SilverStone SST-AP181 Air Penetrator Fan Review

SilverStone is a company that needs no introduction to most enthusiasts. Although they're best known for their extensive line of computer cases, the company also produces power supplies, fans, and other computer-related hardware. As high end computer components increasingly use more power and thus generate more heat, dealing with the increasing "thermal load" of an enthusiast-level systems becomes more and more difficult, especially if you don't want to resort to water cooling or even more exotic methods. Although simplified all-in-one water cooling systems like the CoolIT ECO A.L.C. have performance equal to some high-end air coolers, the vast majority of systems continue to be air cooled.

A systems builder or enthusiast must weigh a variety of factors when choosing fans for their air-cooled system. The main criteria when selecting fans are airflow, typically expressed in cubic feet per minute (CFM) and noise, measured in decibels (dB or db(A)). Some manufacturers will also specify the "static pressure" their fans can maintain when blowing air into an enclosed or obstructed area; this is useful information when a fan is blowing into an obstruction like a radiator, but less important when it's not.

One big different between fan specifications and other part specifications is that most users have no way to verify them, since measuring the air flow, noise, and static pressure of a fan is difficult or impossible without specialized equipment. What we can do is test the cooling performance, and in this test, Benchmark Reviews will compare the cooling performance of the SilverStone SST-AP181 "air penetrator" fan with the performance of SilverStone's stock 180mm fan in the Fortress FT02 computer case.

Manufacturer: SilverStone Technology
Product Name:Air Penetrator 180mm case fan
Model Number: SST-AP181
Price As Tested: $24.99

Full Disclosure:The product samples used in this article has been provided by SilverStone Technology.

Air Penetrator Features

• Industry leading air channeling fan
• Wide fan blades for reducing air resistance
• Integrated air channeling grille double as fan guard to reduce overall size
• Low power consumption

SST-AP181 Specifications

Features and specifications provided by SilverStone Technology

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