SaharaGaming Pirate SYNC & PWM Case Fan Controller & Pirate STRIPE ARGB

[testman78]

Introduction

Budget and most of the mid-range motherboards usually have a limited number of 3-pin case fan connectors and 4-pin PWM connectors on them. So, if you want to install more case fans in your PC case then you have to need a Fan Hub and if you want more fans plus you want to control their speeds too then you need a Fan Controller for it. A fan hub will allow you to connect more fans using a single power connector (generally 4-pin Molex or SATA connector) whereas a Fan Speed Controller allows you add more fans and you can change the speed of each fan individually. A fan speed controller gives you total control over your case fans and you can lower the fan speed in winters and make the PC silent in operation, and set the speed higher or maximum during summers for proper cooling of your components. Well, SaharaGaming might have a handy solution for you as they offer the Pirate SYNC & PWM case fan controller. Even if you don't have enough fan headers on your mainboard, the Pirate SYNC fan hub expands your system by 10 more case fan slots. Now the Pirate SYNC & PWM case fan controller are two different products but come in one package. The package doesn't come with RGB LED strips. For your RGB lighting needs, SaharaGaming has the Pirate STRIPE ARGB. The Pirate SYNC fan hub already has the ability to power and control SaharaGaming's Pirate STRIPE ARGB, however the package of the Pirate SYNC doesn't include the RGB LED strips. And this is where the Pirate STRIPE ARGB comes in. They are compatible with the RGB LED technology of the large motherboard manufacturers, so we will not have problems in this regard. Unfortunately the hub is only compatible with SaharaGaming Pirate Turbo fans and accesories.




The Pirate SYNC & PWM case fan controller & Pirate STRIPE ARGB has the following specifications:






Packaging & Contents

The front of the box provides a photo of the remote control- Pirate STRIPE ARGB along with details on speed and lighting modes. The box itself is not incredibly sturdy but should handle the odd knock without damaging anything inside.




The back side of the box has the specifications of the Pirate SYNC & PWM case fan controller- Pirate STRIPE ARGB in tabular format.




The products and accessories are packaged in anti static bag.




The Pirate SYNC & PWM case fan controller ships with manual, a four pin connector for the RGB Sync cables included along with the cable that goes to a PWM header, and adhesive tape that hold the fan hub steadily in place.






A Closer Look

The RGB controller remote is the easiest way to control the fans and leds and has a few good options on. There are three colour buttons, a fan speed control, , two mode buttons for scaling up and down the available preset modes, motherboard sync on/off, two speed buttons to adjust the speed of the effects and finally On , Auto and Off are for LED operation with Auto cycling through the various preset effects.



The remote is powered by a button battery inserted into a compartment at the bottom.




Sporting a symmetrical design, the Pirate SYNC uses high-quality black textured plastic in its construction. Arc trim on both sides gives the Pirate SYNC a sleek and modern look. Installing the controller is as easy as finding a space where the adhesive pad on the back will allow it to stick freely, do consider the location when planning cabling, the fan cables provided are quite long each so it should be easy to route them through your case.



There is a SaharaGaming V3 logo beautifully designed on the cover to show the company the manufactures the thing. In the middle there are three buttons for fan speed, light mode and LED speed. You can use either remote or quick switch button to adjust fan speed, mode of LED too.



There are ten 4-pin (1A per port) ports where you can connect 4-pin PWM or 3-Pin case fans.



One end of the connector is for the SATA power connector. Well the Sata connector could be explained here, as this controller supports a massive 10 fans, I normally see 4, 6 and 8 fan controllers, so this one could draw quite a bit over the cable.



A four and a half ampere current feeds the gadget with a 12 V direct current, which means the product takes the least amount of current. Direct power from PSU prevents stray current when the fan hub is in use.



While the other end is for a four pin connector. The PWM signal is fed into the hub using the motherboard's PWM connector using the cable supplied with the hub. If you have the same PWM fans attached to the ports, then you can easily synchronize their speed using the same PWM signal. It should be noted that only the fan speed (RPM) of the first fan is reported to the system. There are two four pin RGB Sync cables included along with the cable.The manual says these are for motherboard on this unit, in order to control the effects via software. Near it there is a two pin connector which can service as reset button such as the RGB connector on the case.



Let's take a look at the RGB LED strip. RGB LED Strip Lights are becoming more popular now-a-days due to their energy-saving characteristic, ability to produce vibrant colours (red-green-blue), excellent brightness and very flexible to work with. SaharaGaming's RGB LED strips are well made. I've seen and tried other (cheap) variants and they feel flimsy on hand or sometimes dies out easily.



We get one RGB LED strip which is 40cm in length. You can cut the LED strips at any length and install them for different purposes. It connected via SATA power while the other end has a six pin connector.




Performance

It does remember the settings, so if you turn your PC back on, after turning it off, it will remember what you set it to, which is good.



Also, there aren't any heat issues, if anyone?s concerned about that. There are 8 colors and 55 combination colours in total so you would not have to worry about matching the lights with you PC.



With the remote you can obviously select different colors. Simply pick your effect/mode, chose your colours, and the results are applied immediately to the fans. The lighting effects on offer are certainly unique and offer you a lot of cool ways to create lighting effects for your system build.



I placed the Pirate STRIPE ARGB inside my PC case and it stayed put once I got them affixed correctly. The lights are very visible even at daytime with light shining on the case. Below is a photo of the RGB LED strips in action.




Final Thoughts

Cooling is a necessary part of the electronic computers such as desktops and laptops to ensure the components don't spoil. The Pirate SYNC & PWM case fan controller allows more SaharaGaming fans to attach hence increasing the cooling effect on these components for better functionality. This is an cheap but reliable PWM Fan Hub controller and works as intended without any issues. The new SaharaGaming's PWM fan hub is capable of powering up to 10 SaharaGaming independent PWM fans which allows users to saturate the case with fans while maintaining superb cable management. The SaharaGaming has provided all the required cables in the bundle. Unlike some fan hubs with exposed PCB, the SaharaGaming Pirate SYNC is a self-contained product with an enclosure. The result is an elegant looking device, that will look good even if you have dual-tempered glass side panels. It is slim enough that closing the panel is not going to be an issue. You can fix this little fan hub inside your PC case with the help of double-sided adhesive on the back for fixing to a flat surface. The use of SATA is much better than typical MOLEX since it is easier to plug, and most modern power supplies support it better. It must be noted that all the 4-pin PWM fans will spin at the same speeds directed by the PWM function from the motherboard but if you connect a 3-pin case fan then it will run at its maximum speed as because they do not have that extra pin for the PWM signal and can be controlled by voltage variation only. The lighting effect on the Pirate STRIPE ARGB is subtle and vivid but not overly done. Highly Recommended by me for users on a budget. Unfortunately the hub is only compatible with SaharaGaming Pirate Turbo fans. Also there isn't any dedicated software to control them.



You could certainly go for cheaper LED strips, but the low quality ones can be risky for your PSU, or potentially your PC, so you should definitely go for a good quality one like this. The price is average and affordable as buyers can get the product at a reasonable price that will not hurt their pockets and dig dip into their finances. There is a warranty upon purchase of this item to ensure it performs well when in use. The price ranges from GBP9.99 to GBP13.99 for the Pirate SYNC & PWM case fan controller and from GBP14.99 to GBP14.99 for the led strip/s.