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Introduction
I'm what you might call lazy and that's why I'm a big fan of things like USB, Plug and Play, and anything that promises to be easy to install. I want to have a cool running computer but I want to do it with the least amount of effort. I want all my cooling devices to be 5 minute installs with minimal tools. I don't want to expend the effort to remove the factory heat sink from my K6-2 400, but I want to overclock. There are so many "I want"'s in this paragraph that you'd think it was Christmas time. South Bay Engineering, like Santa, has answered my wish and made the 2CoolPC Turbo and Plus. This device lets you add directed airflow cooling to your case with only th effort of plugging in the fan and sticking down three velcro tabs.
The Device
Both the 2CoolPC Turbo and Plus are basically a plastic shell, which for some reason reminds me of a musical instrument, and a 92mm fan. We all know fans spin and blow air, but what the plastic shell does is allow about 25% of the air to continue its forward motion toward your PCI/ISA slots and takes the other 75% and directs them in the general area of your video card and processor in an ATX case. The Plus version comes with a fan rated at 50 cfm/2700 rpm and the Turbo a 60 cfm/2900 rpm fan, both are double ball bearing type fans.
The plastic ductwork feels like it is made of the same stuff that packages your Star Wars action figures, is 12 1/8" long and 3 11/16" wide at the fan. The curved section is 1 7/8" wide and in some cases may prove to be a problem that I'll mention later. The unit is 6" tall so be prepared for the location of the out-flowing air to vary depending on what size case you use. If you are using a mini or micro ATX case the duct will dump the air directly over your cpu assuming you can fit the device in your case. Users of larger cases will see more airflow in the general area of their video card. South Bay Engineering states on their website that the 2CoolPC won't fit in Compaqs, and some other big name cases but they are in the works developing a new design for them.
>> Installation & Benchmarks
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