Test – Lamptron CL420 – Conseil Config |Specs | Price

Introduction

Hi everyone!

Lamptron is a brand specializing in case accessories, and more particularly rheobus, which is not very well known in France. The brand makes a point of offering high-end products designed for the most demanding. Today I am going to offer you the brand’s latest rheobus, the CL420! This type of product was popular in the early 2000s to regulate the fans of the case, since motherboards did not have 4-pin connectors, now it is more complicated to justify its purchase, even if purists will prefer adjust everything by hand directly on the PC. To bring it up to date, Lamptron decided to add another feature, the management of RGB LEDs! The brand has therefore decided in a concern for compatibility to add a whole bunch of different connectors to adapt as much as possible to the different products on the market (fans, LED strip).
Offered at a price of around € 55, it is expensive like all the brand’s products, but the build quality and the components used should be excellent, see it right away!

Presentation

The small box does not look like much, we find the photo of the product on a black background accompanied by the logo of the brand, the name of the model as well as a small listing of what the beast can do (control of “classic” fans and RGB, LED strips ..). At the back, a table of technical characteristics as well as a listing of the various strengths.

The size of the beast is rather classic, it is here a 5.25 ″ rheobus with a depth of 6.5 cm. The CL420 can control 2 fans of the same type for a maximum power of 30 Watts per channel. The fans can be regulated from 0 to 12V, which will turn off the fans if necessary. The brand ensures that most RGB fans on the market are compatible (Corsair, NZXT, Cooler Master etc.).

In the box we find the animal well maintained sandwiched between 2 thick foams, transport will not be a problem.

The bundle is clearly thin, with only a leaflet as a manual as well as the necessary screws. It’s a shame not to have a 4-pin extension cable for the fans or for the molex power supply, that would have been useful.

Here is the front of the beast! Here, sobriety prevails, an aluminum plate equipped with 4 RGB LEDs as well as 4 buttons and 4 potentiometers. The LEDs will reflect the color you choose for the LEDs connected to each channel, the buttons will allow you to change the pre-recorded colors / effects and the potentiometers will be responsible for increasing or decreasing the voltage applied to the fan (and therefore its RPMs). Note that as usual at Lamptron, the build quality is really excellent and we feel that we are dealing with a high-end product.

The CL420 is made up of 2 separate PCBs, one for the different buttons and potentiometers on the front and the other for all the connections, and as much to say that as we will see immediately this last one is quite simply enormous.

But how could they have placed so many connectors? This is the first thing that came to my mind when I saw this 😉 Here needless to say that the connection is really huge. It is possible to connect a whole bunch of different fans, NZXT, Corsair, Thermaltake, Cooler Master and so on, in fact since RGB fans have 2 sockets you have to connect the 4-pin but also the cable of the RGB LEDs . Note that for each channel it is only possible to connect 2 fans (of the same type, 2 x NZXT for example, or 2 x Corsair ..).
The power is supplied via Molex connectors, a pity not to have an extension cord as can be found on the FC5 v3 of the brand (tested here).

In practice

Here is what gives the beast once plugged in! The LEDs on the top display the color of the bands or fans connected to the relevant channel. The top button (below the LEDs) allows you to change colors and / or change the pre-recorded effects cycles, so there won’t be only fixed colors which is a good thing for people who like them. different effects.
The potentiometers are of excellent quality and run smoothly, it is possible to also turn off the fans by setting the potentiometers to minimum, which is a good thing for those who do not need to have all the fans constantly on.
Note that all the LED strips as well as the fans (Cooler Master, Lamptron, Corsair, NZXT) tested worked perfectly on the CL420 and there were no compatibility issues.

Conclusion

Here we are at the end of this test, what about the Lamptron CL420?
It is not easy to judge a rheobus, on the one hand because they have now been neglected by the control of the fans via the motherboard and they ultimately generate an additional cost which can now be avoided in a configuration. However, they are still useful for those who really want to quickly adjust their PC fans as they wish and turn them off if necessary.
Lamptron has decided to add control of LED strips / RGB fans to the classic rheobus, what sets it apart from the competition (like an NZXT HUE + or Corsair Commander Pro for example) is that it is compatible with all brands on the market, it will be possible to connect products of different brands without encountering compatibility concerns. This will be an undeniable plus for those who want to buy products from different origins.
The build quality is as usual really excellent, we feel that we are dealing with a high-end product. Of course it also works perfectly and fulfills its role as one is entitled to expect from a rheobus 😉
On the other hand the weak point lies in the absence of a bundle worthy of the name, indeed the rheobus being installed in frontage it would have been of good quality to add extensions, at least for the fans as well as an extension. for the Molex connector which would have facilitated the assembly.
Offered at a price of around 55 € the Lamptron CL420 is a product that is clearly aimed at a niche, if you want to control your LEDs at the same time as your fans and you do not want to be married to a particular brand then it will be a great choice.

Many thanks to Lamptron who allowed me to do this test.