Scythe Kaze Master Flat II Fan Controller Review

Scythe is back. Although their products continued to come to the US and they never went away in the rest of the world; the company itself went missing from the US for a time, but now they have returned. Their US based website can be found at http://www.scytheus.com. Scythe always did have a collection of innovative and interesting products for computer enthusiasts – and always at very reasonable prices. Welcome back.

Scythe has some items new for us to look at. In this review we will look at the Kaze Master Flat II, which was announced in the middle of this year. The name “Kaze Master” is a Japanese-English bilingual name that means “Wind Master.” The Scythe Kaze Master Flat II is a 5.25”  bay device that you put in the front of your case. The Kaze Master Flat II allows you to monitor four temps in Centigrade or Fahrenheit and individually control the speeds of as many fans. The Kaze Master Flat II shows you the speed of each fan in RPM. If you don’t want the letters glowing at you, you can turn them off, leaving you with a shiny black exterior – one that is…flat.

Scythe Kaze Master Flat II front viewPackaging

The Kaze Master Flat II comes in a standard retail box that extols its virtues in six languages.

Scythe Kaze Master Flat II box front
Box Front

 Kaze Master Flat II box back
Box Reverse

Inside its box, the Kaze Master Flat II and its accessories are packed in a soft foam box. The flexible foam sure beats Styrofoam – it doesn’t shatter.

Scythe Kaze Master Flat II packingSpecifications and Accessories

Scythe provides us with these specifications:

Scythe Kaze Master Flat II Fan Controller Specifications
Model NameKaze Master Flat II
Model NumberKM08-BK (Black)
Overall Dimension148.5 x 42 x 83 mm
(5.85 x 1.65 x 0.79 inch)
Input Voltage5 V and 12 V (from PC Power Supply)
Power SupplySATA Connector
Output Voltage3.7 V (±10%) – 12 V (±10%)
Max Current per Channel3 Ampere (36W Output)
Fan Channel4
RPM Range0 ~ 9,990 rpm
Temperature Channel4 (0 – 100°C / 32 – 199.9°F)
Weight193 g / 6.80 oz
Accessories

Temperature Sensor Cable (Sleeved) x 6
Fan Cable (Sleeved) x 4
Mounting Screws x 4, Installation Manual

The Kaze Master Flat II comes with a sheet of installation instructions, a bag of double-sided stickies, mounting screws, and two bundles of cables. The cables have knitted sleeves – they feel smooth and just plain superior to standard sleeving. You get four three-wire cables for fans, and six two-wire cables for thermometers. Note that you can only use up to four thermometers at a time.

Scythe Kaze Master Flat II accessories and instructions
Accessories

Inspecting the Kaze Master Flat II

Here you can see one of the thermometers, and one of the fan cables plugged into the fan controller’s PCB. Note that the 3-wire fan cable has a socket that will will accept the plug from a 4-wire PWM fan. No, it does not control a fan that way – it controls all four fans with varying voltages. But a PWM fan will fit the cables.

Scythe Kaze Master Flat II fan wire + thermometer
A Closer Look

Now we can have a top view of the Scythe Kaze Master Flat II with four thermometers and four fans attached. The controller can handle fans that draw 3 Amps each – that’s 36 Watts a piece. You’d basically have to yoke more than one fan together to draw that much current, but this controller is designed to handle it. You cannot hot plug a fan. You must power down your system to install new fans.

Scythe Kaze Master Flat II + all wires
All Wired Up

From the front, we can see the Scythe Kaze Master Flat II controlling four fans and presenting four temperatures. The non-LED fan on the right is a PWM fan. I played with each of the settings, running the speeds up and down. The RPM numbers you see represent actual measurements from the fans themselves, not some theoretical number. If you run them down until they slow too much to keep running you will see the VFD read “OFF.” If that happens, you will get an alarm, which can be muted. The controller is specified to go as low as 3.7 V; according to an analog multimeter, this one made it down to 4.3-4.4 V before the fan quit. Another feature is that the controller gives all the fans 12 V before settling down to their controlled settings. This allows you to set a fan at a really slow speed – so slow that it would not start up at such a low voltage.

Scythe Kaze Master Flat + fans
Controlling Four Fans

The instruction manual has a drawing that shows you how to change channels. Each press of the Mode button brings you to a new channel, as noted. One thing Scythe does not do on any of their English-speaking websites is to provide you with an online copy of the installation instructions. It would be nice to have a PDF of the document for reference. What you see is a prettied-up scan of the paper document.

Channel Selection
Channel Selection

The Scythe Kaze Master Flat II is available at FrozenCPU for $48 + shipping, and from Amazon for $50 + free shipping.

Conclusion

Scythe Kaze Master Flat II allows you to monitor four temperatures and adjust your fans to keep those temperatures right where you want them. It is a manual controller, so you can choose the balance between noise and temperature. It is a pretty neat piece of technology; it handles up to 3 Amps per channel, and you can turn off the display when you like. If you don’t like the flat look, Scythe also makes straight fan controllers with knobs sticking out, and controllers where you can push in the knobs so they go flat. This one is designed to be sleek and flat. And unlike its predecessor, you won’t have to flip open a cover to reach the controls; they are immediately available.

The fans are all given 12 V to start them spinning before settling down to whatever setting you give them. This saves fiddling with the controller when you start your rig. You can just start. You are given granular readouts of your system’s temperatures. You have control over four channels of fans. If you are obsessive about your temps and your fan speeds, this may be the controller for you.

Scythe Kaze Master Flat II
Scythe Kaze Master Flat II

Scythe Kaze Master Flat II Pros

  • 3 Amps per channel
  • Allows PWM fans to be controlled by voltage
  • Spins the fans up with 12 V before settling them down
  • Controls up to four channels of fans
  • Individual readout of fan speed in RPM
  • Alarm if fan stops
  • Individual readout of four temperature sensors
  • Overtemp alarm
  • Powered by SATA — no Molex connectors needed
  • Sleek, clean design
  • Rapid access to controls

Scythe Kaze Master Flat II Cons

  • Website can be slow to load on busy mornings
  • Installation manual not available online

Overclockers ApprovedClick the stamp for an explanation of what it means.

 Ed Hume (ehume)

About Ed Hume 75 Articles
Ed Hume has been a contributor to the Overclockers.com community for over 10 years. He has written nearly 100 reviews and guides mostly focused on cooling. His scientific and technical approach to analyzing airflow, temperatures, heatsinks and fan performance have made him a fan favorite. In one of his well-known fan roundups, he compared the performance of over 60 fans at once, now that's dedication to the craft!

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Avatar of kamran
kamran

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639 messages 0 likes

looks awesome :)

but i just use my G510 screen too see temps speed/ect :D

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