Sytrin KuFormula SHF1 Hard Drive Cooler

 

Even with the best cooling available for your CPU, motherboard, and video card, there are still components which may suffer from thermal breakdown. Despite advances in design and architecture of computer cases, the hard disk drive still manages to show a weakness in passive cooling. This is why supplemental cooling solutions will prove invaluable to preserving performance and stability. Sytrin offers a solution that is just what high-performance hard drives need to sustain high output and maintain stability.

 

Introduction

It is an understatement that performance computer hardware gets a little warm, because if modern hardware got any warmer we wouldn’t need space heaters anymore. Even with the best cooling available for your CPU, motherboard, and video card, there are still components which may suffer from thermal breakdown. Despite advances in design and architecture of computer cases, the hard disk drive still manages to show a weakness in passive cooling. This is why supplemental cooling solutions will prove invaluable to preserving performance and stability. Sytrin offers a solution that is just what high-performance hard drives need to sustain high output and maintain stability.

 

I certainly realize that not everyone who reads this article will own or operate a high-performance computer, and even those who do aren’t necessarily concerned about their hard drive.  Well, they should be.  Anyone who knows what they are talking about will tell you that the hard drive is the single most important component which determines a systems performance, because after all it is the slowest link in data transfer.  Computer enthusiasts and gamers already know this, and the market has responded with high RPM hard drives which generate tremendous amounts of heat.

About Sytrin Corporation

SYTRIN is a leading designer and manufacturer dedicating in cooling, casing, power and related peripheral products. Equipped with an experienced and professional team in the PC field for more than 10 years and high quality manufacturing, SYTRIN is aiming at developing and introducing the unique and creative technology and products to the markets, and also “One-Stop-Shopping” & “Total Solution Supply” to the customers.

 

Wide Cooling Solution Providing is one of Sytrin specialties, which is including various Thermal Modules (with heatpipe / copper built-in), PC Air Conditioning Cooling Technology, TE (Thermoelectric) + Air Cooling, TE (Thermoelectric) + Water Cooling and LED Cooling.

Following the innovative PC Air Conditioning Cooling technology, SYTRIN is further showing its outstanding achievements in VGA Cooling, “KuFormula VF1 Plus”, which is of excellent cooling performance, and wide compatibility to most GPU cards.

Closer Look & Installation

Look at any hard drive manufactured in the past ten years, and you will see that there is plenty of room for improvement when it comes to cooling.  The design of the hard drive is rather limited due in part to size restraints, so cooling is often secondary.  This is why there has been so many products offering solutions to this problem.  The Sytrin KuFormula SHF1 Hard Drive Cooler is not the first of its kind, but it is probably among the best.

Sytrin KuFormula SHF1 Hard Drive Cooler

Sytrin has designed the KuFormula SFH1 to be compatible with both old and new drive interfaces, from IDE and SCSI, to SATA and SAS.  Each unit comes with a thermal filler pad which closes the gap between a very solid aluminum heatsink plate and the drive itself.

Two 40mm cooling fans glow with a blue LED background on all versions, and offer a nice visable means of brightening up the work environment.

Multilple Cooling Fan Placement

Sytrin understands that cooling can be a problem worth solving, and so they offer many versitle solutions in the new KuFormula SFH1.  Kits are available in three different colors, from Ferarri red and yellow, to black.  The SFH1 also offers a variety of orientations for additional fans, so that more then one drive can benefit from the enclosure or a single drive can receive over-cooling.

Both 40mm cooling fans operate at a nearly silent 21dBA sound level, while still offering adequate airflow.  The wiring harness is positioned in a channel beneath the drive once it is mounted, so their is no need for additional cable management.

Once the unit has been built, install the SFH1 into an available 5.25″ drive bay, and attach the wiring connectors into the included power adapter.

Conclusion

The Sytrin KuFormula SHF1 hard drive cooler not only works efficiently with very low power draw (less then 2W), it does a great job at cooling the hard drive.  During testing, I used two different drives:

• Western Digital Raptor 36GB 10,000RPM SATA (WD360GD)
• Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 400GB 7200RPM SATA (ST3400620AS)

Prior to installing the SHF1 the average idle temperatures for each drive was 32° C for the Raptor, and 34° C for the Barracuda. After installing each drive into the SFH1 enclosure, temperatures dropped nearly 6° C across the board: down to 26° C for the Raptor and 28° C for the Barracuda. This improvement may not yield noticeable performance improvements in the shape of faster data transfers, but it will improve the lifespan and stability of the drive itself.

In my particular configuration, I chose the Ferrari yellow kit, primarily because I like the color, and it was soft enough to not contrast (as much) as red or black.  While it would be asking a lot, I would love to have seen a brushed aluminum version to match the finish on my Lian Li case.

In conclusion, I recommend the Sytrin SHF1 to anyone and everyone who suffer from high-temperature hard drives.  Both the enthusiast crowd and the general consumer will benefit from this product, since gamers and hardware enthusiasts will be most interested in performance gains, the average user will benefit from the extended lifespan of their equipment.  Furthermore, Sytrin has designed and delivered a hard drive cooler that offers superior active and passive cooling performance well beyond the needs of the average consumer, as well as an attractive appearance with enough flare to impress the hardware enthusiast and gamer.

At the time of this writing, Sytrin has just started to release the KuFormula SHF1 to online merchants.  A Google search discovered very few resources on this product.

 

Pros:

+  Very well designed and constructed
+  Excellent cooling performance
+  Incredible attention to detail
+  Two backlit 40mm cooling fans included
+  Extremely durable aluminum & steel construction
+  Attractive assortment of colors

 

Cons:

–  No silver/aluminum finish available

Final Score:

I have scored the Sytrin SHF1 with an 8.0 out of 10.

Special Thank-you:

This review would not be possible if it weren’t for manufacturers like Sytrin, who are willing to have a picky hardware analysts like me dissect their product.  I am grateful, and certainly appreciate the opportunity.