Gelid’s Slim 12 PL Blue fan comes to market with an RRP of $16.99/€9.90/£9.50 while the Slim 12 UV Blue comes to market at $12.99/€6.60/£6.20. These are both really competitive price points for any 120mm fans.
As our test shows the slimmer form factor does mean you lose out on performance but the performance offered at the higher speeds of 1500RPM is still actually very competitive with full sized fans. Acoustic performance was also very good and the Gelid Slim 12 fans managed to match the Noctua NF-F12 at 1500RPM and beat it at 1000RPM, even if the performance was a fair bit lower.
Now a brief note on the differences between the PL and UV. The PL comes with an LED light, an LED switch and full PWM support, hence why it is more expensive. The UV model comes with no PWM support and no LED. Although the provided low noise adapter means you can choose between 1000 and 1500 RPM which is still a decent amount of flexibility.
My interpretation of these products is that if you aren’t confined by space, then you probably won’t need them. In most cases you get more performance at the same price point by using a standard sized 25mm-thick 120mm fan. However, if space is tight then these fans could be really useful. For example if your heatsink is very close to your RAM and you need a slimmer fan, then this is a perfect option. Or you are short of space at the top of your case and can’t fit normal sized fans onto your radiator, then this could also be an excellent option.
Consequently, I feel what Gelid have done is very innovative and this fan is perfect for people who are short on space but still need a quiet, well designed and low cost fan that doesn’t sacrifice too much on performance. That said we are happy to give the Gelid Slim 12 UV series our innovation award.
