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Thermaltake Hardcano 13
Look at the pretty colors
Installation of the unit was about as difficult as installing a CD-ROM drive. As we have mentioned before, each fan connection of the Hardcano corresponds to a temperature probe connector. These may be installed wherever you like. I tend to monitor, CPU, GPU, Case and Northbridge temperatures myself. Putting power to our test system, we got to see first hand the color selection you have at your fingertip.
You can also see above the general layout of the display. Temperature is shown in a oversized text in the middle of the LCD screen. The alarm trip temperature is in the lower right with the detected fan RPM in the top right. On the left side of the display is an indicator if the unit is in 'auto' or 'manual' mode as well as which fan/temp probe is being displayed. (Only one set of readings can be shown at a time.) Not shown is the small text at the bottom left that indicates that the card reader is in use and what type of flash memory is being accessed through it.
Operation
Under power, the Hardcano 13 performed flawlessly. Temperatures and fan control worked without any issues. In manual mode, fan speed adjustment by use of the centralized control knob, was smooth and precise. If the trip temperature we noted earlier is exceeded, the display flashes red and makes an audible alarm signal.
Two things of interest we discovered was that the clock (displayed in 24 hour format) once set and the backlight color would reset to the defaults of 00:00 and dark blue after the system was powered down. No big deal but it was minimally annoying all the same. Another feature we discovered was that if you pushed the central control knob down for one second it would amp up all the attached fans to 100% for as long as the button was depressed then go back to normal operation two seconds after release.
UPDATE 11/06/2004 - We were informed by Thermaltake the small 3v battery visible in some of the previous pictures was to keep any settings you made in memory so they would not reset. After replacing the battery, something we should have caught earlier, our reset problems disappeared.
Conclusion
Thermaltake has done an excellent job with the design and development of the Hardcano series. Now in its 13th revision, it seems to me to be very close to perfect. The large central display makes reading screen easy, even at an angle, which can't be said for many other multifunction panels out there. Monitoring and control of up to four fans should be enough for most all users. Utilizing the thin tipped thermal probes, temperature probes can be placed almost anywhere making the Hardcano 13 that much more versatile. Aesthetically, the lines are smart and clean. Eight color options allow you the ability to change the backlighting to with your mood. The addition of a 6 in 1 card reader ends up being icing on the cake for Thermaltake's newest panel display.
The list of cons to the unit were few. As with the Hardcano 12, the four preset temperature trips are nice but many of us like to have total control to pick any and every in between point we want. The resetting of the color and time after shutdown was a bit of a drag but given the ease in which these may be adjusted isn't seen as a big issue. Please note the above update as this problem was rectified.
Priced at $65, the Hardcano 13 enters the market offering lots of features for not a lot of cash. I believe you would be hard pressed to find a better, more versatile unit on the market at this or any price. The Hardcano 13 is a fantastic product that would be a welcome addition to anyone's rig. Pros
Cons
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