Hard disk drives with 7,200rpm spindle rotation speed are becoming a mainstream product now. They are faster than their 5400rpm counterparts and cost just a little more. But all drives like that share the common problem: they produce too much heat.

The S.M.A.R.T. system keeps track of the HDD temperature during work and writes down its maximum value. HDD makers usually specify certain rules concerning the temperature regime of their products and can even refuse to provide after-sales service if the rules have been broken. Just imagine you bring a crashed HDD to be served according to the warranty and people there refuse to replace it with another one, return the money or repair it because some months ago its temperature got above the allowed maximum value.

They say that the lower the temperature of the HDD, the longer its life will be. It doesn't mean you should freeze it below zero, but it's a reasonable thing to keep your hard drive in the recommended temperature range (+5^oC to +50^oC). Its mechanics will be less subject to deterioration and it will stand a better chance to serve until totally out-dated.

Some PC system cases, like Thermaltake Xaser, provide enough airflow around the HDD to cool it: they feature 80mm fans installed in the HDD bays. Some other system cases have space left for installation of such fans. If the airflow in the case is insufficient, you will have to use a special HDD cooler. Fortunately, it's no great task to find devices like that in shops. Today we are going to review five HDD coolers from the HardCano family manufactured by Thermaltake.

We have already reviewed the first three models from the well-known HardCano cooler family. They were HardCano 2, 3 and 5 and they proved really efficient for hard disk drive cooling (see our article called Thermaltake HardCano: Cooling Solutions for Hard Disk Drives). Today we are happy to offer you the second part of our coverage, with two more models, HardCano 6 and 7.

Different HardCano cooler models have a lot in common:

• They are all installed into the 5" bay of the case;
• They all accommodate a standard-size 3" IDE or SCSI HDD;
• The front panel of all HardCano is made of aluminum and protrudes somewhat more than CD-ROM drives or other 5" devices;
• HardCano 2/3/5/6 coolers all have identical 40x40x20mm fans with two slide bearings supporting the rotor. The fans are connected to the mainboard through a Molex connector. Their nominal power is 1.32W, they also feature 5,000rpm rotor rotation speed, 5.1CFM productivity and 23dB noise level.

As for differences between HardCano models, we are going to discuss them in this review. Even though we have already discussed the peculiarities of the HardCano 2, 3 and 5 in this article, we decided to take another fresh look at them here, to make the comparison complete. The measurements will be also taken anew for all the previously reviewed models, so that you get the opportunity to compare their efficiency in two differently configured systems.

Testbed and Methods

We took an InWin-J535 system case for our tests. This is a pretty widely spread PC case, which won the hearts of many users due to its affordable price and high-quality.

There are four 5" bays in this case for installation of CD-ROM-like devices. The PSU takes the warm air from outside with the help of a 90mm system fan. We turned this fan off during the tests to create heaviest thermal conditions for the HDD.

The testbed configuration looked as follows:

• Intel Celeron 2000 CPU;
• GlacialTech Igloo 4300 CPU cooler;
• ABIT IT7-MAX2 mainboard;
• IBM DTLA 45GB 7,200rpm HDD;
• Albatron GeForce4 MX440-8x graphics card;
• Creative SBLive! Value sound card;
• 24x CD-ROM drive;
• Windows XP Professional.

The tests were carried out according to the following scenario (it remained the same as during our previous tests, but we will still mention it once again for your reference):

• The HDD and HardCano cooler were installed into the third 5" bay of the PC case from the top, so that there was some free space beneath and above the HardCano.
• After boot-up, the PC was left idle for 30 minutes. The temperature in the case settled to a certain value during this time.
• Then we turned the system into a 10-minute "heating" mode by running Intel IOMeter software set with the RandomRead pattern;
• After the test we followed the HDD temperature for 20 minutes more, as it returned to its regular thermal regime.

We used a special Dtemp utility to take the temperatures. This utility reads the data from the HDD SMART-area. The initial temperature value was taken a minute before the "heating" mode was enabled and throughout the following half an hour with one-minute interval. We didn't use the thermometers installed in HardCano coolers as not all of the reviewed models have digital thermometers. Moreover, these thermometers show evident measurement errors, so we couldn't trust them too much.

