Date: June 6th, 2002
Article by: Nathan Glentworth (Head Editor & Hardware Reviewer)
Product was donated by: Kingwin Inc.

CONCLUSIONS AND AFTERTHOUGHTS

Kingwin Multifunction Transfer Panel FTP-01S

What can I say, the fact that I don't have to constantly reach over my computer to connect my USB and joystick is a god-sent. Add in the fact that you can monitor temperatures in some section of your case and you have a great combination. I used this panel for about a week and then removed it to see how much I missed the convenience. Well, needless to say, it was reinstalled in about 3 hours after I had to reach over my case about ten times to connect various peripherals to my test rig. I would definitely recommend this as a great buy. You just won't know how you got along without it.

Pro's

- Easy Installation
- Temperature Monitoring
- Easy Access to USB, Firewire and Audio ports

Con's

- No switch to turn LCD off when not in use
- Sticker's for affixing the temperature sensor are useless

Kingwin KF-201-DF Mobile IDE Rack w/ LCD

Although this is a very unique IDE rack, it is made more for a server rather than normal everyday home consumer use. I found it a little overdone and found the LCD a little pointless. Don't get me wrong, it's a great product, but I found that the people that actually use these racks regularly, would probably want something a little simpler to install. With proper case ventilation, you can cool your hard drive just as well or better than this rack. If you like the eye-candy in the front of your case, grab it, take it to a LAN, and enjoy having everyone asking you what the hell it is =).

Pro's

- Hard Drive Temperature Monitoring
- Ability to secure your data, or just to take it with you.

Con's

- Installation a little tedious
- Do you really need to monitor your hard drive temperatures?