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Icy Dock Blizzard
Icy Dock boasts over a decade of experience in the storage peripheral domain and the Californian firm certainly throws a couple of eye catching hats in the ring here.
Its latest release features an 80mm fan integrated into a detachable front panel for added ventilation. Built-in LEDs behind the fan give it an ominous blue glow, but things turn red if temperatures exceed 50°C. As the fan can be adjusted between, low, high and - more conveniently - auto mode, overheating shouldn't be an issue and it's fairly silent too, so won't add to the sound of any already present whirrs from a busy drive.
The entire front panel is easily removed for slotting in your 3.5in drives, and while the thick plastic casing could be sturdier, there's plenty of shielding for protective reassurance. You certainly wouldn't want take this one on the road, though, but those after something that'll look cool on the shelf – even if it takes up more room – might want to consider it, particularly if it's likely to stay there for long periods of time.
Reg Rating 80%
Price £55
More info Icy Dock
Icy Dock MB559U3S
Icy Dock's more slimline offering is far more portable and fits into most spaces with its flat compact design. The removable tray, which slots onto the end of both 2.5in and 3.5in drives, is synonymous with various other Icy Dock enclosures and racks, and as such, drives can be swapped around quicker than an F1 pitstop.
Other plus points include an eSata interface and foot stands to help keep the drive upright. It's hardly the prettiest of enclosures, but feels very corporate and sensible. Not a bad choice option if you're keen on having more than just USB interfacing, but a little on the pricey side.
Reg Rating 75%
Price £56
More info Icy Dock
Next page: StarTech SuperSpeed 3.5in
COMMENTS
Re: Why blue LEDs?
My theory on blue LEDs is that the world (as in the world outside of R&D labs) had to put up with boring red dome LEDs for decades, then green ones came along, which were mildly distracting, then yellow, orange, multicoloured and white ones, but they were all rather boring. Mankind's nature is to want what he can't have and for a very long time in the world of LEDs, that thing was the colour blue.
Finally, along came blue LEDs. They were dazzling and bright and shiny and above all very expensive. If your project or gadget had a blue LED it was cool, period. The delayed gratification that happened with blue LEDs elevated them briefly to uber-cool status. Now blue LEDs are cheap, but the coolness factor hasn't decayed enough. At least it hasn't as far as product designers are concerned. After all, they are the same people who drooled longingly at the blue LEDs in the RS catalogue while everyone else was busy thumbing their mum's Littlewoods one, and consequently every new piece of PC hardware we buy has more and more of the fucking things. I can see five right now from where I'm sitting, and that's only because six of my motherboard's eight power phases are idle right now. If I start up a 3D app, this place lights up like bloody Heathrow.
Why blue LEDs?
How can anyone who lives in a country where the emergency services use flashing blue lights find blue LEDs in anyway relaxing? Normally, seeing flashing blue lights in your peripheral vision means you should immediately look around for a way to free up the road, lest you delay some poor sod on his way to hospital... And seeing flashing blue lights suddenly appear behind you means pull over and ask the good officer politely how you can help him.
Re: Why blue LEDs?
Agreed, blue LEDs in consumer products is the work of the devil or a politician*. There is a big reason why car tail lights tend to be red and emergency lights are often blue. It's the same reason that many devices designed to be used at night tend to use red illumination. It's because red is a nice low energy photon, which is also likely the reason red LEDs came out so long ago, and won't wreak havoc with your night vision. Blue on the other hand is a high energy photon and the LEDs are usually bright enough so you don't need night vision because they illuminate the room sufficiently to see clearly. Either works but when visiting a friend out of state and crashing on the pull out sofa bed in the den I found the blue LEDed wifi router blinking away like a bloody lighthouse in the corner to be a bit distracting.
*I know, it's a distinction without a difference.
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