Review Submitted by: bottle
Today we look at the last addition to Cooler Masters popular Aerogate series of fan controllers. With the design being based on the Cooler Master’s Cooldrive 6, the Aerogate 3 certainly has a snappy and stylish look to it and fits in any 5½†drive bay. Lets see if it functions as well as its looks seem to suggest.
Features: (From Cooler Masters Web Site)
* Supports 4 fans and monitors all 4 fans speed (RPM) and their components’ temperature simultaneously.
* Temperature alert threshold from 10 to 90 ℃ by every individual channel
* Adjustable alarm sound
* User friendly control panel
Specifications:
* Dimension: 150 x 43 x 65 mm
* Display: LCD
* Temperature: monitor range -> 0℃~90℃ / 32℉~122℉
* Temperature alert: threshold adjustment -> 10℃~90℃ / 50℉~122℉
* Power Input: 12V/ 1.5A +/- 5%; 5V/ 0.5A +/- 5%
* Fan Output: <5V (fan completely stopped) – 12V/ 1.5A
* Material: Aluminum bracket
Continued on Page 2..
[break=First Impressions]
First Impressions:
The Packaging:
The Aerogate 3 comes in a bright purple box with a lot of imagery on it. This sure will attract anyone’s attention on any store shelf but it also is solid enough to provide adequate protection to the product within as well as give some useful statistics about the Aerogate 3 inside.
Inside the Box:
The box contains the Aerogate 3 functional panel along with a brief manual and included set of wires and cables.
Padding:
The Aerogate 3 is built completely from aluminum and the sides are very flimsy. The sides bend easily and Cooler Master have taken the precaution of adding padding inside and around the Aerogate 3 to make sure it reaches the end user in the same shape it was before it left the factory.
[break=The Internals]
PCB and Caps of the Aerogate 3:
Out of the Box:
The Aerogate 3 certainly is a stylish affair and is much sleeker and more rounded when compared to the previous versions the Aerogate I and the Aerogate II. The clean fascia will appeal to many who wouldn’t like the front of their sheathed case to be cluttered up with various knobs and buttons.
From the above picture you can notice the included slots which allow air to enter and keep the PCB of the Aerogate cool.
Included Accessories/Components:
From left to right:
Thermal probe: As well as being a fan controller, the Aerogate 3 offers temperature monitoring and hence includes 4 of the above thermal sensors, which can be affixed to any flat surface
Power Connector: Easy to connect and needs a free Molex connector from your PSU. The Aerogate 3 uses a regular floppy connector so instead of using the provided floppy to Molex power cord you can directly connect the floppy power connector from the PSU if you have one free.
Fan Extension Wire: Since the Aerogate 3 will be installed in a free 5½ bay , not many fans have wires that reach in that far. Hence Cooler Master has provided these fan extension wires which should be enough for most medium to large computer cases.
Installation Screws: Used to mount the Aerogate.
Continued...
[break=Installation..]
A Closer Look and Installation:
A look at the back of the Aerogate 3:
A look at the back of the Aerogate 3 shows that it provides 4 fan connectors as well as 4 temperature monitoring sensors. Only fans with 3 pin connectors are supported by the Aerogate 3. Fans that come nowadays (like 120mm fans) with 4 pin Molex connectors only will have to be modified before they can be used with the Aerogate 3.
The 4 temperature sensors can be used to monitor which ever components of the computer that the user may think needs to be monitor. This typically includes components that heat up easily like the processor, graphics card processor, hard drives etc. In case of hard drives the sensor can be fixed to any flat part by using some good quality thermal tape. In case of processors the sensor should be fixed as close to the die as possible but not on top of it as it will create an air gap between the processor and the heat sink which could cause serious damage.
[break=And shes ready to go!]
The Aerogate III in action:
Once installed in your drive bay the Cooler Master Aerogate III is sure to add class to any pc. It comes with a LCD which is lit with a clear white backlight which is bright and easy to read. But the LCD is clearest when looked at directly and from above, otherwise the text starts to blur. This is a problem faced with most LCD’s.
The Aerogate III comes with 6 buttons which perform various functions.
(Image Courtesy: Cooler Master)
The functions of the display panel can be split up into 3 categories:
* Fan Status Info
* Temperature
* Idle Mode
Fan Status Info:
This allows you to cycle among your 4 fans and respective fan speeds in rpm are displayed on the LCD. You can also lower or increase the voltage being supplied to your case fans. This reduces or increases the speed respectively. The reduction of speed implies less noise from fans and is a boon to your ears!
Temperature Info:
This allows you to cycle among your 4 temperature sensors and displays the temperature reading from each sensor. This is pretty accurate when compared using a regular thermometer. The temperature threshold can also be set for each sensor and when the temperature crosses the threshold the LCD starts blinking and an audible alarm starts to sound. This feature is pretty useful but if you do not wish to be disturbed the alarm can be disabled.
Idle Mode:
When enabled the LCD scrolls a simple marquee which reads “Cooler Master Aerogate 3â€. The interval before which the marquee appears can also be set and ranges from 10 seconds to 10 hours. A feature to customize this message would have been appreciated by many but is sadly not available.
You can click the link below to download a short clip of the Cooler Master Aerogate III in action.
DOWNLOAD VIDEO
Conclusion..
[break=Conclusion]
Conclusion:
All in all the Cooler Master Aerogate 3 is a great product which not only has great looks but is a killer in the performance department. A great tool for those who do not want to mess around making their own LCD functional panel and its clean and smooth lines leave it much more desirable when compared to other products currently available in the market. I have no hesitations in highly recommending the Cooler Master Aerogate 3 to anyone.
The End!
