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CoolDrive 6 Review
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| Supplier: Xoxide.com |
| Author:
GotCow? |
CoolDrive 6 Description
"What’s cooler then cool…ICECOLD! Or if you are not a multimillion dollar super star, you can still keep your computer cooler then cool with the Cooler Master
CoolDrive 6. Not only does it look cool with its “high priced Euro sports car dash” looking styling, but it is functionally cool. With its full aluminum case, built in 4.4cm blower, and large heat sink located on the bottom, the
CoolDrive 6 keeps your hard temperatures at bay. The CoolDrive 6 supports temperature and fan monitoring and control for up to 4 fans and your hard drive. And to keep you aware of what’s going on inside your computer, the
CoolDrive 6 features a white on blue backlit LCD display and a loud warning alarm to help prevent the eminent disaster a failed fan can cause. So you can keep that green suit in the back of your closet for now, and keep cool with the
CoolDrive 6 instead." -
Xoxide.com
CoolDrive 6 Box
Front:
CoolDrive Series LHD-V06
The Cooler Master
CoolDrive 6 is designed for HDD cooling with a front panel that displays temperature and speed. In Addition, it provides PC software to detect the information on the HDD such as space and
transfer speed. You can directly monitor the information on the HDD by the control panel or through the PC by software.
Back:
- Full Aluminum case with heatsink bottom for double cooling effect.
- Disable / Enable alarm sound. (Adjustable)
- Supports 4 fans and monitors all four fan speed (RPM) and their component temperature simultaneously.
- Self-developed software for easier monitoring through PC. (Windows/MacOS)
- User friendly control panel
- Built-in 4.4cm blower: 360
 Air ventilation in front and bottom of the CD 6 in order to maximize cooling performance.
- Available in silver and black cover.
Specifications:
Dimension : 150 x 43 x 208 mm
Fan Dimension : 4.4 cm
Display : LCD
Temperature Monitor Range: 10C~90C / 50F~194F
Power Output : <5v~12v/ 1.5A (Adjustable)
Material : Aluminum
Package Content:
- The CoolDrive 6 X1
- Thermal pad X1
- Screw pack X1
Intro
Do you live in the rocky mountains? How about just someplace that sometimes becomes so hot you have to stick your head in the freezer for some relief? You may be able to keep yourself cool all the time, but your computer and the many moving parts don't have that
luxury.
Heat is every computer's worst nightmare (besides dust, and any creepy crawling things that traverse too close to intake fans
(...but
that's a different story). Just like an car engine, heat makes moving parts wear out faster and make them perform (generally) worse than in a non-moving, cool state.
There's a lot of solutions for cooling a computer, but Hard drives tend to be the object of forbidden desire for people to touch. I for one, can't blame them. There is some help though. Cooler Master has a special new toy for those that keep cool:
The Cooler Master CoolDrive 6.
Does the CoolDrive 6 live up to keeping my computer hard drive cooled or does
the CoolDrive 6 cause more problems than I would rather not have?
Packaging and First Thoughts
The box is wrapped in plastic wrap. For everyone who doesn't know, this is the easy plastic to open. The box carries some weight, not it isn't too heavy.
  
 
The color of the CoolDrive 6's box is purple, and the background is filled with an abstract grid with an "Explosion" concept. The Box itself, is designed in a manner where you can just lift the top off after you pull out the tab.
Inside the box Is a CD, Instruction booklet (A rather thick instruction booklet), Thermal Pads, the
CoolDrive 6, and a plastic baggie filled with wires and screws. Yes, this is in order from top to bottom.
  
