Ares Hard Drive Tray Author: faceless105 -- Posted: 2007-07-04
As you start using your computer more and more for critical tasks and recreational uses you'll find the ability to keep your work mobile and secure becomes more and more important. One very convenient solution is installing a hard drive tray into your computer, so today we'll be examining the Ares Hard drive tray.
Now to me one of the largest benefits of having a hard drive tray installed would be the mobility factor. If you have this installed at work and at home then you can painlessly transfer your drive between the two. Since this tray is setup for SATA drives you will also have the convenience of being able to hot swap your drives (meaning you will not have to power your system down to put the new drive in the computer). Another large factor is security. As you might start working with very secure data it is an extremely good idea to not only back up your data but store it off site. I really can't stress this one enough. Disaster recovery and prevention should never be taken lightly and should be a constant consideration instead of something that you only think of after the fact. With this drive tray you can easily back up all your work and take it with you.
The Ares is very sturdy so you know it'll last. The majority of it is constructed out of aluminum which is ideal for storing a drive in since it will disperse heat very well. In additional like most trays there is a small 40mm fan mounted in the back to help out. The majority of the hard drive trays I've come into contact with in the past have been all plastic trays that sometimes do feel a bit flimsy, so this one is a bit of a relief.
I also want to say that this is honestly the coolest looking HD tray I've used so far as well. Now looks will probably never have anything to do with performance, but in all honesty, I like my hardware to look as good as it runs. The Ares is no exception with its silver aluminum and black plastic. Another cool feature is the tray door. The lever is spring loaded and it actually pulls out as a level would. It makes loading and unloading the tray a real breeze.
One feature that I've never seen before on a HD Tray is the ability to connect HD activity lights to it that aren't already installed in the tray. Like most trays the Ares does have a power light and activity light on board but in addition to that it gives you the option of connecting extra access lights. I find this incredibly convenient. I have a case with nine cd bays and a door for them that I can't easily see through to know which drives are working, but I do have nine access lights on the side. It's true that this isn't really your traditional home computer case, but I really do love it. As such with the Ares I'm able to connect the access lights to the case to quickly and easily see if it's hard at work. This is the kind of detail that I really do appreciate and find impressive.
Hooking up the Ares is very simple. One cord for the SATA drive, one for SATA power, and a last one for the fan and lights. Mounting it was just as easy, it will install just as quickly as any CD Rom with a simple four screws. Once this is done connect the power and SATA cables. At this point all you have to do is put your hard drive in.
Before I finish this I again want to encourage all of you to really look into disaster recovery and prevention. It's not a very big deal for your typical home user but I don't know anyone who has a computer without some type of data that is critical to them. Backing up your computer in all honesty is a very simple process and in the event of a friend hard drive you'll be left kicking yourself wondering why you never did so. For small business owners this is even more of a critical task and something as small as losing their computers could unfortunately put a number of them out of business, and that is where devices such as the Ares come into play, unfortunately devices like these aren't taken to seriously until it's to late.
With that being said I'd like to thank Vizo for giving me the opportunity to review the Ares. It really is a quality piece of hardware and I continue to be impressed with their line up. This doesn't do anything to get in the way of performance so there is really nothing but benefits that can come from this. On that note, I'd like to recommend all of you to checking out the Ares. It is the very well built and will not disappoint you at all.
As always, if any of you have any questions or comment I'd love to discuss them.
