Overall and Final Verdict

So the XFX Hard Swap LED fans are something a little different. In the past I’ve covered fans, I’ve covered video cards, heck I’ve even covered whole replacement heatsinks for video cards but I’ve never taken a look at replacement fans for a video card before. Frankly, given they are the same exact fan design this isn’t a performance upgrade at all, but it does make me wonder if that would be possible in the future. These replacement fans are all about adding a few color options to an otherwise all black video card.

But to me there is a little more to this. I have to imagine that XFX designed their Hard Swap fans first as a way to cut down on RMA costs for both them and their customers. Fans failing is a big portion of video card RMAs so anything to cut down on those costs help cut the bottom line. All of the Hard Swap cards include fan replacement as part of their warranty. Rather than you having to ship your card back and wait for it to get to them, get processed, and then shipped back to you. Now when you have an issue they can send you the fan and you can keep your card in your PC and still use it (assuming its noise not two dead fans). So you end up with no down time. Adding custom LED options seems like, to quote Bob Ross, a happy accident.

The fans do add a little customization to the XFX cards and you can even go a little crazy by mixing and matching as well. Of course you are limited to just the three color options though. The only downside here is that RGB has already become a big part of just about any component in PCs these days, so the three color options are going to feel a little dated. I wonder if in the future there might be just one set of fans with a small switch on the fan or on the card to flip between a variety of colors.

At $19.99, the Hard Swap LED Fans are close to what I would expect them to be priced though I would prefer them at $15, $10 a fan is a touch high. But we actually lucked out on the timing of this review. XFX mentioned that starting today Newegg actually has a special where you get a set of Hard Swap LED Fans along with your XFX Hard Swap video card purchase. Now that is a deal I can get behind. It basically gives everyone buying an XFX Hard Swap card the option to customize it right out of the hole. You also end up with your original (and still brand new) fans as spares if anything ever happens to a fan. So like I said, I hope that XFX looks at moving to RGB for more color options and to cut it down to just one model. But for now, the Hard Swap LED Fans are an interesting option for those looking to spice up their XFX card.

fv5recommended

Live Pricing: HERE

Author Bio
garfi3ld
Author: garfi3ldWebsite: http://lanoc.org
Editor-in-chief
You might call him obsessed or just a hardcore geek. Wes's obsession with gaming hardware and gadgets isn't anything new, he could be found taking things apart even as a child. When not poking around in PC's he can be found playing League of Legends, Awesomenauts, or Civilization 5 or watching a wide variety of TV shows and Movies. A car guy at heart, the same things that draw him into tweaking cars apply when building good looking fast computers. If you are interested in writing for Wes here at LanOC you can reach out to him directly using our contact form.

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