 
The instruction manual has 72 Pages (front and back), and is translated into 8 Languages. 8 front and back Pages of the 72 are in
English.
The Plastic Baggie includes 2 Different USB cables, and 1 pack of screws. One USB cable connects to the back of your motherboard / expansion slot. What does this mean? Most people will need to have an empty expansion slot to use this cable. I feel this is a bad thing, Cooler Master should've made a replacement cover attachment so a user won't have to let things into that tiny slot. The other cable goes directly to your motherboard plugs with either USB 1.1 or 2.0. But both cables are covered with a ice-blue plastic and black heatshrink. The clipped-end of the cable goes to the
CoolDrive 6 plugs. The first thing I noticed about the pack of screws, there
isn't any even number of screws that were given out. I can only speculate this is because of a stripped screw some people might do. They also include three types of screws, not just the normal "Case" screws that are usually given out. Good work, Cooler Master.
  
The two thermal pads were grey in color, and one side is textured with small diamonds. These are rather large pads, I was shocked by the big-ness these two pads were together. Both sides of the pads were covered with plastic, I am guessing the pads are sticky after the plastic peels away from these pads. The pads feel like wet clay, of course there isn't any "wetness" to the product physically. Once the protective covering is off, it becomes pliable and very easy to move around.
Speaking of the covering, the textured side is very easy to peel off. But the side that gave me the most trouble was the flat side. That side has a more
sturdy plastic and sticks fairly well to the thermal pad.
The product color was black. There are two choices for the covers: Silver and Black. How do I know this? Very Simply, The box told me what color I
received.
The CoolDrive 6 is rather large for one hard drive (HDD). The design of the HDD cooler looks like an sweet car
CD player... minus the
removable faceplate. The LCD portion of the faceplate has the usual plastic overtop, which keeps everything nice and shiny
until the owner get it working.
  
  
The bottom heatsink has bright blue washers on the inside and the outside of the heatsink. I am guessing those long screws are used to
fasten the hard drive. These washers are great quality, a lot better than those cloth or plastic washers that are normally found to silence a case.
The Cooler Master CoolDrive 6 connectors include:
- 1x Molex 5v Power Connector
- 1x USB Connector
- 3x 3-pin Fan Connectors (Fan1, Fan2, Fan4)
"Fan 3" was used to power the 40mm fan inside the CoolDrive 6.
- 4x Channel Temperature Sensors
 
CoolDrive 6 Installation:
Pre-Step: Copy ALL files over to another hard
drive, Or at least all of the important information over to another hard drive
thumb drive, floppy disk or compact disc. If you neglect this step; you are risking to lose more than just a
hard drive.
Pre-Step: Install the software that came with CD6 before physically installing the CD6.
Step 1: Read the manual.
Step 2: Answer this question: Is your hard drive "Type A" or "Type B"
- If your hard drive is a Type A - Click here - there are few visible chips (if any), under the
hard drive.
- If your hard drive is a Type B - Click here - You can see
a lot of chips.
Caution: Attaching too many thermal pads may cause unnecessary pressure on the
hard drive's PCB and could possibly damage the hard drive.
Step A-00 : These steps are for "Type A"
Hard drives only.
Step A-01 : Place a thermal pad on the base of the
hard drive without tearing the protective plastic covering. (Textured facing the
hard drive)
Step A-02 : Use a pen [I used a blue sharpie] to outline the exposed parts.
Step A-03 : Using scissors, cut the shape little by little (You can also cut more off)
Step A-04 : Remove the plastic covering on the thermal pad. (The Diamond side)
Step A-05 : Carefully attach the pad (Diamond side) to the bottom of the
hard drive.
Step A-06 : SLOWLY, Peel off the flat side plastic. Try to move the other hand along side to lessen the "redo" job after the last plastic layer of off.
Step A-07 : Smooth out the thermal pad. Re-shape the pad to be relatively the original spot where it was.
Step A-08 : If there are any air bubbles in the pad, take a pin or a small clip to poke a hole in the middle and move the air out the hole. Don't poke through the pad and into the
hard drive.
Step A-09 : Stack another piece of thermal pad
onto of that piece.
Step A-10 : Remove the plastic covering, and attach
onto of the other thermal pad.
  
  
  
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