Our friends at Vizo have sent us one of their latest products for review, the Vizo Ares SATA Mobile Rack and I found it to be an excellent product overall. Personally I like mobile racks for their ability to be, well, mobile, it’s nice to be able to easily swap a drive from one computer to the next, especially if you are transporting large amounts of data. The Vizo Ares is a basic looking product that features active cooling and a security key lock system as well that further enhances it’s value…
Vizo Ares Internal SATA HDD Mobile Rack
Reviewed by: Kristofer Brozio AkA Dracos
Sponsor: Vizo
Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
Vizo Ares Internal SATA HDD Mobile Rack
Features:
Support all 3.5" SATA HDD
Easy Swap & Easy Transportation
Friendly ejection handle & security lock design
Compact size can fit all chassis
Fit all 5.25" Bay
Aluminum case for excellent heat dissipation
Model: ARS-525
Specification:
Case Material : Aluminum
Interface Host : SATA ( 7 pin )
Data Transfer Rate : 3 Gb / Sec
HDD Type : 3.5 " SATA Hard Drive
Indicators : Green for POWER on / Amber for HDD access
Dimensions : 183.0 (L) x 148 (W) x 42 (H) mm
Package Includes:
Internal SATA HDD Mobile Rack( HDD not included )
Screw and Key Package
HDD Access Cable
User Manual
A Better Look at Things
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The Vizo Ares comes in a colorful and informative box that is just a bit larger than the product itself.
Inside the box the Ares Mobile Rack is wrapped in bubble wrap for protection during transport, inside the rack we find the user manual, HDD cable, screws and a set of odd looking security keys.
The Ares Rack is aluminum and black plastic with a silver plastic handle on the front.
On the back of the Ares we find the power connections and the cooling fan. Vizo included both, SATA and Molex power connection so you have a choice when running your power cables.
A Better Look at Things
Continued:
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On the front of the rack toward the right side is a large round button, this release the handle of the Ares to unlock the HDD cage to access it. Of course it has to be unlocked with the keys to be able to do this, all you have to do is push the button and pull the handle to retrieve the HDD rack from the housing.
The housing, or the part that stays inside the computer, features a spring loaded door that flips down once the rack is removed, this protects from dust and makes it so you don’t have a large hole in the front of your computer. The back of the rack is where the fan is located and the dock for the actual SATA type hard drive.
The rack itself is vented at the spot where it meets the fan to pull fresh air into the Ares to keep your drive cool.
The mobile rack itself features a sliding lid to allow you to install your hard drive, the rack is made mostly of aluminum to also help keep your HDD cool. Inside the rack is where the accessories were stored.
Installation, Testing and Comparison
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Installation is very easy, slide the hard drive into place and secure it with screws from the bottom.
The is a space on the back of the rack where the power and data connections can be seen, once the rack is installed into the base these connect perfectly together with the ones in the base to make your connections.
Here’s a couple shots of the key and a glimpse of the locking mechanism itself. The keys are rather small, but having the keys does add a nice bit of security to your system.
Here’s the Vizo Ares installed in my main system under my other mobile rack, the Ares actually houses a 40 gig SATA2 HDD that contains all of my reviews from the past and current. It’s mounted inside an Antec P182 case which you’ll see reviewed shortly.
There are two LEDs on the Vizo Ares, the top one is green and indicates power while the bottom LED is amber and blinks to indicate activity.
The Antec P182 actually has two HDD activity LEDs mounted on it, this came in handy with the Vizo Ares as it does have a connection for an external HDD activity LED.
As for performance I saw no difference in the hard drives performance with the Ares or without. I can’t hear the cooling fan at all over the other fans in my system. For cooling, I used SpeedFan to check the temps, the hard drive inside the Ares is actually the coolest one in my system.
The ambient temperature is 25.2C.
The hard drive that is in my other active cooled mobile rack is reading 38C, while the bare drive in my system reads 41C, but the drive inside the Ares is reading a temperature of 31C. All of the drives are SATA, the one inside the Ares is a Western Digital while the other two are Maxtors.
So the Ares does a decent job of cooling my hard drive which is what I want.
Summary:
The Vizo Ares offers portability and ease of use while also keeping your hard drive nice and cool. I could find nothing wrong with the Vizo Ares, the construction is well done and solid, it is very lightweight and it installs very easily. The Ares is virtually silent as well keeping your hard drive cool and your data secure…
DragonSteelMods gives the Vizo Ares Internal SATA HDD Mobile Rack a 5 out of 5 score.
{mosgoogle right}
Pros:
-Quiet
-Locking
-Easy to install and use
-Looks great
-Keeps HDD cool
Cons:
-None really
I would like to thank Vizo for the chance to review the Ares Internal SATA HDD Mobile Rack and for their continued support of DSM.
review# 230