Test – Silverstone FQ121 & AP182 : Specs | CPU | Hashrate | Review | Config

Hear good people!

Today marks the arrival at Conseil Config of the first Silverstone products, and it will be 2 fans, the FQ121 which is a 120mm model rotating at a maximum of 1800RPM as well as the AP182 a 180mm model rotating at 2000RPM (!!).
Siverstone is not new to the computer world and has had a lot of success with some of its models and especially the boxes, like the Fortress series (more particularly the FT02) and recently the Ravens. The brand’s fans are numerous and very varied, going from the Air Penetrator series (like the AP182 which will be tested here) to the Fan Quiet series which currently only has one model (the FQ121 which will also be tested here). !).

The FQ121 (on the right) looks rikiki compared to the AP182 (on the left), they are not at all to be classified in the same category! No more chatter, let’s go now without further ado to the test of these 2 fans!

Presentation and bundle

The packaging of the FQ121 is made of transparent plastic which almost completely reveals the fan, some indications on the fan are written, such as the operating range from 1000 to 1800RPM. A QR Code is also present and which sends you to the product page on the Silverstone site.

At the back we can see the main technical characteristics of the fan as well as the same specifications as the front but in several languages.

The FQ121 is blue and white, it changes a bit from the black fans that we are used to seeing, the design is successful there is nothing to say, it will go very well in a config that uses the same colors !

The bundle consists of 4 screws and a Molex to 4-pin PWM adapter, a little more than the bare minimum!

Characteristics

As we can see, and according to the technical data, the FQ121 is made to last with its 150,000h of MTBF (about 17 years in 24/24 use) and is a PWM model therefore easily controlled by the motherboard. With a maximum of 1800 RPM, however, it cannot be qualified as inaudible, perhaps it will be silent compared to other fans rotating at the same speed, to see in the tests!

Presentation and bundle

The box is sober and has some specifications on the fan, such as the rotations per minute which fluctuate between 500 and 2000.

At the back, and as on the FQ121, the main characteristics are present as well as the text on the front translated into 9 different languages.

And here is the beast! Suffice to say that the fan is huge, the white color is the most beautiful effect and goes hand in hand with white cladding too. The build quality is at the rendezvous and a feeling of solidity is omnipresent, it is better for an 18cm fan capable of turning at 2000RPM!

A message draws attention and tells us to be careful because the fan requires much more power than a conventional fan (and yes 2000 RPM on a fan of this size it must be supplied), indeed the fan consuming up to ‘at 15.6 Watts it will not be possible to connect it directly to all motherboards. However do not panic, Silverstone has thought about it and has included everything you need in its bundle:

The bundle consists of:

• 1 manuel
• 1 Molex adapter -> 3-pin
• 1 voltage variator to control the fan rotation speed
• 1 loop allowing the motherboard / rheobus to control the fan
• 4 vis

The bundle is therefore rather complete and will allow the use of the fan without fear of damaging your motherboard / rheobus in case they are not suitable, I regret, however, the absence of an anti-vibration fixing system.

Characteristics

Well there we can say that the characteristics send heavy, 2000 RPM, 500 grams the fan and 50,000 hours of MTBF (not far from 6 years) the Silverstone AP182 promises exceptional performance and I think the rating “the power of a house fan for your PC ”shouldn’t be a lie!

The Silverstone FQ121 was tested on the Prolimatech Megalahems radiator on the configuration below, as for the Silverstone AP182 it was tested with the same configuration but in a Cooler Master Silencio 652 box equipped with a Silverstone AP181 at the front:

• 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 desk (still an average of the 4 cores).

The temperatures

The temperatures recorded with the FQ121 are very good, at 5V the fan turns at around 810RPM and is 3 ° from the Nexus which turns at 1050RPM so we are in the nails. Likewise, the FQ121 at 12V runs at 1800RPM and is only 2 ° from Noctua IndustrialPPL 2000 (therefore 2000RPM).
In Push / Pull mode, performance is still very good and the 2 FQ121 are very close to the 2 Noctua, at all good.

The sound level

Attention : Part to be taken with a grain of salt, unfortunately not having access to the appropriate equipment and using an android application to take the readings the measurements below are only indicative! The noise level in the room is 31dB

There are several things to say, first of all the FQ121 has a very high operating range so it is normal to see that the fan can be silent (at 5V and therefore at 810RPM) but also rather noisy at 12V which is normal at 1800RPM.
What about the “quality” of the sound produced by the FQ121? Indeed in 5V the fan is rather silent but friction noises appear by sticking the ear to it, nothing very horrible however because it disappears at 50cm. Basically the FQ121 is not discreet but it should be noted that compared to some fans (like the Noctua IndustrialPPC 2000) the noise level remains contained, this will not be enough to classify it as silent unfortunately but the noise is not unpleasant.

The temperatures

In 5V the AP182 turns slower than the AP181 (500 RPM vs 700 RPM) but nevertheless manages to match the level of cooling, a very good point here for the newcomer!
In 12V on the other hand it buries the competition, the poor AP181 can really not follow what is still normal given that it turns at 1200 RPM against the monstrous 2000 RPM of the AP182, imagine a house fan stuck to your open PC and you have the cooling of the AP182. There is no doubt Silverstone did not lie about the box!

The sound level

Attention : Part to be taken with a grain of salt, unfortunately not having access to the appropriate equipment and using an android application to take the readings the measurements below are only indicative! The noise level in the room is 31dB

A very good surprise here, the AP182 is quieter than the AP181 at 5V even if a slight motor noise is present when you stick the ear, in 12V on the other hand the 2000 RPM are felt and the noise of air brewed is very there, like a house fan! In general, the noise generated is pleasant and you will only hear the noise of the air, not parasitic noises.

Here we are at the end of this test, I will split the conclusion in two because the tests were not the same and the fans do not play in the same court.

Silverstone FQ121

The FQ121 is intended to be a Quiet Oriented Fan (FQ), the problem being that it has a maximum spin speed of 1800 RPM and there is no chance it is silent at this speed. At a minimum the fan knows how to be discreet and it will not disturb anyone even if a slight friction noise is heard when the ear is glued while at the maximum it is clearly heard even if the sound level remains contained taking into account its speed of rotation.

A fan that has such an operating range will be able to cool a large part of PC configurations, whether you are looking for relative silence or very good performance! Its price of 10 € HT makes it a very affordable fan and its colors can easily be integrated into a “mod” compared to the eternal black fans.

Silverstone AP182

A monster, that’s the first thing that comes to mind if I had to qualify this AP182. It is huge, heavy, strong, and is capable of mind-blowing ventilation. On the other hand, there is the other side of the coin, it consumes a lot (15.6 Watts) and you must therefore be careful not to plug it in anywhere, the noise generated when it is at full blast is reminiscent of a fan from home which is quite normal due to its high speed of rotation (2000 RPM, I remind you). On the other hand when the AP182 is set to the minimum it is very quiet and can be used in a silent configuration as long as you are not too demanding!
To summarize, the Silverstone AP182 is very versatile, it can blend into the environment as being the most important source of noise for your PC, at a price of 25 € HT it is in the high average but its very substantial bundle will allow easily to pass the pill.

A big thank you to Marie from Silverstone who allowed me to do this test.

Where to find the Silverstone AP182 and FQ121?

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