Advertised Vs. Real Performance
This is probably the most crucial page, showing how accurate the data provided by the manufacturers/brands on their products is. Since nobody could verify these numbers so far, it was an open field for every brand to declare whatever it wanted, but this stops now. I should also note that I strictly follow the specific guidelines (ISO7779: 2018) for taking noise measurements in information technology and telecommunications equipment.
In the table below, anything in Red means bad news, while the Blue fonts are good!
| Performance Metric | Advertised Performance | Real Performance | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Speed (RPM) | 2100 | 2112 | +0.57% |
| Max Input Current (A) | 0.66 | 0.27 | -59.09% |
| Max Power (W) | 7.92 | 3.35 | -57.70% |
| Qmax (CFM) | 73.5 | 69.904 | -4.89% |
| Pmax (mmAq) | 4.33 | 3.94 | -9.01% |
| Max Noise Level (dBA) | 36 | 38.6 | +2.6 dBA |
Speed is a bit higher than advertised, which is good. Power consumption is notably lower since I had RGB disabled during power testing. Performance-wise, airflow is within 5% of the advertised value, while static pressure is 9% away, which is pretty far.
Proprietary connections with need of a special SW (this fan), proprietary fan connections (BQ DR Elite) with special adjusted form factor of the fans (BQ DR Elite, CM MA824 Stealth & Assassin IV) that you cannot even buy from the manufacturer, and you have to look for it on AliExpress… And people think… what an “exclusive solution” …exclusive doesn’t mean something is “cool”, but the exclusion of other options, solutions, and replacements … and people are even willing to pay more for such an “exclusivity” … when the Apple can profit on it, why wouldn’t others try the same recipe.
…sorry for grumbling, but I can help myself 😊, …by the way great review as usual.
I hope that other manufacturer will not “applemimic” themselves and will not jump on the “great ship of exclusivity” and proprietary environment.
True, exclusive parts or connectors are not always good, especially when we are talking about fans. Corsair’s idea on the Link is good, but other brands won’t follow it, so it is only for Corsair products, which are expensive (but of good quality at least).
I think you have an error in your data for the Lian Li TL fan. CFM at 25dBA should be 44.6CFM and not the 57.2 you state and mmAQ should be 1.4 and not 1.62. I checked with the data from here: https://www.cybenetics.com/index.php?option=fans&manfID=79
HTH