-channel & support up to 60W per channel
* Predefined 3 fan speed stages with unique LED lightning
* Well built quality
* No/less heat generated

Cons:
* Installation need to be further improved
* Cables not sleeved type

Thanks to Lamptron for providing this sample for us to review.