Everything is about control, as we learn from the famous Matrix movie series. One such tool to aid us in this regard is the new version from Reeven, the Six Eyes II fan controller. And it has a lot of tricks up it’s sleeve. Let’s find out more.
First about REEVEN :
REEVEN is a newly established international manufacturer of PC related products.
REEVEN’s product lines includes the best quality of advanced CPU coolers, such as Cooling Fans, Power Supply Units, PC Cases and many other items.
The target of their products is a wide range of audiences looking for products that will withstand the highest demand.
They run under the slogan “Don’t think. Feel it!”.
Regarding price, we were told a MSRP of 42 Euros.
Presentation and specification
* Courtesy of their website
The quick specs show us that this controller is powered by five and twelve volts of DC current, and by this, they mean that the Molex power connection draws from both the 5V and 12V leads simultaneously.
The the of each channel is 3.7V at the low-end of the dial, and 12V at the high-end.
The next line is what makes this a very good attribute in fan controllers.
With a 2.5A rating per channel, at 12V of power drawn, that figures out to thirty watts on each of the six channels.
The last few lines explain the LCD readings, and state that the RFC-02 can display temperatures from 0 to 99 degrees Celsius, and for RPM readings, it is capable of displaying from 0 to 9,990.
Packaging and content
The important tech bits are showed on the front, such as it offers 30W per channel and that three and four-pin fans are supported.
We like that Reeven change their design for the packages quite often. Here we have a black and red theme.
On the back, you have a list of disclaimers.
The most details are on the sides.
First it shows the main specs in 7 languages.
A quick presentation of the product and most importantly is that we find out it is the second revision of this product.
Then this is where it gets really interesting.
You can choose from 7 LCD colors and where to contact Reeven.
And here we have the interface per say with the fan control knobs, the temperature indicator, and the fan speed indicator for each channel.
Good points that the contents are well protected via foam.
And these is what it holds:
– 1x Instruction manual – Read this because it hold the combination for the LCD colors
– 6x Sleeved fan cable extensions
– 6x Sleeved temperature sensors
– 1x Sticker
– 4x Case screws
– 1x 4 pin molex power cord
And a close up – kudos for individual sleeves which will help a lot for a clean wire management.
Also note that everything is labeled from 1 to 6 so you know exactly which is which.
And now to see the fan controller what more tricks it has up its sleeve.
The front view has a minimalist approach with 6 knobs (marked with Roman numbers) and 6 displays. Everything is blacked out.
From this angle we see how the magic happens. Who has the previous model will immediately notice that they beefed up the power delivery system, although the interface (plugs and switches) are the same.
From left to right we have the plug for the fans (yellow), then the power connector (white), the temperature pins (black), a jumper to switch from Fahrenheit and Celsius, the first row of red switches allows control of the alarms settings and finally the second row of red switches gives you the color selection for the LEDs. The last jumper if you remove it will silence the alarm altogether.
And this is why you need to read the manual. Combination of the buttons will give you a different output for the lights and set the alarms for various limits. Very neat.
And the final trick is that is has retractable knobs. Push to open/lock. How about that? Neat solution for a clean look and to prevent accidental usage.
Let’s proceed to the next chapter.
Installation and testing
This is what will test your patience – a spaghetti junction. And these are only the fan extension cords. Next will be the temperature sensors.
After that plug the Molex power cord and install the Reeven Six Eyes II in the 5.25″ drive bay.
Secure it via 4 screws, 2 on each side.
We recommend to tidy up the WM from now because it will make things harder after you install it in the case.
Choose now your desired color and alarm settings, again, from the same reasons.
The test will be pretty self explanatory, we will test every function, color combination and see its behavior, mostly the input time and the fan transitions.
We used 3 pin fans with different rpm to see how it find the correct power delivery for each one.
Will use the PC with the Reeven Six Eyes II in normal everyday activities including gaming to see if and how it will do its purpose.
Hardware used:
– CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 at 4.3 Ghz @ 1.255v
– CPU Cooler: Reeven Okeanos Dual Tower
– Motherboard: ASUS Maximus Hero VI Z87
– Memory Modules: 8 GB (2x 4 GB) DDR3 Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracers 1600 Mhz CL8
– PSU: Corsair TX 850W
– Video card: NVIDIA 8800 GTX
– Storage: 1x Samsung 840 Pro 128 GB / 1x HDD HGST 1 TB 2.5″ 7200 RPM
– Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M
Fans:
– 1x 140 mm Phanteks PH-F140SP @ 1200 Rpm – at the back
– 2x 140 mm Noiseblocker B14-1 @ 600 Rpm – at top
– 2x 140 mm Noiseblocker B14-2 @ 900 Rpm – at the front
Results
This is the clean finished look.
Start the computer, and it’s alive.
Adjust how you need it to be and it stays put.
This level of control makes everything so easy. We put 5 fans in out of the 6 max.
No problem what so ever, it can individually control and handle them with no effort.
I mean with the LCD displays we started to tinker with the OCD within us to synchronize all the rpm between the fans. Yeah …
The rpm transition is butter smooth. The same with the retractable knobs, you push them and they glide out slowly like to to build up suspense.
I mean when you buy stuff besides to do xyz but you also receive the joy of a nice user experience, then you know you got something really good.
If that wasn’t enough, then we tried all the colors that the LCD can handle.
Rainbow, here we come. 7 colors : Yellow, Green, Red, Purple, Blue, Light Blue, white and it even has to option to turn off the display.
It even has an OFF mode for the fans as well, just turn the knob far left and it closes that particular fan.
Then the alarms are so useful, after an intense gaming session it let me know that things where getting over the initial limit set by me and time to crank up the fans.
It truly is a complete and versatile package.
Conclusion
The good:
+ Clean design and good quality materials
+ Very good value for money
+ Excellent bundle and packaging
+ A lot of power that it can handle on each channel – 30 W
+ Very smooth knob operation
+ Sleeved cables
+ Plenty of colors to choose from for the LCD panels – total of 7 !
+ Excellent viewing angles for the LCD pannels
+ Temperature controls and alarms
+ Retractable knobs
+ Versatile and complete package
The bad:
– A little hard to access the alarms and color combination buttons because they are a far inside, but that’s subjective depending on your case
– Maybe to reinforce the fan pins, just to be extra careful when you tidy up the WM to not put extra pressure on them.
These being said, I think it has been a while since we gave a maximum rating and this one really deserves it. Superb product and does everything very well without a shadow of a doubt. It’s a must have product !
And what better way to celebrate our 50th product review by hosting this wonderful fan controller.
Glob3trotters “Fantastic” Award – 5 out of 5
Many thanks to REEVEN for supplying us this sample !
