FrozenCpu Dual Voltage 6-Port Baybus Review
Date: Thursday, 15 August 2002
Author: Diceman
Provided By: FrozenCPU

Finally! 6 Ports & Blue Leds!

Introduction

Hello guys...It's a pleasure today to show you a brand new product on the market called the FrozenCpu Dual Voltage 6-Port Baybus. What is a Dual Voltage baybus you ask? Well it's a centralized connection point for your fans to attach to and the unit will let you control the voltage the fans get. 12V is the normal voltage if you just plugged your fan directly to the psu. but this unit lets you step it down to only 7-9v thru a toggle switch and the mechanics of the units design. The main reason anyone would want to do such a thing is NOISE! We all hate noise! Even the loudest fans can be tamed remarkably well by simply giving them less voltage which will in turn cause them to run slower and produce less noise. Of course the airflow will be effected, but most of us only really need that top speed when we're gaming or stressing our systems in other ways. If your PC is sitting idle, why not be able to tune it down a bit? This unit is the no-nonsense answer right here.

This unit works in much the same way as the hugely popular pcmods baybus kit (reviewed here back in Nov, 2000) does, but it certainly steps it up a couple notches and also improves on the design theory making it easier to get to the wire screw-downs. I usually wait till the end of the review to spill the beans....but I gotta tell ya right now.....if you're looking to buy, rather than make a baybus .....then this is THE baybus to own!! Ready to see more?.....Follow me.....

Specifications

When I first received the package, and opened the box, My first thought was that I got the wrong item. But it was just a nifty short round tube hiding the contents which included the entire baybus kit.

The Baybus kit , shipped in round tube

Full Kit Exposed w/6 tailed molexs

Instruction Sheet Included

This kit comes complete with everything you'll need to have it totally controlling the speed of your fans within a few minutes.

• The baybus PCB which comes with all 6 switches and LEDs pre-installed.
• A lexan drill template for the 5 1/4" bay cover (already has adhesive installed on the plate for mounting)
• 6 LED clip holders for the LED holes
• Detailed instructions explaining installation and setup
• 1 year warranty against defects.
  

Frozencpu also sent me the optional 6 tailed molex connectors v2 which, if you have a bunch of 4-pin fans you wanna hooup without stripping the wire ends, you'll wanna look into purchasing along with the Baybus. However a set of 6 of these will run you about $11 for the extended version ( as shown) and that on top of the baybus price brings the total pckage into "rheobus country" for the price. However, they are the perfect compliement to the kit. I personally already had all my fan untailed ( molex connections don't last long around here ..heh ) so I personally didn't use the molex tails, but I'll still hook one up to show you what it looks like assembled. First let's get a closeup look at this beauty....

Front View

Rear View

Bottom View

This is no "hand-made" baybus here. This unit is machine-made on a PCB board and is of the highest quality. It's also extremely neat and very functional by packing quite a punch. Let's take a look at some closeups and the technical stats...

Stats

• 6 independant fan channels
• Bi-Color LED on each switch (High- red, low- blue, Off- off)
• 8W per channel (pre-production units tested stable and safe at 14W on each channel at once, for a total power consumption of 84W across the baybus.)
• Easy Access screw down terminals located on the rear of the PCB instead of the front.
• 4 pin molex connection also located on rear of PCB for easier access.
• Pot located at top of unit (one for each switch) for adjusting the low voltage level. Adjusts from 7-9V (Higher voltages are required for fans such as sunons that won't run at 7volts)
  

Closeup of the Screw Down

Another Angle

Front Closeup of Leds & Toggles

You can see from the closeups that the quality is top-notch. Fan wire connections, Dual color Leds, Toggle switches, and molex connection all neatly molded into a tight little package. In case you're wondering why there looks to be an additional smaller PCB board attached to the back of this baybus, it's their for a couple reasons: 1) to allow a much easier connection point versus placing it on the front of the PCB where it would be buried by the faceplate after it's installed. 2) because this unit is jacked with 6 switches on it, there's really no room for it on the main PCB...heh. I think they did a great job with working around a possible problem and turning it into a benefit. If you've experienced the PCB baybus of old, but needed alittle more , this will be a gift from the heavens ( or in this instance, a gift from frozencpu.com ) Let me now show you how to attach a fan to this baby......

