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EK Releases New Vardar Fans with Vibrant RGB Lighting

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EK Water Blocks, the Slovenia-based premium computer liquid cooling gear manufacturer is releasing a new 120mm RGB version of its renowned EK-Vardar fan. Developed in-house and first introduced in 2014, the EK-Vardar fan is now also available as EK-Vardar EVO 120ER RGB. Beside the RGB lighting effect, the new fan also packs the Extended Range (ER) of PWM operation feature and the special Start-Stop function which brings a true 0dB experience for the absolute silent fan operation. The electronics of the new EVO 120ER RGB fan has been specially tweaked so that the fan stops spinning if the PWM signal falls below a certain duty cycle value. Not only will you be able to enjoy a totally silent PC, but this feature is also very useful for preventing radiator dust buildup in idling PCs and prolongs the life cycle of the fan itself.

EK-Vardar EVO 120ER RGB
The EK-Vardar RGB is a high-static pressure computer cooling fan, designed and built primarily for highest-performance computer liquid cooling systems. The Vardar family of cooling fans carries the notorious name of a type of the cold northwesterly wind blowing from the mountains down to the valleys of Macedonia. It is a type of ravine wind, enhanced by a channeling effect while blowing down through the Moravia-Vardar gap, bringing cold conditions from the north to the Thessaloniki area of Greece. Most frequent during winter, it is blowing in the rear of a depression when atmospheric pressure over eastern Europe is higher than over the Aegean Sea.


The perfectly balanced milky colored 7 fan blade design is optimized for light dispersion and high-pressure operation while maintaining the low noise profile throughout the whole operation range of the fan. Under the motor hub, there are total 9 LEDs making this the brightest RGB fan on the market, ensuring perfect light diffusion at broad daylight as well.

One of the key features of the EK-Vardar RGB fans is its simplicity as it uses standard 4-pin 12V RGB connectivity. Meaning it can be used with any standard 4-pin 12V RGB controller or any of popular RGB sync technologies from all major motherboard manufacturers. The arrow marking on the 4-pin LED connector is to be aligned with the +12V marking on the RGB header.

Double-Ball Bearing for enhanced reliability and Start-Stop Function for Complete Silence!
The Start-Stop function featured with the EK-Vardar EVO 120ER RGB models will ensure the user a true 0dB noise environment. When fan curve is set with the minimum threshold point below 25-30% PWM duty cycle (depending on motherboard model), the motor and the electronics will turn off and the fan will simply stop spinning. EK-Vardar EVO 120ER RGB restarts operation automatically as fan control ramps up its operational duty cycle past threshold start-stop point. EK-Vardar EVO 120ER RGB models also feature Double-Ball bearing which has superior durability compared to Hydro-Dynamic bearing. Double-Ball bearing fans can tolerate higher temperatures and can be mounted in any axial orientation without concern for bearing lifespan degradation.

Other key characteristics of the EK-Vardar EVO 120ER RGB fan are:
  • High-static pressure / low noise profile - unlike other general-purpose computer cooling fans, the EK-Vardar EVO 120ER RGB fan is built specifically for computer liquid cooling systems, namely radiator cooling. The Vardar's design and construction are also very suitable for high-performance air coolers or as case fans for restrictive cases with dust filters.
  • High-quality motor and bearing assembly - New electrical design, actively cooled motor windings and the Double-Ball bearing with 50.000 hours of lifespan (MTBF) ensures uninterrupted operation for years to come. Precise Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) for fan speed adjustment allows performance on demand.
  • Sealed-edge fan casing - The classic, yet effective square shape of the fan casing provides optimal performance in either pull- (suction) or push (pressure) regime without hydraulic losses thus ensuring the optimal cooling capacity of your liquid cooling radiators. The classic shape of the fan frame also allows easy cable routing while grouping more fans on one radiator.
  • Timeless design - the EK-Vardar EVO 120ER RGB fan with its simple square frame fits into any liquid cooling computer without drawing too much attention to itself.
  • Standard RGB connection - The Vardar RGB does not require any fancy and expensive additional RGB controller for you to enjoy vibrant lighting effects. A simple 4-pin 12V RGB connection for standard RGB controllers or any popular RGB sync technology from major motherboard manufacturers.
Availability and Pricing
The EK-Vardar EVO 120ER RGB fan is designed and engineered in Slovenia by EK Water Blocks and is already available for purchase through EK Webshop and Partner Reseller Network. In the table below you can see manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) with VAT included.
  • EK-Vardar EVO 120ER RGB (500-2200rpm) - 21.90€

View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 
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So nothing about a 140mm version?
 
