-- Install and Conclusion
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Installing this Rheobus in my system is slightly more difficult than a typical system. I have re-wired the majority of the components including wiring 2 fans per Molex connector. Because of this you will notice
two 3 pin connectors running to 1 Molex, this is not standard, but I need to wire it, to testing the functionality and demo the system for this review. In this first shot you can see 2 of the 3 pin connectors wired to 1 Molex, I added a second setup later to control 4 fans, 1 for each channel.
This next shot shows how I connected the Rheobus to the drive rails for my Enlight case. You will see the rails are really offset, this is because there are only 2 holes drilled per side and they only fit in the elongated front holes.
It took me about 30 minutes to wire up the fan connectors and install the Rheobus, but I would expect it to take only 5 minutes if you have 3 pin fans since all you have to do is bolt it in and connect it. A couple things of note, the aluminum face plate is designed for aluminum cases where the bezel is very thin and since the unit is only 3.25 inches deep or so, it may be difficult to connect the fans if you don't have a lot of room. Well here it is in one of my Enlight cases, first with the flash on so you can see the fit and second in a mostly dark room. The LED's are very bright, I would estimate in the 3000 mcd range so there was no way I could take a head on shot and not get all lens flare.
In conclusion, fan control is a very popular item for both modding and noise concerned people. By now you have probably seen everything from early fan buses to PWM controllers, so this product isn't really new, it is just a new implementation of these components. I think Sunbeam has done a nice job designing their Rheobus but it is definitely not perfect.
I spent about 4 dollars on connectors to wire 1 fan to each channel and they could have provided the adapters to make the "kit" more complete. I do like the color changing LED's and the smooth fan control up to 20 Watts per channel, which should cover just about every fan built for computers. Also, this Rheobus comes in either the aluminum face plate or without a plate so you can install it in your bezel for that finished look.
I would like to thank Keven and Bright from
Sunbeam Company for providing their Rheobus for review.
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