This week I took a look at the IBL Box HDD20. The design is simple yet it's very versatile in ways of installing in a case. There are three variations of HDD Boxes available resp; IBL Box HDD10 (for one harddisk), IBL Box HDD20 (for two harddisks) and IBL Box HDD30 (for three harddisks). Installing is child's play and truly makes your harddisks operate without any annoying sound.
As I stated earlier, the package is nothing special. Everything you need to assemble the HDD Box is packaged in a plastic bag.
The package contains;
- 2 Aluminum sideplates - 145×99x3mm
- 3 Aluminum plates - 145×107x3mm
- 4 Noise isolating plates - 145×95x10mm
- 1 Anti vibration foam - 145×95x11mm (which has sticky tape on both sides, for easy mounting)
- 8 Thumbscrews
- 1 Installation manual (in german)
Lets install the HDD Box 20. Each of the 4 pieces of noise isolating foam has a sticky back surface which is protected by a thin layer of plastic. By removing this thin layer of plastic you are able to stick it on to one of the plates.
{mospagebreak}
Beware of the fact that if you stick the isolating foam slightly wrong, taking it off again will be a pain in the butt. The glue which is used on the pieces isolating foam is very nasty.
For this review I am using a Samsung 160GB SATA2 and a Samsung 400GB SATA2 Harddisk.
As you can see in the next shot, I simple placed the haddisks between the noise isolating foam plates. This will make sure all noise is absorbed by the noise isolating foam.
{mospagebreak}
The next step is to mount the alloy side panels which keep all the plates and harddisks in it place.
The package includes 8 thumbscrews, which are used to keep the whole IBL Box together. But you can use normal hdd screws as well (if you want to save room).
This is the finished result….
{mospagebreak}
Two Samsung harddisks silenced between noise isolating foam.
The package includes a installation manual (in german) but the pictures tell you exactly how to install the IBL Box HDD20. I must admit I normally don't even the read the manuals, only when I get stuck;-)
{mospagebreak}
The IBL Box HDD20 can easily be placed in (almost) any case. There are a lot of diffent ways of mounting the IBL Box HDD20. You can stick it on the bottom of your case but you could also install it in a 5,25 drive bay, but this will set you back 3x 5,25 slots.
Conclusion
You might expect that the temperatures would skyrocket seeing the drives are sandwhiched between the alloy plates, but even at full operation the temps only rised about 5 to 10 degrees celcius above normal temps. As sound go, ones installed in a case the sound level is hardly audioable (with case closed, no sound at all) . If you put your ear against the IBL Box then yes you will hear a low zooming sound but let's face it, you won't be gaming while putting your ear against the HDD Box
If you want to get rid off those annoying harddisks sounds then the IBL Box HDD20 might be the solution for you. The best place to install the IBL Box HDD20 would be in front of a 80 or 120mm giving it that little extra cooling. The IBL Box HDD's are available in three versions.
IBL Box HDD10 (for 1 harddisk, 24,90 EUR)
IBL Box HDD20 (for 2 harddisks, 29,90 EUR)
IBL Box HDD30 (for 3 harddisks, 42,90 EUR)
Pros:
- Silences any harddisk (even a Raptor150GB;-)
- Installation is child's play
- Versatile installment options
- Good affordable price range
Cons:
- Not available worldwide
I'd like to thank Ibenstil.nl for making this review possible.
For more information about the "IBL Box HDD20" visit Ibenstil.nl
Reply at our forums or leave comments;-)
Leave a Reply