Final Thoughts
When I first saw these fans at CES earlier this year I said to myself “why hasn’t anyone thought of this before?”. Again as I mentioned when it comes to RGB fans things can get a bit frustrating and cluttered and with the SWAFAN EX12 RGB fans those problems go away! Using magnets to connect the fans is genius and I hope to see this not only on RGB fans, but normal fans in the future. It just makes placing your fans so much easier. On top of that you have the pogo connections that daisy-chain both power and RGB signals of the fans together. This is such a game-changer when it comes to RGB fans as with other RGB fans you have a mess of wires. Here you have a single connection coming off your set of fans and even that connection makes use of a magnet connection so it’s super-easy to connect.
While those are the two killer features of these fans they look quite good too! The circular frame design with its white diffuser and RGB LEDs on the outer frame as well as the center of the fan you get fans that are really going to light up the inside of your case. Thermaltake also provides reverse fan blades so you can have uniform fans throughout your case. This is awesome as in my personal build the intake fans on the bottom of my case don’t look too great because they are upside down.
The included controller works with Thermaltake’s TT RGB Plus software. I haven’t used Thermaltake software in a while, and while this software easily allows you to control the lighting and speed of the fans, it did feel a bit dated. Also I have no clue why Thermaltake used a Molex connector on the controller for power, I would have definitely preferred a SATA power connector. It is also worth noting that the connections on the fans and to the controller are proprietary so you are not able to connect any non-Thermaltake devices up to the controller or connect the fans to anything except the controller.
At the end of the day I think these fans solve many of the frustrations when it comes to RGB fans and they look quite good too! Right now you can pick up a three pack of these fans at our favorite online retailer for $109.99. Overall ThinkComputers gives the Thermaltake SWAFAN EX12 RGB Fans a 9 out of 10 score!
Pros:
– Magnets make connecting them together so easy!
– Less cable mess with the pogo connections
– Reverse fan blades included
– Easy to use software
– RGB lighting looks great and will light up your case
Cons:
– Controller uses a Molex for power
– Proprietary connections
– Software seems dated