The room temperature during our experiments rested around 21^oC.

Before checking the HDD coolers and their efficiency, let's figure out how much the HDD without any cooler heats up. With the help of 5"-to-3.5" slides we installed it into the same 5" bay, where we will later install HardCano coolers. Here iss the temperature graph of the HDD without any cooling during the test:

The "heating" mode (the time when Intel IOMeter was running) is marked with pink in the diagram. As we see, the HDD heats up by 10 degrees compared to the idle mode and then slowly cools down. Even 20 minutes after the test, its temperature was still 5^oC above the nominal. We should also note that DTemp rounds up the temperature value, which of course is changing smoothly, not in steps as we see in the diagram. Now that we know how greatly a hard disk drive without any cooling heats up, let's discuss the HardCano HDD cooler family.

Closer Look

Thermaltake HardCano 2

HardCano 2 HDD cooler comes dismantled in a transparent plastic box. The box includes the cooler, steel slides to mount the HDD into the cooler and install the cooler into the system case, and a pair of double-side stickers for the thermal diodes.

Notwithstanding the number 2 in the name, HardCano 2 was really the first HDD cooler manufactured by Thermaltake. The company tried to enhance the functions of an ordinary cooler by adding to its HardCano 2 two digital thermometers.

The low-cost thermometers utilized in HardCano coolers use an ordinary thermocouple as a sensor. Every thermometer is powered by its own removable battery. When you buy it, the batteries are insulated from the contact pads by a plain piece of paper. You take it out and the thermometers start to work. Why we called them low-cost? Well, their construction is really simple and inexpensive (such a thing costs no more than $5), they can't be calibrated and they also show big measurement errors (you can see in it in the upper photo: one thermometer says 10.9^oC and the other - 21.3^oC). Strangely enough, the thermometers have 0.1^oC measurement accuracy. The wires that come from the thermal diodes are quite long and reach to the graphics card or the mainboard easily. They are also very thin so you can place a thermal diode even under some processors if you slide the wire in between the CPU pins (for example, Athlon XP).

The front panel of HardCano 2 carries a fan that blows cool air onto the HDD. A grid with the Thermaltake logo protects the fan.

The steel slides fit into HardCano 2 to accommodate the hard drive. They also serve to fix the whole HardCano 2 module in the 5" bay. One of the thermal diodes can be placed onto the HDD with a double-side sticker so you always know HDD temperature. After the whole thing has been assembled, the whole thing is installed just like any other 5" device.

We connected the fan of the HardCano 2 to the mainboard. Its rotation speed was 4,218rpm during the test.

As Intel IOMeter was running, the HDD temp was changing non-linearly. We see it slumping and jumping up again. As we have already said, DTemp utility rounds its numbers up to the closest integer. Curiously enough, the HDD temperature still grew up after the test was over. This might have been caused by its massiveness. We can't say for sure where the built-in HDD thermal diode is placed, but it seems that the heat spreads throughout the HDD case very slowly, and we have a kind of lag effect here.

Thermaltake HardCano 3

Thermaltake combined three devices into its third HardCano: a HDD cooler, a digital thermometer and a fan speed controller. After the arrival of HardCano 2, all testers pointed out that the two thermometers showed different numbers. This was a too striking defect, so it was reasonable to replace one of the thermometers with some other, more useful device. Now, the temperature measurement errors are not so evident and HardCano 3 owners have a handy option - to control the rotation speed of any fan in the computer, which is connected via a Molex connector.

HardCano 3 comes in the same package as the HardCano 2. The package is almost the same as in the previous case as well. There is only one sticker for the thermal diode instead of two.

The front panel of HardCano 3, like that of HardCano 2 is of silvery gray color. It has one fan and one LCD panel for thermometer data.

