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Vizo Orbiter Hard Drive Cooler


Date
: 12/11/08 – 05:07:03 PM

Author
:

Category
: Cooling

Page 1 : Index

Manufacturer
: Vizo Technology Corp.

Vizo Technology has been quite busy creating a lot of products. Though established in 1992, I haven't heard of them until now. Last time, I reviewed the Vizo Mini Ninja laptop cooler. Today, I have yet another cooling product.

The
Vizo Orbiter
is quite the unique product. A hard drive cooler by function, its form is more akin to a space-age device, hence earning it its name.

Page 2 : Package, Features & Specifications

Coming in a relatively simple, yet elegant package, the Vizo Orbiter is sure to catch your attention if you see it in a store. It looks more like a Frisbee than a package. The cooler is visible through a window.

The back of the package has a product description, features, package contents, and specifications.

I went to Vizo's website to grab the features and specifications.

Description:

Features:

Specifications:

Package Contents:

Page 3 : Package Contents & Installation

Once you crack into the Orbiter's package, the bottom has a pack of screws.

The fan itself is on the top. It has a black frame and has a fan with nine frosted blue blades. The middle of the fan carries the Vizo logo while the frame has ‘Orbiter’ on it. There are mounting rails on the sides.

The back of the device is flat to facilitate easy mounting onto your hard drive. The four-pin Molex connector is somewhat short but it should be fine for most applications in that if you can power your hard drive, you can power the Orbiter.

Installation is as simple as screwing the Orbiter onto your hard drive using the included screws and supplying power.

Page 4 : Testing & Performance

Testing will consist of installing the Vizo Orbiter on a hard disk and measuring the temperatures under different conditions and comparing it to the same hard disk's temperatures without the cooler.

Temperature measurements were taken under different conditions using Lavalys Everest Home Edition 2.20. SMART was enabled for the hard disk in order to allow temperature readings. Idle measurements were taken with the computer idling at the desktop for 2 hours and no CPU or hard drive intensive programs, such as antivirus software, running. Load temperatures were taken while running HD Tach's ‘Long Bench’ test 3 times and taking the maximum. The ambient temperature was maintained at 24°C (75°F).

From the results, we can infer that the Vizo Orbiter is somewhat effective at cooling down the hard drive. Since it only covers part of the hard drive, it effectively only cools the electronic circuitry that is exposed when in fact most of the heat from a hard drive is produced by the spinning motor. However, any mount of cooling is better than none at all. I'm not really a fan of the LEDs or the large height of the cooler since this will hinder installation in cramped spaces. The 60mm fan was quieter than I expected and is hardly audible at any time.

Page 5 : Conclusion

All things considered, the Vizo Orbiter is a well-designed, useful, and effective hard drive cooler. It is quiet and works well but there are a couple of things that could be improved.

By utilizing a fan with a smaller height profile, the overall dimensions of the Orbiter could be made smaller which would help when trying to install the hard drive in a hard drive cage, for example. Furthermore, if the screw rails were made longer, the user would have more options when it comes to directing the airflow towards a specific part of the drive.

Other than these minor shortcomings, the Vizo Orbiter is a product that I would recommend to anyone looking for a little extra cooling for their hard drive.

Advantages:

• Effective cooling

• Quiet

Disadvantages:

• Somewhat tall

Overclockers Online would like to thank Vizo Technology for making this review possible.