Tailed Molex Connections v2

Tiny Screwdriver works best

Smooth over the wires

Done

There ya have it. We've successfully installed our first Tailed molex connector. You can substitute the yellow and black wires for your own situation....just remember, in this situation, the yellow is positive and the black is ground. In alotta instances the red will be the positive with the black still being the ground. So anywhere you see red/black on the PCB of this baybus and you've only got yellow and black.....just follow what I said and you'll be ok. Black is ALWAYS Black! :o)

Unit Assembly

Lexan Template

Start modding faceplate

Notice the "clips"?

I used a typical Antec/chieftec style faceplate here. I had to mod the interior of the faceplate to get rid of the "ribs" on there. They would deter the baybus from fully seating inside the faceplate. This only takes a minute with the right technique. I clips all the edges of the fins, then used a pair RoboGrip pliers to crimp and twist loose the fins.

All gutted out :o)

Adhesive on the Template

Template attached

The lexan Template comes with a couple small foam adhesive pieces to keep it seated on the faceplate during the drilling process. I had 0 issues with it moving on me or anything. However, I kept a tight grip on the two pieces as I drilled...and so should you...heh.

All holes drilled out

Insert Screwdriver, Twist Slowly

This works great ..

Once the drilling has commenced, I tried to pull the lexan template off the plastic faceplate. It didn't wanna hear it and I was afraid of snapping the damn thing. So, I took a flathead screwdriver, inserted it in between the two and slowly twisted until they came apart. Twist slowly and you won't mark up the plastic faceplate with the screwdriver.

Next step is a case of "detailing". If you drill at top speed like I do, you'll melt the plastic ever so slightly and it'll leave a small raised lip where the warm drill bit pierced the faceplate plastic. If you use the technique ( or something similiar ) as I show you in the pic above, this will take you about 4 seconds to remedy. Btw: that tool I'm using is usually classified as a window scraper. usually used to take overspray paint off of windows. I use it constantly for modding....just alittle info for ya.

Ready for Assembly

Fully assembled!

With all that done above, it's time for the final assembly of the unit. Yes, we can fully assemble the unit at this stage because the screw down connections are on the rear of the unit and not buried behind the faceplate. A priceless feature indeed. To do this final step here, you'll want to take off the first row of nuts of the toggle switches and also insert the little black led holders into the faceplate BEFORE you place the faceplate over the unit. If you've drilled your holes correctly and so forth, this will only take a minute too. This kit has been flawless for me up to this point....can it stay in my good graces?.....Keep reading...

Testing & Installation

All Toggles on 12v

All Toggles on 7v

Toggles mixed from 7v - 12v

Some on, some off

Here I hooked the unit up to a spare power supply to test the leds out. You should probably do this as soon as you take it outta the package. You do not need to have anything attached to the baybus to test the leds except a 4-pin molex connection from your pc's power supply. Being the quality manufacturing process these units are made, I was pretty confident not to test it until this point but it's a better practice to test it first.

Pcmods 4port vs. Frozen 6port

Notice the connection diff?

Out with the old!

Here you can see the difference from the new 6 port frozen unit versus my almost 2 yr old pcmods 4 port baybus. It has served me well in many cases, but it's time to crown a new king of the PCB baybus and its the FrozenCPU Dual Voltage 6-Port Baybus! In this instance all I had to do was unscrew the wires from my current baybus and screw them into the frozencpu baybus. Which again, I could do WITH the faceplate already on the baybus. This is something virtually impossible with the older models out there.

mmm, mmm, gooood

Very secksi baby! yeah!

MY EYES$!@$!@#

Conclusion

I can't say enough about this unit. It totally delivers. It's extremely well designed, looks kickass installed, has killer LEDS, Super easy to install, can handle tons of fans or neons, or just about anything else you can throw at it. I'd like to congratulate FrozenCPU.com on a fantastic product that I know will sell like crazy. For the asking price of $39, and for what it'll enable you to do....it's absolutely worth it. For anyone thinking that $39 is a high price, let's flashback almost two years and remember the original PCmods PCB baybus that listed for $36.99 and I was the very first to review it for them. It sold like a billion of them at that price (ok, alot anyway) and it was only 4-port. This frozen unit is 6-port and it's two years later and only $3 more?....pfft! GO GO GO! `nuff said!

Pros

• High quality pcb design
• 6 powerful ports allows tons of options
• Easy to install
• Kit comes complete w/ Instructions & Drill Template
• Blue/ Red Leds!
• Wire access when fully installed!
• Only needs one molex power connection
• Looks Killer installed
• 1 yr defect warranty

Cons

• NONE!