Instead of the second thermometer, we have a three-position fan rotation speed controller here. It's the same as comes with Volcano 7+ coolers. The controller can be set in any of the three positions: "H" - high speed, "M" - medium speed, "L" - low speed. This controller is attached to the PSU via an open-end PC-Plug connector and has two Molex connectors at its output: one for the fan and the other to send fan rotation speed signals to the mainboard. Depending on the controller position, it can output 12V, 9.2V or 6.4V. You can connect any fan to this controller: a CPU fan, a system fan or even the built-in HardCano fan. It doesn't make much sense to reduce the speed of the HardCano 3 itself though, as it works quite noiselessly anyway. When assembled, HardCano 3 looks like that:

The fan rotation speed of HardCano 3 was 5,273rpm. Let's see how efficient it is for hard disk drive cooling.

In the first three minutes of the "heating" mode, the HDD temperature was growing very slowly. Then it rose seven degrees up and continued to grow for the first three minutes after we stopped Intel IOMeter. After 20 minutes in the idle mode, the HDD temperature was only three degrees higher than before the test.

Thermaltake HardCano 5

This model looks more impressive than HardCano 2 or 3. It has a special box to install the HDD in for better cooling. The HardCano 5 package comes with the same stuff as the HardCano 3 plus a sticker with the Thermaltake logo.

HardCano 5 comes in two variants: with gold- or silver-colored cover. Actually, they are both made of aluminum and the color is the only difference between them.

Unlike the previous models, HardCano 5 comes already assembled. You just need to remove the cover, put the hard drive in and place the cover back. The front panel of this cooler looks exactly like that of HardCano 3. It carries the same fan speed controller, a thermometer and a 40mm fan to cool the HDD.

The upper cover of HardCano 5 is ribbed, just like a heatsink. In ordinary HDD coolers a cover like that fulfills two functions at a time: it serves as a heatsink as it gets pressed against the HDD case, and directs the airflow from the fan alongside the HDD and doesn't allow it to go above or below, as it can happen by HardCano 3 or 2 and many other "caseless" HDD coolers. In HardCano 5, the cover doesn't touch the HDD case, though, and only directs the airflow inside the case.

There is enough space in between the HDD and the sides of the HardCano 5 rack for free airflow. You can also hide here the cables running from the fan, controller and thermal diode. The assembled HardCano 5 looks as follows:

The rotation speed of the fan in this cooler is 5,273rpm. At the same time, it's rather noiseless at work. In theory, this cooler should do its job well, but we think it could be even better if the upper cover touched the HDD surface and also served as a heatsink.

Well, the HDD temperature grew by 7^oC during the "heating" mode, but went down close to the initial value in the following twenty minutes.

Thermaltake HardCano 6

The first three models from the HardCano family (2, 3 and 5) hit the market at about the same time. The point of the above-discussed products was to add to a HDD cooler some other useful devices, such as thermometers and noise level control. Some time later, people at Thermaltake realized they could use the front panel of the HDD cooler in a more effective way: if they equipped it with USB and FireWire ports as well as audio ports for the headphones and microphone. That is how HardCano 6 was born.

The HardCano 6 cooler comes in a transparent package. The boy in the picture (the symbol of Thermaltake) now wears a fireman's uniform thus showing he is ready to cope with the heat from any hard drive. There is no PC-Plug-to-Molex adapter in the package, so if you happen to have no free Molex connector, you will have to attach the HardCano 6 fan to the three-position fan speed controller, which has both PC-Plug and Molex connectors.

The cooler comes with screws to mount it in the PC case and a special bracket for the back panel of the case. You put the FireWire cable through the bracket and connect it to an IEEE1394 controller card.

As we see, the front panel of HardCano 6 differs from the previous models. It's still made of aluminum and protrudes from the case more than other 5" devices, but it's now colored in red. Rather a questionable solution from the aesthetic point of view. On the right, where HardCano 3 has an LCD panel, HardCano 6 has (from left to right) a FireWire port, two jack sockets for the microphone and headphones and two USB ports.

As a result, HardCano 6 trails three cables for the ports and also fan and fan speed controller cables. The FireWire cable should be attached to the appropriate connector of a controller card. It can also be put outside through a special bracket that comes with HardCano 6. The rest of the cables are not that easy to connect.

The USB cables are split into separate contacts. All the contacts are marked and you have to know the layout of the USB ports on the mainboard PCB to connect them properly. Thermaltake doesn't claim that its HardCano 6 is compatible with the USB 2.0 standard. Nothing to be surprised with, as this USB cable isn't screened.

