The Cool-Panel we received for testing is the black version but the item can also be purchased in white, so you do have the option of getting a unit that matches your case.  Layout of the controls and connection points are well laid out and clearly marked which should guarantee that you have no problem installing this product into your computer.

The rear of the Cool-Panel is also clearly marked and with the help of the highly detailed instruction the total time to install the Cool-Panel should run you about 15 minutes with a few more minutes to arrange the cables to your liking. 

Here we can see the pair of USB 2.0 connectors and the single 1394 Firewire port. As I mentioned earlier these will be used a great deal with my external hard drives and testing Firewire and USB devices.

Next up are the card readers, the Cool-Panel has the capability to read Compact Flash Type 1/II - Memory Stick /Duo/Pro/Duo Pro - Smart Media - SD and Multi Media Card.  So as you can see the Cool-Panel has all the bases covered when it comes to reading digital camera media cards, this will make operating both camera in my case a great deal simpler.   The red LED located in the upper corner is the Power on indicator and the green LED is the Activity Indicator.

The center portion of the Cool-Panel is the busiest part of the panel as it contains the two SATA connectors the Video connector along with the Line In/Line Out/Microphone Jack. If you happen to be into video editing I'm sure that this one area you will give a major workout to.

Moving over to the right side of the panel we have what I would call the brain of the setup.  Here you will find the LCD display that gives you temperature readouts from the two probes you placed internal in your computer, as well as the fan speeds for the two fans you connected the Cool-Panel wires to.

Some features of the this thermal controller module are overheat alarm with flashing function. When the temperature exceeds the specified temperature the display will flash from red to blue and a very annoying buzzer will sound letting you know that there is a problem. The buzzer does stop after 25 seconds but the flashing remains until the temperature is reduced to the set value.

The Module also will warn you in the event of a fan failure using the same method of of alerting you as above. For you tech heads out there the specs on the fan headers on this particular controller are as follows. The voltage can be adjusted from 6 to 12 Volts DC +_ 10% with each channel able to support up to 10 watts.

Conclusion

Aerocool has taken an idea I had rattling around in my head a few months back and made it come to life and I have to admit I like what they have done. If there is one drawback to this product it is the number of cable you will have running inside your case, but if you do as I did and only use the cables for the features that you think you will use the clutter is cut down considerably.

The fact that all of these connection have now been moved to a centralized location of the front of the case where they are readily available and easy to use and reach makes this a highly recommendable item.  The fact that it also offers a pair of built in temperature probes and fan speed controller only add to its value.  If you're tired of pulling you case out to hook things up - the Aerocool Cool-Panel is the ideal choice for you.

I want to thank the fine people at Aerocool for providing this product for us to review.