Today we are taking a look at the Hydra Pro Fan Controller from BitFenix, a simple looking device that offers an almost no frills approach to fan control, but one that we hope will combine simplicity with effectiveness in our tests.
BitFenix have been in the spotlight recently thanks to the launch of their very popular M-ITX chassis, the BitFenix Prodigy and many of the builds we are seeing online are looking at the other BitFenix product ranges such as their fans and fan controllers and fitting them into this chassis, so I thought I would take a look at what all the fuss is about and see just how good, or of course not so good the Hydra actually looks and performs inside both this chassis and of course how it performs in general.
BitFenix say themselves that they have an aim to combine superior design with the latest advances in technology, something that really shines through in a lot of their product range and it’s a trend I hope continues in this review.
“Users shouldn’t have to adjust themselves to the way their hardware works. So, we strive to put the user in complete control of his hardware, so that it functions as an extension of his will, and not as another variable he has to compensate for.
In the heat of battle, the user should not have to worry about the state of his equipment, which is why BitFenix products are engineered to perform under even the most extreme conditions. No matter how taxing the situation, users can rely on the strength of BitFenix products to perform as they are intended.” – Bitfenix.com
Come and take a look at the next few pages where we will be taking a closer look at the components and features of the Hydra Pro.
Wow. What a shitty review.
Coming from someone who has actually USED one of these and not just gave something a glowing review so they can get more free crap:
The rubber coating is dark grey, not black. So it won’t blend into black cases. The gunmetal sliders are plastic and look worse in person. The rubber coating on top of the plastic facade is dark grey on light grey… and even after sliding the slider a full length only once or twice… the rubber coating behind the slider in the recess is rubbing off. Get out your sharpies if you tend to adjust a lot… because you will see grey streaks behind the sliders where the “soft touch” coating rubbed off.
Slider knobs themselves aren’t very well secured to their backing. One slider knob was loose and rattling around in the box itself when I got it. It doesn’t take much effort to pull each of them off. I actually wonder if they’re capable of staying on if not for the fact that using a slider tends to re-seat them every time you touch it.
In the end, this thing is merely average. The ball was dropped in a few ways but it’s still a good controller overall. I just don’t see it holding up to normal wear and tear without looking destroyed even if the entire kit ends up surviving through the ages.
This controller bay ain’t cheap, either. Typically about $15-20 higher than other similar products. “Low price”, my ass.
Hi there, I see you points and dismiss them, which sounds harsh I know, but I personally use this product in my system since the review and couldn’t be happier with it, sure there are better products on the market, but this was never intended to beat those, its cut and shut simple in its delivery and it does exactly what it says on the box perfectly,
I resent the implication that we just do these reviews for the “free shit” though, at the end of the day this is my job, its how I pay my bills at the end of the month and any company that sends us samples are generally large companies, they can spot the free loaders and arse kissers a mile away, it’s not how we behave.
But in regards to the shining review, one of the main focuses of eTeknix is that my review is my personal opinion, not that necessarily of eTeknix itself, this is true of most review sites, you wouldn’t have to dig too far through our reviews to find that if a product is… how do I put this “crap” we will say so, I will say so my self, its even got us in a few tight spots before, but we remain impartial non the less.
you’re more than welcome to hate the product, I respect your feedback in that respect, for at the end of the day, I really like it, I use it everyday and this review was my reflection of that 🙂
I will add though, I don’t actually make that many adjustments on it, but I haven’t had any issues with wear on it, if it breaks on me, I will update the review or contact BitFenix to see if the issues can be addressed.
Also we have a BitFenix section in our forums, your welcome to take your issues up there as BitFenix do moderate that section and would likely give you some helpful feedback, I’m sure the feedback good or bad is helpful to them and their products.
Thank you,
Peter