The audio cables are also connected on the "line by line" basis. In many modern PC cases the front-panel audio outputs are connected to the sound card through ordinary jacks. You can't repeat this trick here. You can only connect the mic and headphones if the sound card or mainboard have these pin-connectors.

The thick FireWire and USB cables hinder proper installation of the hard drive, so it has to be mounted at a considerable distance from the fan. They don't prevent proper installation of HardCano 6 itself, though: the wires and cables just lie on the slides. The fan rotation speed by HardCano 6 was 4,688rpm during the test. You can see the temperature diagram below:

Well, the temperature grew by eight degrees during the test and then went down to a value three degrees over the initial one. Of course, the wider gap between the HDD and the fan negatively impacted the cooling. We will see it later when we compare the temperatures of all HardCano solutions in the end of the review.

Thermaltake HardCano 7

Coolers from the HardCano family have been developing so fast that they even lost their main element on the way:I am talking about the fan. Yeah, HardCano 7 can't be called a fully-fledged HDD cooler, as it has nothing to cool the hard disk drive with. Well, here it is:

This model, just like HardCano 6, comes in a transparent plastic package. The package doesn't include a PC-Plug-to-Molex adapter, but includes a double-side sticker for the thermal diode and the steel slides to install the device into the PC case.

The front panel is made of red aluminum and carries a three-position fan speed controller, a digital thermometer, a FireWire port and two USB ports. There is no fan as well as no sound outputs, which we saw by HardCano 6.

HardCano 7 module has the same cable as the sixth HardCano. The FireWire port is connected via a standard connector. Two USB ports (not supporting the USB 2.0 standard) are wire by wire connected to the mainboard.

We can't find a good reason to install the HDD into HardCano 7 as this "cooler" has no means for actual hard disk drive cooling. But sometimes, when there are no free 3.5" bays in the system, you may want to put the hard drive into a 5" bay in a HardCano 7. The temperature of the drive is shown on the diagram below:

The HDD temperature grew eight degrees during the test and two degrees more after the test was completed. The HDD also cooled down very slowly. We think no comments are necessary here.

Performance Comparison

We have checked the efficiency and functionality of every cooler. Now let's put their results into one diagram and find see what we've got:

The diagram shows that the best cooling solution is HardCano 5. It has a box for the HDD and the upper cover of the box helps to direct the airflow along the hard drive and thus to cool it best of all.

Strange as it might seem, but HardCano 7 module (we just can't call it a cooler, to tell the truth) makes the HDD heat less than in case there is no cooling at all. Maybe the aluminum front panel of HardCano 7 is better than the ordinary plastic bracket? So, we have t admit the HardCano 7 also can do the HDD some good.

Among the rest of the coolers, there were no surprises. The sixth HardCano quite naturally shows poorer results than models 2, 3 and 5 as the HDD is placed a bit farther off from the fan in this model because of the FireWire and USB cables.

HardCano 2 and 3 go neck and neck, as we have actually expected.

Conclusion

Some users don't like to use HDD coolers as they often produce too much noise and do not go well with the exterior of the entire PC. The first thing is absolutely not true about the HardCano cooler family. They do work very silently. As for the design, tastes differ and some people will hardly like the metallic color of the HardCano against the plastic background of the PC case, and the others may be not very happy with their jutting out more than the CD-ROM drive or the plastic bracket covering the free 5" bay.

The price of the cooler is one more important issue. HardCano models are not in an advantageous position here as their price is rather high:

As we see from the table above, all the coolers, except number 5, cost about the same, although they differ in their functionality, efficiency and exterior. Identical price makes it somewhat easier to choose the right model, as all you have to do is decide what set of features you need.

Our tests showed that Thermaltake HardCano 5 cools the hard disk drive best of all, while HardCano 7 is the least efficient. The remaining coolers show similar results. So, it's up to you to decide what you need most: a digital thermometer, an external fan speed controller, or FireWire and USB ports coupled with audio jacks. But there is one thing we have no doubts about: you will surely find what you want in the Thermaltake HardCano HDD cooler family.