Introduction
Not all of us are content with a couple of dinky stock fans pushing 30CFM of air
through our cases. And when it comes to overclocking, high CFM is no longer a choice
but rather a requirement. If you haven’t made that leap to water cooling and you’re
getting tired of the roar those eleven high volume fans in your case are putting out,
it’s time to consider your options. Using a fan controller can give us back some
control over the situation, as we’re not always in a position to need those fans
running at full blast.
And that’s where a product like the Sunbeam Rheobus comes in. Giving you full
control of up to four fans lets you quiet things down for those less demanding
tasks. There are a bunch of fan controllers out there though, so we need to ask
if the Rheobus is really the best choice.
First, let’s have a look at spec’s on this thing.
Overview
| Product: | Rheobus Easy Fan Controller |
| Manufacturer: | Sunbeam |
| Power: | 20 watts per channel |
| Input voltage: | DC 12V |
| Output voltage: | 0 ~ 12V |
| Output current: | up to 1.67A |
| Dimensions: | 148.5mm x 105mm x 42mm |
| Weight: | 184 |
Not too bad on paper. Unlike another popular unit, the Nexus by Vantec, the Rheobus
can do a full 20W on each channel.
The Rheobus comes in a nice looking box, although the lack of specs and information
on the packaging is unfortunate.
When we open the box up we find a couple of extras,
show an entirely different fan connection assembly and the wrong list of parts. So don’t
depend on the manual for much.
But aside from the manual and of course the controller itself, we get the following:
- Six mounting screws
- One 4-pin Molex Y-adapter
- One 4 to 3-pin converter
- One 2 to 3-pin converter
- One 3-pin extension
I was pretty psyched that they actually decided to include all this, since it makes
our installation a lot easier if we have some fans without the 3-pin plugs.
Now, it’s actually a little misleading to say a maxixum of four fans,
since technically the Rheobus gives you control over four 12V power channels with
standard 3-pin fan headers. As long as you don’t exceed the power ratings on each
channel you can easily daisy-chain multiple fans on one channel.
Furthermore, who is to say you need to run fans on this controller? You can plug
in your CCFLs, neons, EL, whatever you want as long as we stay within the power
specifications on the unit.
The Rheobus is pretty sharp looking, with a 5 1/4″ aluminum faceplate designed to
fit in one of your case drive bays. The knobs really do have a good feel to them,
clicking when turned on/off and they also give a little resistance which kind of
lends to a higher quality feel. Each knob is also equipped with an LED which
changes from red at or below 7V and to blue from 7V and up to 12V. This is a handy way
to tell which fans are turned down or not, plus it gives it a little more character.
When we turn the Rheobus around we can see the four 3-pin fan
headers (this is where you will plug in the devices you want to control), and the
4-pin Molex power header to give power to both the LEDs on the Rheobus and of course
the fans you add.
The bottom is nicely protected, that is if you care, but I find this a nice addition.
Installation
Installation is very straight-forward, and I had no problems with the unit fitting
in my case. It’s as simple as screwing the unit in, plugging in the fans you want control
over, and giving it power.
Once you have it working you’ll find the LEDs are bright! I turned off all
of my lights and a single LED on the Rheobus. When blue, it literally lit up the
entire room in soft blue light (and it’s a pretty big room). The red lights aren’t
bad either, but blue LEDs are simply brighter.
Conclusion
The Rheobus kicks some ass. But it had one shortcoming, which I found when I tried
to use my 120mm Y.S. Tech. This fan moves about 131CFM and is rated at .66 amps,
7.92 watts, 12 volts DC. Admittedly this thing needs a lot of juice but while .66
amps is still within Sunbeam’s specs the fan refused to spin a single degree for me.
Not a twitch. I tried multiple fan adapter and headers to no avail. There might be
a perfectly good explanation for this which I have yet to find, but it was disappointing.
But the Rheobus is here to stay. I’m digging the look/feel of the unit and for every
other device I’ve thrown at it there have been no problems. The really nice part
about this controller is the price. I scored it for $15 at SVC which is cheaper
than most of the alternatives and is rated a little higher.
Thanks for reading and as always feel free to give your feedback, good or bad. You can
discuss this
article in the forums.
| Store Rating | Store Name | Price | Visit Store |
|---|---|---|---|---|
   226 Store Reviews |  Amazon Marketplace | $ 1099.99 | 
| |
7672 Store Reviews |  QVC | $ 569.96 |
| |
4566 Store Reviews |  Buy.com | $ 477.99 |
| |
226 Store Reviews | Amazon Marketplace | $ 505.72 |
|
