Contents, Installation and Performance
- Vantec HDD Cooling System
- Dust Filters (x 3)
- Mounting Screws
- Thermal Tape
- Installation Manual
Installation
The installation manual is very brief, but this is not always a bad thing. It has diagrams, Step by step sequences, short comments, and safety guidelines that all add to a very good manual. By following the installation manual I installed the Vantec Vortex cooler in a generous 5 minutes.
To install a hard drive into the Vantec Vortex cooler you have to use the thermal tape supplied and attach the thermal sensor to the bottom of the hard drive. The thermal sensor cable isn’t very long so you have to be careful when positioning the hard drive onto the 4 rubber mounts; otherwise it is very easy to pull the sensor off the hard drive. If the sensor isn’t attached to the bottom of the hard drive correctly the temperature results will be displayed incorrectly on the LCD screen. The hard drive is sat on 4 rubber mounts which help eliminate vibrations and reduce hard drive noise. With the screws provided the hard drive is then secured in place on the rubber mounts. The tray holding the hard drive is then inserted into the 5¼ inch heatsink and secured by 4 screws. The hard drive and cooling system is then ready to be installed into a 5¼ inch drive bay. The cross blower and LCD screen are powered via a molex connector. The molex cable has a passthrough cable meaning it’s possible to power the hard drive and the Vantec Vortex by only 1 molex connection from your PSU.
Once the Vantec Vortex is installed into your system you can then start to tweak around with the cross blower speeds. On the front of the device is a LCD screen which indicates the drive temperature. Below the LCD screen is a button that can control the cross blower speed and temperature read out. The cross blower has 3 fan speeds; High, Low and Off. If you hold the button it will switch the temperature read out from Celsius to Fahrenheit and vice versa. The LCD screen is backlit with a bright yellow colour. This is very nice and readable at all angles but I’m sure a lot of people would have liked to see a different colour LCD.
Performance
Performance is a major issue with hard drive coolers. Do they really work or are they just a way for component manufacturers to make money? Well I’ve tested a few over the past few weeks and not all have performed particularly well. I must admit the Vantec Vortex is the best I have seen; simple and functional. I tested the Vantec Vortex using my 250GB Maxtor Serial ATA Hard drive. At 10 minute intervals I recorded the temperature of the hard drive. Here are my findings.
Our results were attained in a controlled environment. Your results may vary due to room temperature and different hardware.
