Conclusion:



There are many Front Panels on the Market. To introduce one that will meet all the needs by all people is certainly not an easy task. However, for as long as there is a high demand for such products, manufacturers will fulfill the requirements.

Having a couple of fan controllers and temperature probe with speed readout are good functional features. Some case makers are bundling these features into their chassis. The same could be said for Audio, USB and Firewire front panel access. Yet, often times their locations are rather illogical politely put.

“20 in 1 Superior Panel” combines all the features and function in a single unit together with 4 different formats flash memory readers will definitely meet most of our needs. It packs with rich features and thoughtful design. The panel is made of plastic (injection mold) and spray paint plus a few scratches, no big deal. The slow response of the fan controller (about 4 seconds delay) and “large jump” in reading (increment of 100) is another story. I do not know if this happens uniquely to the test unit. Nevertheless, the 3-pin + 2-pin speed sensor arrangement is a big plus. There is one more thing Sunbeam can do to make this Front Panel even better is to provide a Y cord for audio out. This will allow both rear connections to my 5.1 sound system plus the benefit of having front panel access.

Needless to say if you have more than one digital cameras with different card formats; SATA external drive back and forth from school or office; thumb drive brief case to carry your open tasks; digital video camera in your family or at work; a noisy CPU fan or radiator fan and you do not want to bump your head every time trying to get to the back of your computer under the desk, you have an easy option right here. For about US$35 - recommended!

Pros –

Functional and feature rich

Two SATAs up front

Multi-card readers up to 9 formats

attention to small detail

clear and concise manual


Cons-

Slow response fan controller & in high inrements

no 4-pin fan connection

Half frame not suitable for rail mount bay

We like to thank Keven from Sunbeamtech for his assistance and samples to make this review possible. You could find the Superior Panel at Xoxide.



Please stay tuned we have more new products from Sunbeam in a couple of weeks.

Questions/Comments: forum thread