Posted: March 23, 2001
Written by: Dustin "TimmyC" Jones
Supplied by: Heatsink Factory

Installation

Installing some of the newer HSF's can be a tad tricky, as a lot of the clips require a bit of force to get attached. Unless you're an absolute weakling, it shouldn't take longer than 5 minutes. The FOP-38 went on without any problems. One particular feature you should be aware of is that the FOP-38 ships with a 3-4 pin Molex adapter to plug directly into the power supply feed. There is a reason behind this; the FOP-38 requires a lot of power to run, and most motherboards can't handle the power constraints. I highly suggest you use the adapter, although you will lose RPM readouts… big deal.

Noise

If you've read any other FOP-38 reviews or roundups, you'll note that all of the reviewers mention how unbearably loud the fan is. The FOP-38 comes stocked with a Delta 7000RPM fan, and let me tell you something; this thing sounds like a bloody hair dryer. I've taken the liberty of recording a sound clip of this beast in action. check it out here (34k MP3).

Despite all the complaints about this fan being too noisy, I have no problems with the noise at all. It does take a little while to get used to it, but I sleep fine at night... maybe even better from the soothing sounds of my FOP-38 and all my case fans. However, if you're sensitive to noise, you may want to stay away from this HSF.

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