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Product:
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Smart Drive 2002 Hard Drive Enclosure |
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Price:
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$87 (CAN) / $65 (U.S)
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Supplied By:
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EndPCNoise
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Author:
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Mantis
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Date:
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November 18th, 2003
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Rating:
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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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As previously stated, the Smart Drive 2002 is an all passive hard drive enclosure designed to bring
reduced acoustical levels to serial and parallel based ATA hard drives. A set of raised fins run the
length of the side and upper portions of the unit. Aside from aesthetics, these fins are designed to aid
in the dissipation of heat generated by the enclosed hard drive. In order to gain access to the Smart
Drive 2002, a set of six screws must be removed from the bottom plate.
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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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Removing the lower plate reveals the quality construction of the Smart Drive 2002. A thin layer of foam
along with an aluminum sheet is present on the underside of the lower plate. The inner portion of the
Smart Drive 2002 features 10mm foam that runs the perimeter of the unit. A small aluminum tray resides
in the center of the inner housing for additional cooling purposes. One interesting aspect I encountered
upon inspection of the interior is the lack of mounting holes to secure your drive inside the Smart Drive
2002 enclosure. Instead, the installed drive is securely sandwiched by the bottom plate complete with
foam and aluminum sheet. I rattled the assembled enclosure to test this method and can confirm that the
installed drive is secure.
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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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Installation is an extremely straightforward process and all that is required is to place the desired
parallel or serial ATA drive inside the enclosure and make the necessary connections. Unlike similar
hard drive enclosures, the Smart Drive 2002 does not feature any interior connections for power or IDE,
instead, users are required to use the provided Molex connection and route their cables through a small
opening at the rear of the unit. Once complete, the bottom plate can then be fastened. One unfortunate
drawback to this is that the design is limited to the use of flat IDE cables as the popular rounded
cables are too large to fit through the opening. Once the drive has been installed, users can proceed
to mount the Smart Drive 2002 into a vacant drive bay.
A Western Digital SE 80GB 800JB hard drive was installed into the Smart Drive 2002 for testing purposes.
My drive in particular has a constant rather high-pitched rotational noise which makes it the ideal test
candidate. Once the system was powered, the Smart Drive 2002 managed to bring a welcome reduction in
noise levels to the installed drive. The overall sound was greatly muffled and absorbed from the internal
foam walls and thick aluminum casing. After approximately 3 days of usage, the Smart Drive 2002 still
remained warm to the touch as the side and top fins dissipate the heat produced. While the premise of
the Smart Drive 2002 is silence, I decided to take temperature results since the unit is entirely
passive. There was approximately a 5 degree increase to the drive when installed into the Smart Drive
2002 with a maximum internal temperature of 43 degrees Celsius. Previous temperature results were
approximately 38 degrees with no case cooling installed. The slight temperature increase is worth the
noise reduction in my opinion. Placing the Smart Drive 2002 at the very top drive bay close to an 80
or 120mm blowhole in a case would also bring temperatures down and aid in removing the heat produced.
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Conclusion:
The Smart Drive 2002 hard drive enclosure is a unique product that combines silent performance with
passive cooling. The overall construction of the Smart Drive 2002 is top notch using a stylish black
aluminum exterior. The internal design is equally impressive with a nice regard to attention to detail.
The unit does work as advertised and delivers near silent performance yet obviously brings a slight
increase in temperatures in order to achieve these levels. I didn’t encounter any overly negative aspects
during the review process. The bold white logo printed on the front portion is an eye sore yet users
have the option of recessing the unit behind a standard drive bay. The rear portion design does present
a handicap in which the usage of rounded cables is prohibited. . Aside from a few minor issues, I’m
rating the Smart Drive 2002 an 8 out of 10,
and would recommend this product to users seeking ultimate silence coupled a quality constructed and
stylish hard disk enclosure. If you have any more questions regarding this review be sure to visit the
EndPCNoise website for more information or
discuss them in our forums.
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Pros:
- Quality construction
- Black Aluminum
- Sound dampening foam
- Cooling fins
- SATA supported
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Cons:
- Price
- Rear cable management restricted to flat IDE cables only
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