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Are EK Vardar fans really that good to be more expensive than lets say excellent BeQuiet SilentWings 3 which come with improved blade designs and FDB bearings? SilentWings 3 have better acoustics and characteristics...
 
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OMG This RGB is vibrant! Not just normal RGB

*runs off to store*

@RejZoR beQuiet even offers a High Speed version the SilentWings 3 built for rads. As far as I know, Vardars are quite close. Worth the price? Like most things EK you're also paying a nice little premium on the brand of course...
 
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SilentWings 3 High Speed 120mm is around 19€. 2200 RPM, 3.36mm/H2O, 28dB. Only thing where SilentWings 3 ware a bit worse is total airflow which is smaller by 15 or so m3/h.
 
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Are EK Vardar fans really that good to be more expensive than lets say excellent BeQuiet SilentWings 3 which come with improved blade designs and FDB bearings? SilentWings 3 have better acoustics and characteristics...

I replaced all my Corsair SP120s with EKs newer Vardar fans and they definitely are pretty damn good. I have them running on PWM. They are much quieter when spinning up too. They seem to move more air too and construction is top notch. I usually take fan specs with a grain of salt though. A lot of times they are exaggerated or the static pressure and noise levels are reported at speeds that you may never actually run the fan at.
 
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SilentWings 3 High Speed 120mm is around 19€. 2200 RPM, 3.36mm/H2O, 28dB. Only thing where SilentWings 3 ware a bit worse is total airflow which is smaller by 15 or so m3/h.
You must always take fan specs with a grain of salt. I personnaly like to read specialized reviews like those you can find here : http://thermalbench.com/category/fans/

SW3 have been a big ( positive ) surprise and are indeed along with Vardar ER and Corsair ML the best radiator fans ( you can add GT's in there but it depends the built quality ) . If you are a litle bit more concerned about noise go with SW3 , if you are a litle bit more concerned about pure cooling perf go for Vardar , Corsair ML ,or SW3 High Speed , this being said all those 3 are very very close on general so you can't go wrong with either of them.
 
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Enermax's Twister Pressure fans are insane and convenient, but their build quality is shite. At least my batch was all wonky, they didn't disassemble for easy cleaning (it popped whole PCB out). A bit disappointed considering how awesome pressure they make. And their rifle bearing wasn't all that good...
 
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So nothing about a 140mm version?

If I'm not mistaken, they only make radiators for 120mm fans, I don't remember them ever having a 140mm that I can remember, but they are damn good fans..
 
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I find it disappointing that EK cheaped out and went with 12v analog (non-addressable) LEDs...at this point, addressable LEDs, especially WS2812s, are essentially just as cheap as 12V analog, so why go with analog? It's obvious enough that they tried to avoid doing any redesign at all costs by sticking the LEDs in the hub......maybe I'm just demanding too much. Oh wait, maybe in a week they'll release a "Premium" version with digital leds at a 15%-20% increase on MSRP
 

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If I'm not mistaken, they only make radiators for 120mm fans, I don't remember them ever having a 140mm that I can remember, but they are damn good fans..

They definitely make radiators for 140mm fans

 
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Now that EK has given in to the RGB disease, that leaves only Noctua and Delta, I guess. So it's still possible to build a high end PC without the rainbow, if that's your desire. Thank you. I'm not opposed to some tasteful lighting, but the obligatory RGB trend is a bit much lately.
 
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Well, Delta caters towards industrial customers if/when those customers want rgb it'll happen. Noctua, even though they have a death grip on that brown and cream color scheme, look at how long it took just to get black, their chromax series has shown that they are slowly giving in. I'd bet money that when a Chromax II pops up that will be the day.
 
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They definitely make radiators for 140mm fans


OPPS, my bad, don't know why I thought that, I did say I may be mistaken, thanks for pointing it out:toast:
 
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The specs on these are better than the F3 variant. I'm going to pick 3 up for my slim 360 kit.
 
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