Photos and Features
Lian Li sent over both the black and white models of the Uni Fan P28 and both have a similar packaging design that looks just like past triple packs of Uni Fans. The big difference being the picture on the front of the box which doesn’t have any lighting like past Uni Fan designs. The black fans almost blend into the black background and the white model stands out. The box has blue trim on the sides. Up top, you can see that this is a triple pack with the icon in the right corner and also the 6-year warranty. Then down on the bottom edge, the model name is the largest font and the bottom right corner shows that these are 120 mm fans and has the color noted as well. The back of the box has another picture of the fan, this time not spinning with a specification listing below that, and on the right, they list off and explain some of the key features.
The top of both boxes is held closed with tape, once you cut that you can open the box up. Right up on top, all of the cables are visible with the documentation sitting between those and the fans. The fans are individually wrapped in bubble wrap bags to help protect them from any rubbing or damage.
The Uni Fan P28 comes with most of the same cables that other Uni Fans come with. There are three standard cables, these have the PWM 4-pin connection on one end and the small recessed plug on the other to connect to any of the fans. They are sleeved to match the fans as well so the black fans have black sleeving and the white fans have white sleeving. There is one of the daisy chain cables, these have the recessed fan plug-in on one end and the slide latch connection on the other to connect two fans together. Then the last cable plugs in inline with the 4-pin PWM cable and is a fan speed controller, unlike the other Uni Fans, the Uni Fan P28s don’t have any need for a lighting controller so that isn’t included this time around. There are three small baggies with black fan screws and then for documentation, you get a small sheet of paper with instructions on what comes in the box and how to link the fans together, and how to attach the two cable connection types. Interestingly the white cables which do have sleeving to match the white fans have a white plug on the fan side but the PWM plugs are still black.
The front of the Uni Fan P28 has smaller anti-vibration pads on the corners than the Uni Fan AL120 V2’s that I took a look at last. These also have a little styling to them with fangs in the shape facing towards the fan itself and two different thicknesses to the pad. Around the pad, there are accents as well molded into the housing. The fan design runs up closer to the edges of the housing and the blades are extremely tight to the housing as well whereas the AL120 V2 had a comparably small fan in the same 120mm form factor and a big gap between the blades and the housing. The fan blade design is also completely different with the AL120 V2 having 7 blades and the Uni Fan P28 having 9. The center housing has a transparent cover on it that has the Lian Li logo in white showing the metal center section through the logo and a peak at the gold around the bearing in the center. The Uni Fan P28 uses a fluid dynamic bearing design. I should also point out that the Uni Fan P28 is significantly heavier than the other Uni Fans, the plastic used seems to be different as well, especially for the fan blades. Their specifications list polycarbonate, PBT, and Liquid-crystal polymer with the Liquid-crystal polymer being a new addition explaining the heavier-duty feel.
The back design has the same outer housing with the same styling there. The only change from the front of the Uni Fan P28 are the four supports that run from the housing to the motor in the center. The back also uses a transparent cover as well like the front. This has the P28 model name printed in white and it shows the three fan speeds that the included controller use. The fan mount has holes in it that look like it point to the fluid dynamic bearing. The Uni Fan P28 can run from 200 RPM up to 2600 RPM, this is a change from the 2000 RPM of the AL120 V2 and with that and the improved design each fan pushes 92 CFM compared to 77.3 CFM. The map air pressure is 4.79 mm H2O compared to 2.97 on the AL120 V2 as well. The 92 CFM is impressive, for comparison the be quiet Silent Wings Pro 4 that runs at 3000 RPM pushes 83.9, the Noctua NF-F12 industrialPPC 3000 RPM on the other hand can push 110.4. Then for noise, Lian Li’s testing has it at 32.1 dB.
What makes the Uni Fan P28 a Uni Fan design is of course on the sides. Two of the edges have aluminum panels on them with a brushed finish and the edges are machined as well as a diamond stripe down the center. But the two other sides are designed to link together. One side has two T-shaped slots in it where another Uni Fan can slide in and lock in place. That same side has four pins to contact the other fan and with the new V2 Uni Fan design, that spot also has a small hidden plug where you can plug a cable in. The other side has two T shaped raised hooks to latch with other fans and a contact pad with four contact stripes. The T’s are removable which was new with the v2 design as well, this is needed when you use the daisy chain cable that can hook to the fan or if you are installing the fans next to something tight. While the overall size of the Uni Fan P28 and any other Uni Fan is the same, they are thicker than a traditional fan by 3mm at 28mm in total. This is one reason that the Uni Fan P28 is able to edge a little more airflow out compared to some of the competing designs.
I did also take pictures of the black Uni Fan P28 design as well just the same as I did with the white model. Physically they are the same design other than the color. For the front of the fan, this does also include the center sticker which on the white model has a white print, here it is black. But the bearing and metal center section is still visible through the clear logo.
The back was similar with the design being the same, the anti-vibration pads are black to match and the center cover here has a smoke tint to the translucent white on the white model.
Like with the front and back, the sides are all the same design as on the white P28 but there is one big change for the sides. The aluminum panels on two of the four sides do still have a brushed aluminum finish with the machined edges and diamond machined stripe down the middle, but the brushed aluminum finish here is black not the pure aluminum finish from the white model.
Here is a look at both the black and white Uni Fan P28s linked together in rows of three. This is the genius of the Uni Fan design, all three of these fans are linked together and you just have to run one cable to power them. This keeps a clean look and also makes mounting things simpler as you could get away with just four mounting screws for the three fans if you wanted, I might run two more near the center just to prevent any vibrations however.
If you were curious how the daisy chain cable connects to the Uni Fan design here is a look. You have to remove the T-shaped clip which you can twist and remove. Then the cable has its own T-shaped hooks on the cable that slide and lock the connection into place. The other end then plugs into your other fans on the side. This design allows you to run a top row of Uni Fans and then link to the rear fan for example or even more than that if you want to keep your fan wiring extremely simple and unified with just one PWM plug.
