Fancontroller roundup

Aerocool Coolpanel 2

The Coolpanel's succesor is the creatively named Coolpanel 2. This model is somewhat more expensive and cant really be considered Aerocool's replacement of the first model and hence both are coexist. The Coolpanel 2 has for fan connections with just as many thermal probes. The digital display shows the speed and temperature of all fans and thermal probes at same time. Unlike the original Coolpanel the fan speeds are not adjusted with a dial, but with the aid of four buttons on the bottom right of the unit, just below the LCD screen. Downside of these buttons is that their also used for changing the maximum temperature and minimum fan speed which makes it less than user-friendly to select the correct mode required. Quickly changing the speed of a particular is not a simple task. The unit seems to be mainly designed to simply adjust all four fans to one setting and leaving them at that for good. The screen itself is a definite bonus as the status of all fans and temperatures can be clearly seen with just the glance of an eye and the unit gives an instant warning in case a fan fails or if the maximum temperature is exceeded.
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he Coolpanel 2, just like its predecessor, offers extra functionality over standard fan controllers by coming with a removable 20-in1 multi-cardreader and various USB, Firewire, Audio and SATA connections. The good news with the Coolpanel 2 is that Aerocool seem to have learned from their previous mistakes as all the various ports are connected directly to the motherboard meaning that no USB ports are lost on the rear of the case.