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Nexus Frizzbee Hard Drive Cooler |
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Written by Mikhail Ivanenkov
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Monday, 06 August 2007 |
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Page 2 of 2
Ring a bell? If you remember, a few days ago we reviewed the Vizo Orbiter hard drive cooler. As you may have guessed, the physical design of both models is nearly identical. The main differences, aside from fan blade color, are: LEDs (Vizo has blue ones, Nexus has nothing), cable length (Nexus' is about twice as long), and fan speed (the Nexus Frizzbee spins at roughly half the speed of the Orbiter).
Installation is also identical. Testing was done using a recently reviewed Western Digital 750GB HDD which tends to get pretty hot. First I measured idle and load temperatures on the drive without a cooler. Idle was recorded after the drive sat there doing nothing for an hour. Load was recorded after one hour of Sandra's Burn In test looping the Physical Disks benchmark. I then plugged in the cooler and repeated the process. All of this took place in a basement with a relatively stable climate. Temperatures were taking using a Fluke 561 HVACPro IR thermometer at a distance of about 1". The side of the hard drive was measured. Ambient temperature was recorded at 23.5C. The drive resided in an open air environment (no additional fans). The results, compared to the Orbiter, are as follows.
Interesting numbers, though somewhat predictable. On idle the hard drive with the Frizzbee ran 3.6C hotter than with the Orbiter, but still 9.4C cooler than with no fan at all. On load the drive was 4.2C hotter with the Frizzbee than with the Orbiter, but still 11.3C cooler than with no fan at all. The noise difference is noticeable, though not by much. Technically, even completely "inaudible" fans can still become quite loud if you put enough of them together. Still, the Frizzbee on its own is about as silent as they come. If you're choosing between the two, you should ask yourself if you'd rather have something that cools a bit less but is quieter, or something that cools more, is slightly louder, and has LEDs.
Either way, both are good choices if you need a hard drive cooler in the first place. 15,000RPM SCSI drives definitely need cooling, but most 7200RPM models? Eh. As far as problems go, the Frizzbee suffers from the same two issues plaguing the Orbiter: the fan is too close to the drive for optimal airflow (because of the pressure some of it gets pushed back up through the blades) and the mounting method requires extra space in the 3.5" cage. It's a bit of a novelty item, but it does what it's supposed to. Stay tuned for comparisons to more coolers.
Pros
- Nice, simple design
- Very quiet
- Good performance
Cons
- Fan sits too close to the drive (effectively reducing airflow)
- Mounting method requires extra room in the 3.5" cage
Nexus' Frizzbee fulfills its purpose: it cools your drive and it does so quietly. It's nothing to hold your breath for, but it is another choice to consider when looking for some extra storage cooling. Feel free to comment on this review here. Thanks for reading and enjoy the site!
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Last Updated ( Monday, 06 August 2007 )
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