Date: October 5th, 2003
Article by: Roger (Hardware Reviewer)
Product was donated by: Cremax
PRODUCT COMPOSITION AND PICTORIAL (cont'd)
At the back of the unit, you'll notice where the three fans plug in.
You have the two redundant fans which cool the HDD, as well as an extra
molex for an external fan. The molex is of the standard four pin variety,
with only two wires connected. Luckily, most fans come with adapters.
I tried to envision a use for this external fan, but it
wasn't until Nathan suggested it connect to a blowhole fan that it all
clicked into place. Mount the ICY DOCK into the top 5.25 bay, and connect
it to your blowhole fan. This way, you have maximum control over any
dead air pockets that may develop around your drive. With a HDD in the
ICY DOCK, you'll notice that there is quite a bit of room on the side
of your HDD (where the two redundant fans are located). This space provides
for ample circulation. Only one of the fans turns on to cool the HDD.
The second fan is only activated if the first one fails, or if the critical
temperature setting is reached. Should this happen, you'll know it.
A mind-numbing tone will screech out of the unit, and the temperature
display will flash. Pressing any of the buttons will stop the noise.
(FYI, the 50mm fans themselves are nearly inaudible.) At the back of
the unit, you'll also notice a small dipswitch which allows you to define
whether the loaded HDD is set as Master or Slave. This information is
then displayed on the front.
You'll also notice where the thermal sensors connect.
There are three sensors which you can place anywhere you would like.
It is a good idea to place one on top and one on the bottom of the HDD,
then another near the ICY DOCK to measure the case temperature. One
near the blowhole (if you have one), would be ideal if you've connected
that fan to the unit.
Finally, there are two HDD LED connectors. Now this is
cool. If you skim back up the review to the photo of the HDD sitting
inside of the ICY DOCK, you'll remember how the unit connects directly
to the motherboard. How then can the ICY DOCK display HDD activity?
Simple. All you have to do is plug one connector into
the motherboard, and then connect the other to the HDD LED at the front
of the case. The signal then bounces through the unit so that the LED
keeps flashing whenever there is HDD activity.
Very Cool.
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