The Lian Li brand continues to push the boundaries of fan innovation. This time, the company is offering… wireless fans! Yes, yes, with its Uni Fan TL Wireless, the brand is announcing fans that can be controlled via a 2.4 GHz signal – wireless, in other words!
Uni Fan TL Wireless: has the madness gone too far?
With these fans, the company is offering 120 mm fans in black or white. They also come with ‘normal’ or reverse blades, depending on the mounting position. There’s also an LCD version that incorporates a small screen on the central hub, while the ‘normal’ version has an aluminium Lian Li logo.
In short, the LCD version boasts a small 1.6″ screen with a resolution of 400×400. What’s more, unlike the brand’s first LCD fans, the frequency here is increased to 60 Hz. Of course, you’ll be able to display video, photos, .gif files or data related to your system.
As for the specifications, we’ve summarised them in the table below:
However, the most debatable choice of these fans concerns the way they are managed. In fact, Lian Li has opted for wireless management of speed, lighting and the LCD screen, where present. To do this, you can either use a USB receiver that plugs into the I/O shield panel on your motherboard, or a system that uses a fan header and a USB header.
Either way, we can’t quite see the point of such a system, as the fans themselves need to be powered, and WiFi power supply is something we don’t yet know how to do. To do this, the brand suggests connecting them either to a SATA cable or… to a fan header on the motherboard… You might as well opt for a system with a single controller and a single connector.
Finally, this system adds to the bill with a unit cost of around £25, compared with £40 for the screen versions. Packs of three are sold at £84 and £126 without and with screen. In short, a lot of money for very little.
Here’s the Lian Li product sheet!