Thermaltake Hardcano 14
4. Conclusion
The Hardcano 14 is an impressive HDD cooling case with an excellent finish and good construction. The clamshell design proved to be very convenient and we had no problems at all with the installation. The installation process is straightforward and it took only few minutes for us to install our HDD in the Hardcano 14 case. The aluminium cover acts as a heatsink and with the help of the thermal pads, helps dissipate any heat.
When installed in your PC, it actually looks quite impressive with the wire mesh front and flashing blue LEDs It really adds to the look of any PC case.
The Hardcano 14 will reduce the temperature of your hard disk when compared to a stand alone HDD by a few degrees, resulting hopefully in longer life span. The difference was most noticeable in simple everyday use, where the temperature was 4° C lower with the Hardcano 14. Under heavy, continuous use however, the difference is around 1° C.
The noise levels from the small fan are not noticeable as long as you don't have a silent, fanless system. The actual noise level may be slightly above the specified 16dBA, but it shouldn't bother you.
Apart from heat dissipation which is the primary role for using the Hardcano 14, it also provides an extra position for a hard disk drive by utilising one of the 5.25" drive bay slots. In our case, this was good since our 3.5" drive bay was full :-)
Overall, the Hardcano is a good device. You'll find it on the e-market for around $28!!!