Rheobus Kit #2 (cont'd):

Front/Top Shot

Insulated Underside

Front/Top Shot

Blue/Red Led's

Blue Goodness

Black Faceplate Option

Upon removing the Rheobus Kit #2 from the box, there was nothing to assemble. It's a complete unit. You just slap it in a drive bay and plug in your power and fans. However...I'm the type that is used to using bare wire leads for my fans. I do that for more then one reason. Usually because I like to route my wires thruout the inner edges of my cases to hide them, and I need to make them longer. This unit comes with the 3-pin fan connections. I haven't used them myself in a long time. It's not a problem though, it's just one more step in my fan wire re-routing. Instead of just adding extra wire to the fans, then leaving the wire bare on the connection end, I'll just have to attach the 3-pin connection on the end for the rheobus. Though it will take a bit longer ( for me) to get them whole fan system the way I like it, it will save time down the line if I need to remove a fan for something. I won't have to break out the mini screwdriver and fiddle with those tiny screw terminals found on most rheobus'. So it's a "depends which way you look at it" feature. To me it's a wash. It really doesn't matter to me if they're 3-pin or screw terminals. I'm sure for alotta of you out there though, you'll be happy with the ease of just pluggin your fans into it ( if the fan wire reaches of course ..)

Just a minute after first inspection, I had this unit up and running with some Quad Blue/Red Led Fans from Coolerguys. I slapped a couple of them on real quick to check the bi-color led arrangement and also the variable brightness of the leds themselves. It worked perfectly. Look carefully at the pics above and you'll see a few different configurations. Now that it works, let's really light it up!

Bright Pic , under 7v	Dark, under 7v
Dark, at 12v	Dark, mixed voltage

As you can see, you can really lite up the room with all those led's around. :o) Again, the unit worked flawlessly controlling the voltages and the brightness of the led's. In case you're wondering, the unit is also absolutely silent. There is no whining or whistling as you'll get sometimes with voltage controlling units. It's usually inverters that whine, but I figured I'd fill ya in just in case you were curious.

If you're wondering why I used the led fans from Coolerguys , instead of some led fans from Sunbeam....we'll , I tried (see pic below).

No 3-pin'ers =(

Conclusion

Although it really seems to be geared for the Aluminum case owners out there, it really isn't. The aluminum faceplates you see included on the review units that are circulating are optional. You can get all the great features you see above and install it on your own faceplate from your case. That's very important to keep in mind.

I'd say Sunbeam hit a home run with this unit. It does everything you could want ( and have wanted for quite some time ) in a top quality Rheobus. This unit should be hitting the online retailers very,very soon and should retail around $40USD (est.). In my opinion, anywhere in the $40 price range is a good value for the features and quality you'll receive. If you're looking for a high quality rheobus with stunning good looks and the power to match, you can't go wrong with the Rheostat Kit #2 from SunbeamTech. You may also save a few bucks on the #1 kit if you can do without a feature or two. ( see spec chart above for differences)

I'd like to thank SunbeamTech for producing a great Rheobus and allowing myself to give you guys a closer look.

Pros

• 1) 20 watts of power! That's tons of juice people.
• 2) Bi-Color Leds, and not only that, they change color from red to blue at the 7v-12v settings.
• 3) You CAN turn off the leds when you're not using it! Not just all or none, but each individual spot can be turned off completely!
• 4) The LED's also adjust in brightness as you turn up/down the voltage settings. ( no more blinding light ,even when it's off )
• 5) It's available pre-assembled with a silver or black aluminum faceplate! ( if you've got a lian li, this is for you! )
• 6) Power to the unit is supplied by a single 4-pin molex connector from the psu.
• 7) Very High Quality PCB Design

Cons

• 1) Styling - The blue text on the silver aluminum faceplate looks a bit tacky.

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