Antec SpotCool System Cooler Fan

Introduction:

   Antec is a name that's famous for quality computer components. Their cases and power supplies have been among the best selling for years now. Antec also makes many PC trinkets including cooling fans, power supply testers, and notebook coolers.

   Today I have for you one of the newest products out of the Antec camp; the SpotCool. It's an ingenious little cooling fan attached the top of about a 4.5" flexible arm. The arm is designed to screw directly thru a spare hole in the motherboard when it's mounted in a case. Meaning it will actually screw to the motherboard standoff underneath the motherboard. Since I use the HSPC Top Deck Tech Station for both of my rigs, I knew I just had to check this little SpotCool out. If it works, it'll cool off my hot PCI-e graphics and motherboard chipset area! Let's check it out!

Specs:

Features:

A Closer Look:

   Well what can I say here? It's a 3-speed fan on a flexible arm that swivels. What I can add to that it's got a solid feel and the flexible arm is stiff enough to hold it in any position.

Installed and Powered On:

   Did you ever see those beer commercials with the two guys and they're always saying "BRILLIANT!"? Well that's my exact thoughts on this product.

   Since I don't use a regular case, I simply screwed the SpotCool into an unused motherboard standoff on my Large Top Deck Tech Station and it's perfectly located to cool either the hot motherboard chipset/expansion slots area or I can swivel it right over to the memory/cpu area. It's BRILLIANT! If you have a Large Tech Station and use it for your main rig, you NEED this! Heck you could mount two of these easily.

Conclusion:

   I skipped the testing phase because it's common sense. If you put a fan in an area where you have hot components and there wasn't a fan there previously, it's going to blow that hot air right out of there and temps will drop significantly.

   The 3-speed fan is perfect as it goes from practically silent on its low setting (meaning you can't hear it above anything else in the system) to just a slight hum on it's highest setting. And this is not a kiddie fan. It really does move some air and actually does some good.

   I'm not sure I'd love this product as much as I do if I had it crammed into a tight case with wires all over, under and through it. However because I'm using the Large Top Deck Tech Station, it's absolutely perfect. So much so that I think it should be an option on them.

   It takes just a few seconds to install the single screw and plug into a spare 3-pin connection on your motherboard and you've got a great little flexible cooling fan that not only adjust to wherever you need it, but also has 3 speeds to keep it quiet too!

   Every persons rig out there will be different to some extent, so make sure you plan ahead and have a clean space for this SpotCool and a spare 3-pin header on your motherboard to power it. It doesn't take up hardly any room at all though, which is another great feature.

   I can easily recommend this SpotCool for anyone with a motherboard that's looking for that perfect cooling system to fit into tight spots and cool that certain hot area (yea, that's just about everyone!). Kudos to Antec for a very creative product that's got a quality build, looks great with the blue LED's, very user friendly, and wont break the bank or the eardrums. MSRP for the SpotCool is $19.95 and honestly, that's not bad for what you get.