Test – Scythe Slip Stream 120 DB : |Specs | CPU | Hashrate | Review | Config

Hi all !

Scythe has been in the cooler / fan market for a very long time now and has always offered products with the most interesting performance / price ratio, after the exceptional Ninja 4 (tested here) it is now the turn of the brand’s new fans to go through the mill, I named the Slip Stream 120 DB. Several models are available, a PWM 1300 RPM as well as 3-pin 500 800 1200 1600 and 1900 RPM, Scythe has equipped its new fans with a double ball bearing to significantly increase the life of the machines (announced at 350,000 hours!), as for the price and as usual with the brand it is very low with around 12 € incl. VAT for the PWM version and 10 € incl. VAT for the 3-pin. Having a long experience of the brand we should be faced with fans with an excellent quality / price ratio, but do not sell the skin of the bear before having killed it 😉

As we can see the characteristics of the Scythe Slip Stream 120 DB are rather classic, as their name suggests they are 12 cm fans with a thickness of 2.5 cm, the PWM has a 4-pin connector while the other is 3-pin.
The PWM version has a rotation range of around 200 to 1300 RPM, so an extremely low minimum sound level (an airflow also for the shot) for a maximum given sound level of 26.5 dB, which should remain very correct even at full throttle. The SY1225DB12M meanwhile offers a rotation speed ranging from about 500 to 1200 RPM for a maximum sound level of 24 dB, it should logically behave in a roughly similar way to the PWM version except that it will ventilate more at least.
Regarding the bearing, however, Scythe has decided to put the double butchers with a double ball bearing which should ensure a very long life (350,000 hours or 40 years, but at an ambient temperature of 25 °), normally much more than the computer in which the fan should be installed!

As usual with our Japanese friend Scythe the colors are very flashy, the box is made of a rigid transparent plastic through which we can see the product. We are entitled to the model, the brand as well as the main technical characteristics (sound level, RPM, air flow, MTBF etc ..), it’s a bit messy but everything is there!

At the back, a summary table of the technical characteristics in 5 different languages ​​as well as a photo of the bundle and a small cover explaining the benefits of double ball bearings.

Not much to do at the front, the carcass is in good quality black plastic without of course reaching the level of a Noctua for example and the 9 pale ones are a dark gray color. The 2 fans are identical in all respects and there is no way to differentiate them without looking at the cables.

At the back again it will be difficult to differentiate the 2 fans, apart from the 4-pin cable for the PWM and 3-pin for the other. Only the sticker will be able to tell us which model we have to make, SY1225DB12M-P for the PWM and SY1225DB12M for the 3-pin 1200 RPM.

Scythe still made the effort to sheath the cables, a little touch that will delight fans of window on the box, the sheath is of very good quality and does not show the wires. I’m not drawing you a picture, at the top the 3-pin model and at the bottom the 4-pin!

Contrary to what one would have thought when seeing the prices Scythe still offers a rather nice bundle, in addition to the eternal screws we have 4 rubber fasteners which will dampen any vibrations and an adapter to connect the fan directly to a molex socket. (in case there is no connector available on the motherboard). As above on the left the PWM bundle and on the right that of the 3-pin.

Fractal Design fans have been tested on the Prolimatech Megalahems radiator on the configuration below:

• Processor: Intel Core i7 875K @ 3,2 Ghz
• Ventirad: Prolimatech Megahalems
• Motherboard: Asus P7P55D
• Memory: Kingston HyperX 4 x 2 Go 1600Mhz
• Hard disk: WD Raptor 150 Go
• Graphic card: Sapphire Toxic 5850
• Food: Seasonic X650

The core i7 875K has been slightly overclocked to 3.2Ghz. The temperatures under load are an average of all the cores for 3 tests of 30 minutes on OCCT, the temperatures at rest were taken after 15mins on the desktop (still an average of the 4 cores).

As you can see, the latest Scythe’s behave really well, they don’t have to be ashamed of Noctua and Fractal Design in the comparison, far from it! In 5V the 3-pin version running at an acceptable speed manages to hold the core i7 at around 64 °, which is really an excellent result. The PWM version on the other hand raises the temperature of the processor to 78 °, which is anyway quite normal because as I said above it turns really very slowly (around 300RPM for the test copy), despite everything the processor remains within acceptable limits.
Once supplied with 12V the Slip Stream 120 DB are on par with the others, keeping the processor at 56 ° and 58 ° respectively for PWM and 3-pin 1200RPM. A quick word on the PWM mode for which the PWM model is made (hello Captain Obvious), the processor remains at 59 ° which is not far from 56 ° when it turns to the maximum.

Ambient sound level: 31dB

There it is again very good, in 5V the two fans are inaudible, we hear the slight airflow of the 3-pin 1200RPM version but on the other hand the PWM is really inaudible even with the ear glued to it. In 12V the two protagonists are audible but remain very tolerable, especially since the noise generated is not aggressive and devoid of any engine noise / friction / parasitic rattling, they will clearly not be the main source of the noise generated. by the PC, unless you have an extremely quiet PC in charge. In PWM the fan reaches 40 dB, which is very acceptable and once again devoid of any parasitic noise.

Here we are at the end of this test, what about the Scythe Slip Stream 120 DB?
Scythe, well known in the world of silent components, returns with a new fan model which incorporates the main strengths of the brand, namely a reliable, good quality product with an almost unbeatable performance / noise / price ratio. The bet is successful for the Slip Stream 120 DB which offer a double ball bearing, very contained noise pollution even at high speed and a price of 9 € for the 3-pin version and 12 € for the PWM version which will delight future customers. buyers who cannot afford “premium” fans over € 20.
To sum up, whether you are looking for quality fans for your case or for your processor, whether as part of a gamer config or an office PC then the Slip Stream 120 DB will give you full satisfaction!

A big thank you to Scythe who allowed me to do this test.