Scythe Controllers

A well-known maker of coolers, Scythe also offers a number of various PC accessories, including multifunctional fan controllers. I’ll describe three of them to you.

Kaze Q-8

The simplest product of the three, the Scythe Kaze Q-8 is shipped in a small but highly informative box.

Besides the controller, the box contains fan cables and a power cable.

The fan cables are 690 millimeters long. They have universal 4-pin connectors, although the cables themselves are of the 3-pin variety, so there is no PWM regulation here. The power cable is 540 mm long and ends in a PATA power plug.

The controller is designed in 3.5-inch form-factor and has a black anodized aluminum faceplate.

The Kaze Q-8 is available in a silvery version as well. It measures 102 x 25 x 93 millimeters and weighs a mere 110 grams. The control knobs are 11 mm long.

This may be important for users whose system case has a door on the front panel.

The Scythe Kaze Q-8 is functionally simple as it only allows to regulate the speed of the connected fans without any monitoring options. It has eight fan regulation channels, each with a max load of 12 watts.

The adjustment range is specified to be 5 to 12 volts but I could easily supply 4 and even 3 volts to my fans until they stopped altogether. The speed is regulated smoothly; the sensitivity of the controls is rather high. When a fan is connected, an indicator goes on next to the appropriate control knob.

The Kaze Q-8 comes at a recommended price of $24.99. Its warranty period is 2 years.