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Thermaltake
HardCano 5
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Author : Shawn
Sparks Date : 22nd August 2002
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Once the HC5 is mounted in a drive bay, determine where to
mount the thermal probe; some options are:
CPU:
Pop off the HSF and place the thermal probe either on top of
the chip with the tip touching the edge of the die or underneath,
on the backside of the CPU itself.
The probe is very flat, and the wires are thin so you should
be able to feed them between the pins of the CPU without any
trouble…
(But be careful! The last thing you want to do
is bend one of those pins, or have the CPU not sitting flush
in the socket so TRIPLE CHECK everything before applying pressure
to the retaining clips or the HSF.)
GPU:
Carefully remove the HSF and, with sticky tape, mount the probe
on the card with the tip of the probe touching the edge of the
GPU. This is also a good opportunity to change the thermal grease
to something more efficient like Arctic Silver3.
Or if you aren't so courageous, use the sticky
tape to adhere the probe to the back of the graphics card just
opposite the GPU, there is a nice flat surface and you will
get a fairly accurate idea of the temp.
RAM:
Use the included sticky tape to mount the probe to the side
of a RAM chip and monitor temps there if you are OC'ing your
RAM.
Hard Drive:
Use sticky tape to mount the probe to the circuitry on the bottom
of your HD.
Case Temp:
Let the probe "float" freely inside your case to get
an idea of the temp in there.
Fever:
Place the probe under your tongue for an accurate reading of
just how sick you really are. (And by sick I mean mentally…
why else would you be sticking that thing in your mouth!)
Here's a shot of the probe. Notice how flat
it is, and see how those wires are thin enough to fit between
the pins on a CPU. The probe can fit nearly anywhere (no comment)
I chose to use sticky tape on the back of my GeForce4
just to try it out until I really decide what temp I want to
monitor. I will probably end up mounting it on the front of
my CPU under the HSF as my 8K3A+ is notorious for false CPU
temp readings.
After you mount the probe, the next step is to
choose a fan with which to control via the switch. My choice
is the front intake fan, as you should always have the rear
exhaust running full strength to pull as much hot air away from
the inside of your case. Just plug the 4 pin adapter on the
switch to a lead from the PSU, plug the fan into the other end
with the provided adapter… and VOILA! You have control
over the speed of the intake fan.
Once the whole unit is in place, you can monitor
the temp of your chosen chip, adjust the speed of one of your
case fans, and rest assured that your HD is in a cool environment.
The overall design really ensures the HD is getting cool air,
as it is being drawn directly onto it from outside of the case.
But I wouldn't be a critic if I didn't critique.
By drawing air into the case across the HD you are forcing turbulent
hot air into the case which could theoretically bring case temperatures
up; another good reason to leave the exhaust fan running full
blast. However, this is just a theory of mine and in my case
Ii haven't seen a dramatic internal temp increase. Yet.
All in all, the HardCano5 from Thermaltake is
a very useful tool. I have found myself checking the temp on
my GF4 while going for the highest overclock that I can, and
I look forward to finally getting an accurate temperature reading
of the CPU when I move the probe. The fan switch is handy, even
though I am one of those 'techies' that has their fans on rheostats
already, (of course this was much easier to install than wiring
my own LED's, switches and rheostats). I like the 3 position
switch for fan speeds it seems to have a wider range of speed
than my rheostat. My one gripe would be that temps are displayed
only in Celsius, I am used to Fahrenheit, and a choice of scales
would have been nice. At least most of the world uses the Celsius
scale so comparisons to other temps will be no different.
Did I mention that it also really spruces up the
front of your case? The HC5 really looks slick when installed.
Way nicer than one of those beige blanks they use to cover the
extra bays. And a little bonus that comes with the territory
is that by moving your HD up into the 5 ½ drive bay area,
you also move the wiring up there too which, in my case, created
better airflow across the motherboard. And furthermore, I have
noticed a decrease in sound from the drive since isolating the
vibration one step further from the actual case. Hey, better
airflow and a quieter HD are some pretty awesome side effects
to have. Thanks Thermaltake!
And lastly, I tried to avoid it, but I feel I
should mention that I had problems with both of the units that
Thermaltake sent to me. The first had a faulty LCD, and the
second was lacking two of the four countersinks to recess the
top screws. I will, however, add that the RMA for the first
unit was no problem, the rep even cross shipped one so I didn't
have to wait long, and I chose to use the second one as it came,
as the top is at least held on by two screws and it doesn't
move much. Although it was really no big deal to me, I feel
obligated to mention that both units had these manufacturing
defects.
Pros:
Good looking unit replaces an ugly drive bay blank
Thin temperature probe fits almost anywhere
Wide range of uses for all levels of experience
Relatively easy to install
Cons:
Celsius scale only
Requires an empty drive bay
2 defective units out of 2 shipped
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