Today we look at the last addition to Cooler Masters popular Aerogate series of fan controllers. With the design being based on the Cooler Master’s Cooldrive 6, the Aerogate 3 certainly has a snappy and stylish look to it and fits in any 5½†drive bay. Lets see if it functions as well as its looks seem to suggest.
Features: (From Cooler Masters Web Site)
* Supports 4 fans and monitors all 4 fans speed (RPM) and their components’ temperature simultaneously.
* Temperature alert threshold from 10 to 90 ℃ by every individual channel
* Adjustable alarm sound
* User friendly control panel
Specifications:
* Dimension: 150 x 43 x 65 mm
* Display: LCD
* Temperature: monitor range -> 0℃~90℃ / 32℉~122℉
* Temperature alert: threshold adjustment -> 10℃~90℃ / 50℉~122℉
* Power Input: 12V/ 1.5A +/- 5%; 5V/ 0.5A +/- 5%
* Fan Output: <5V (fan completely stopped) – 12V/ 1.5A
* Material: Aluminum bracket
Continued on Page 2..
[break=First Impressions]
First Impressions:
The Packaging:
The Aerogate 3 comes in a bright purple box with a lot of imagery on it. This sure will attract anyone’s attention on any store shelf but it also is solid enough to provide adequate protection to the product within as well as give some useful statistics about the Aerogate 3 inside.
Inside the Box:
The box contains the Aerogate 3 functional panel along with a brief manual and included set of wires and cables.
Padding:
The Aerogate 3 is built completely from aluminum and the sides are very flimsy. The sides bend easily and Cooler Master have taken the precaution of adding padding inside and around the Aerogate 3 to make sure it reaches the end user in the same shape it was before it left the factory.
[break=The Internals]
PCB and Caps of the Aerogate 3:
Out of the Box:
The Aerogate 3 certainly is a stylish affair and is much sleeker and more rounded when compared to the previous versions the Aerogate I and the Aerogate II. The clean fascia will appeal to many who wouldn’t like the front of their sheathed case to be cluttered up with various knobs and buttons.
From the above picture you can notice the included slots which allow air to enter and keep the PCB of the Aerogate cool.
Included Accessories/Components:
From left to right:
Thermal probe: As well as being a fan controller, the Aerogate 3 offers temperature monitoring and hence includes 4 of the above thermal sensors, which can be affixed to any flat surface
Power Connector: Easy to connect and needs a free Molex connector from your PSU. The Aerogate 3 uses a regular floppy connector so instead of using the provided floppy to Molex power cord you can directly connect the floppy power connector from the PSU if you have one free.
Fan Extension Wire: Since the Aerogate 3 will be installed in a free 5½ bay , not many fans have wires that reach in that far. Hence Cooler Master has provided these fan extension wires which should be enough for most medium to large computer cases.
Installation Screws: Used to mount the Aerogate.
Continued...
[break=Installation..]
A Closer Look and Installation:
A look at the back of the Aerogate 3:
A look at the back of the Aerogate 3 shows that it provides 4 fan connectors as well as 4 temperature monitoring sensors. Only fans with 3 pin connectors are supported by the Aerogate 3. Fans that come nowadays (like 120mm fans) with 4 pin Molex connectors only will have to be modified before they can be used with the Aerogate 3.
The 4 temperature sensors can be used to monitor which ever components of the computer that the user may think needs to be monitor. This typically includes components that heat up easily like the processor, graphics card processor, hard drives etc. In case of hard drives the sensor can be fixed to any flat part by using some good quality thermal tape. In case of processors the sensor should be fixed as close to the die as possible but not on top of it as it will create an air gap between the processor and the heat sink which could cause serious damage.
[break=And shes ready to go!]
The Aerogate III in action:
Once installed in your drive bay the Cooler Master Aerogate III is sure to add class to any pc. It comes with a LCD which is lit with a clear white backlight which is bright and easy to read. But the LCD is clearest when looked at directly and from above, otherwise the text starts to blur. This is a problem faced with most LCD’s.
The Aerogate III comes with 6 buttons which perform various functions.
(Image Courtesy: Cooler Master)
The functions of the display panel can be split up into 3 categories:
* Fan Status Info
* Temperature
* Idle Mode
Fan Status Info:
This allows you to cycle among your 4 fans and respective fan speeds in rpm are displayed on the LCD. You can also lower or increase the voltage being supplied to your case fans. This reduces or increases the speed respectively. The reduction of speed implies less noise from fans and is a boon to your ears!
Temperature Info:
This allows you to cycle among your 4 temperature sensors and displays the temperature reading from each sensor. This is pretty accurate when compared using a regular thermometer. The temperature threshold can also be set for each sensor and when the temperature crosses the threshold the LCD starts blinking and an audible alarm starts to sound. This feature is pretty useful but if you do not wish to be disturbed the alarm can be disabled.
Idle Mode:
When enabled the LCD scrolls a simple marquee which reads “Cooler Master Aerogate 3â€. The interval before which the marquee appears can also be set and ranges from 10 seconds to 10 hours. A feature to customize this message would have been appreciated by many but is sadly not available.
You can click the link below to download a short clip of the Cooler Master Aerogate III in action.
DOWNLOAD VIDEO
Conclusion..
[break=Conclusion]
Conclusion:
All in all the Cooler Master Aerogate 3 is a great product which not only has great looks but is a killer in the performance department. A great tool for those who do not want to mess around making their own LCD functional panel and its clean and smooth lines leave it much more desirable when compared to other products currently available in the market. I have no hesitations in highly recommending the Cooler Master Aerogate 3 to anyone.
The End!
quick you get reps for uploading it
