Testing:
To test the Scythe Silent Box I ran my computer for an hour and recorded the high and low temperatures and compared them to that of the same hard drive not in the silent box. I also did the listening test to see if it actually DID make the hard drive quieter!

(Click to enlarge)

Testing System:
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (Socket 939)
Motherboard: Biostar NF4UL-A9
Memory: 512mb Dual-Channel OCZ Premiere Series
HDD: Western Digital 160gb PATA
Video: MSI GeForce FX5200

As for silencing the hard drive, the Silent Box does an excellent job of that. The drive is next to inaudible during regular operation. Only once and a while can I hear the heads "chugging away" to access data. But on an overall factor, it is a LOT quieter than before.

Temperatures:
Low before Silent Box: 32C
High before Silent Box: 38C

Low with Silent Box: 29C
High with Silent Box: 45C

As you can see, the hard drive's low temperature stayed relatively low, but once it got into full load it started to heat up more. Going from 38C without the Silent Box to 45C with. Now, 45C isn't a harmful temperature for the hard drive and if you're going for the ultra silent computer system then you're asking for a little extra heat in some areas. It depends, you can chose loud HDD with low temperature or ultra silent HDD with slightly higher temperature. Up to you :)

As for the actual noise dampening, it was very noticeably that the hard drive was quieter. The Silent Box lives up to it's name and does do an excellent job of noise reduction for the hard drive.

Conclusion:
In the end I was very impressed with the Silent Box from Scythe. It offers a very affordable solution to do an excellent job of silencing your hard drive. For enclosing your hard drive in an entire foam box the temperature rise wasn't near as bad as I thought it would be. Quite acceptable.

Pros:
Reduces Hard Drive Noise
Included power extension cables for both IDE and SATA drives
Works on drives up to 10 000 RPM

Cons:
Temperature Increase

Rating: 8/10

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Big thanks to Scythe-USA who provided the Silent Box for review, be sure to check them out at www.scythe-usa.com!

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