Thermaltake Hardcano 13
Review by: Steve
Edited by: Ji4m
Provided by: Thermaltake
Price: $80 Canadian

Introduction:
Today we are taking a look at an all-in-one bay unit from Thermaltake, called the Hardcano 13. This is a very feature packed device with a 6 in 1 card reader, ability to control 4 fans and monitor 4 temperature probes, as well as an LCD screen that can be switched over to a 24 hour clock if you don't wish to see all the temperatures and fan RPM's. To add to all the technical features, the Hardcano 13 is topped off with a very stylish look and colour backlit LCD.

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In The Box:
(1) Hardcano 13
(4) Fan 3 Pin Cables
(2) Fan Adaptor Cables
(4) Temperature Probes
(1) USB header cable
(1) Instruction Manual
(1) Driver CD

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Specs:

  
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Features:
On the lower front of the Hardcano 13 you'll see the 4 slots for the built in card reader. It is capable of reading 6 types of media including; CF/IBM Microdrive/SM/SD/MMC/MS.
The buttons you see on the front are; alarm setting button which cycles through the temperature thresholds for the alarm, fan Channel Select Button which cycles through control of the 4 fan channels, display color select button, multifunction smart knob, C/F display switch button, auto/manual select button, card reader slots, and clock display button.
As well as all the buttons there is also a very large back light LCD display. The backlighting on the display is done in such a way that it is lit with a very solid and crisp colour along the entire display. I like the way the LCD takes up most of the space on the front, as I personally think it is more attractive than some other units I've seen with very tiny LCD's. Another feature I like about the LCD is it's ability to change colour's. This is something I haven't seen on very many fan controlling units with LCD's. Most units that I see come with a preset LCD colour which isn't changeable and doesn't always blend the best with the colour theme of the computer case it's being used in. Thermaltake, by allowing you to change the LCD colour, will allow you to pick a colour more suiting to the case it's in or the lighting schemes you may be using inside your case.

On the back of the Hardcano 13, all within easy access are 4, 3 pin fan headers. This is where all your fans that the Hardcano 13 will be controlling get plugged in. There are also 4 plugs where the 4 included temperature probes get plugged in to. The Hardcano 13 also monitors the 4 temperature sensors and will give an audible alarm if any of these sensors rises above a preset level. You can set this level to either 40, 50, or 60 degrees Celsius for each of the sensors separetely.
I like the way Thermaltake has extended the unit to take up most of the drive bay, this makes all the connectors VERY easy to access and work with. I've used a couple other non-Thermaltake fan controllers where the entire unit is about 1.5 inches deep and mounted up near the front of the drive bay this made it more difficult to plug something into the unit during installation with these units.

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