Review

Tom's Hardware, September 9, 2008 by Bill Lake
Two Hard Drive Coolers Compared

First Impressions

PAGE  | 1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  

Upon taking the two coolers out of their boxes, it was easy to see that the iSurf II would be less complicated to install than the Sytrin KuFormula SHF-1. While the iSurf II uses a wrap around design, the KuFormula SHF-1 employs a more traditional enclosure style. Both drive coolers fit into a standard 5.25" bay; they are both almost identical in size except for length, where the KuFormula SHF-1 is much longer.

The other thing that was immediately clear when handling these coolers is that the iSurf II is significantly heavier than the KuFormula SHF-1. It weighs in at 586 g versus the KuFormula SHF-1's 400 g.

The aesthetics of the coolers are very similar. They both sport blue LEDs and fill the standard optical drive slot. The iSurf uses a single open slot to pass air, while the KuFormula SHF-1 uses a mesh screen. The KuFormula SHF-1 does have its grill available in four different colors: black, silver, yellow and red.

Installing a drive in either unit is fairly straight-forward. For the iSurf II, you just slide the drive into the cooler, then attach it with 4 screws.

The KuFormula SHF-1 requires that you mount the drive in the frame with four screws. It has rubber grommets and rubber supports to dampen operating noise.

Once this is mounted, the thermal pad is put in place, and the heatsink added to the top.

There are also accessories that allow a fan or additional HDD to be attached to the cooler.

PAGE  | 1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5