A Closer Look:

   The front portion of the SHF1 Ultra is the fresh air intake for the dual 40mm fans. The actual mesh is made from stamped steel with a lot of tiny round holes throughout. The front frame portion of the SHF1 Ultra is painted in glossy red, yellow or black. The company name is also on the front, along with 4 screws that add character to the front but also serve a function by keeping the mesh in place. Just behind this mesh is a set of dual 40mm fans with incorporated blue LED's. During the test portion, we shall see how loud these fans can be.

Black and Yellow

Dual 40mm fans

Aluminum plate

    The last area to look at is the large aluminum plate that covers the entire top of a hard drive. The aluminum plate is roughly 1/4" thick, with extruded fins to increase the surface area, thus aiding in the cooling process. Another accessory included is the set of multi-functional brackets. These brackets can be used in place of the 40mm fans, holding a fan ranging from 80mm to 120mm in size to blow air across the hard drive. The brackets can also be arranged to mount an 80mm to 120mm fan over the top of the hard drive. Any other fan you choose will be optional and not included.

Installation and Testing:

Mounting holes	Longer HDD screws	HDD installed
Thermal pad attached	Top plate screws	Fan connectors

    Installation was very simple and easy. Just pop in a 3.5" HDD and secure with the slightly longer hard drive screws. Next place the thermal pad between the top plate and the hard drive and then secure the aluminum plate to the frame of the SHF1 Ultra with the long screw with the rubber O-rings attached. Next grab the Molex adapter with the fan power lead pigtails and attach the connections together. Last slide the whole assemble in to a free 5.25 bay in the computer case and secure.

     For testing I used a 30gb HDD filled with over 25gb of data. I transferred this data back and forth during each test to generate as much heat as I could. Then I used the ThermoHawk 200 infrared thermometer to read the temperature of the aluminum plate.

Test Rig:

Results:

Installed

LED goodness

Conclusion:

    The Sytrin SHF1 Ultra is a stylish hard drive cooler that actually looks and functions well. The dual 40mm fans were surprisingly quiet for running at 4500RPM. I thought for sure that four 40mm fans running at the same time would produce an annoying buzzing sound. This didn't happen at all, and this boils down to proper blade design. The supplied fans kept the hard drive cooler, much cooler than without any assistance.

   Mentioned in the review were some brackets that allow the end user to try out different fan setups, and since those optional fans are not included, and the SHF1 Ultra performed well with the 40mm fans, I felt no need to try any other setup than the stock setup.

    The Sytrin KuFormula SHF1 Ultra HDD Cooler performed like it was supposed to. If you are looking for some extra bling to add to the front of your computer along with some added cooling benefits, then go ahead and grab some of these SHF1 Ultra HDD Coolers. I would like to thank Sytrin for sending out this product for VH to review.