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Scythe Kaze Master Ace 5.25" tested

by on22 February 2010

Index








Mounting Kaze Master ACE 5.25’’ in any of the free 5.25’’ slots is pretty easy. The following picture shows that the width is that of optical devices, meaning all you need to do is slide the controller in and fasten it with screws.

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The following picture shows Kaze Master Ace 5.25’’ with CoolerMaster ATCS840.

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Most new cases use different 5.25’’ locking mechanisms in order to ease access to your components by not requiring tools. CoolerMaster ATCS840 uses push locking mechanism and it had no trouble with Kaze Master Ace 5.25’’.

Unfortunately, when we tried mounting the controller in our CoolerMaster Cosmos S case, we were quite surprised to see that it won’t fit into the 5.25’’ slot. The following picture shows that Kaze Master Ace went in for only a few mm before it got stuck, because the controller height (42mm) is higher than slots in Cosmos S case will allow (about 41mm). 

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We solved this problem by placing the controller in the topmost 5.25’’ slot, where it would not be hindered by slot restrictions. We must admit that Kaze Master Ace 5.25’’ fit in quite nicely with the case, as you can see from the picture below.

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After testing the device with the new Corsair Obsidian 800D case, we found that the previous issue is not an isolated case. Luckily, only the bottom slot is a problem, whereas the rest 5.25’’ slots will take Kaze Master Ace without a hitch. Scythe probably didn’t think that anyone will try to save money on a few mm of steel, so they tailored their controller by most 5.25’’ slots.

The following picture shows the problem we had on Obsidian 800D case, where you’ll see that controller is stuck and refuses to go in.

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Obsidian 800D is special for its large front panel that’s over 2cm thick. Since the 5.25’’ slot sides are deep inside the case, Kaze Master Ace 5.25’’, with its 6.3cm sides, has trouble in reaching them. This means that problem is not fitting the controller but rather keeping it in place. However, firmly fastening the device with screws will do the trick.

The other way to keep the controller in the slot is to place it on the device in the slot below or, like we’ve done, place it in the slot below where the device will lay on the 5.25’’ cage lid. As we’ve already mentioned, this slot is tighter but the slot sides are deeper within the case, so Kaze Master Ace 5.25’’ barely touches them and is only a few mm away from being flush with the case. So, addressing this issue on Obsidian 800D is to place the controller in one of the higher slots and fasten it. 

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Temperature readouts make it easy to decide whether fan speed should be higher. If one of the fan-channels is empty, meaning if you didn’t connect the fan, the display will go blank. The same goes for temperature sensors. 

If the fans stops due to an error, display will show a flashing 0 and if that’s not enough, the sound alarm will certainly alert you that there’s something wrong with your case.

We tested Kaze Master Ace 5.25’’ with fans in Obsidian 800D, CoolerMaster ACTS 840 and Cosmos S cases which took to controller commands instantly. We also tested with different 3-pin fans by Arctic Cooling, Gelid and Scythe, and they all ran flawlessly. We also tried it with two 4-pin (PWM) fans, one being Scythe’s Kama 4-pin (PWM) and the other Gelid Silent 12 4-pin (PWM).

Kaze Master Ace 5.25’’ read the rpm on Scythe Kama fan (which runs from 310RPM to about 1200RPM( whereas Gelid Silent 12 displayed up to 1350RPM. Although the former fan is rated up to 1500RPM, it’s still not that bad bearing in mind that Scythe doesn’t advise 4-pin fans for usage with this device.

The only problem we had with using PWM fans is at startup, and if the fan speed regulator on Scythe’s controller is set to OFF. In our scenario, the controller won’t detect PWM fans after starting the computer despite turning the regulator knob to ON and to 50%. It seems like the fan doesn’t get enough power to start with, so we had to provide higher voltage to PWM fans before they would even start. In contrast with the previous problem, if you turn the regulator to ON and provide sufficient voltage prior to starting up the computer, PWM fans would run from the start. This is great news, as the PWM fans, at least those that we tested, will run just fine, despite the fact that Scythe doesn’t advise them for this device.


Last modified on 22 February 2010
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