Item description
Sunbeam Wherever PCI Rack
Manufacturer and code
Sunbeam 17081
Cost
£9.54 (inc VAT @ 20%)
Supplier
Witheld in respect of forum rules
Description and overview.
A bracket that attaches to the PCI card securing screw area of your case. The bracket enables the addition of a large range of components into areas that would not otherwise be able to accommodate them.
First impressions and quality.
Having viewed the promotional Gif on the sales page of the website I was very excited by the opportunities this product offered. The premise is a simple one, you attach the bracket by means of screws into the holes in your PC case usually reserved for screwing down and securing the flanges of your expansion cards (wonderful word flange don't you think). The bracket does not restrict the use of any of the PCI slots. Once in place the two "arms" mount onto the main bracket at 90 degrees and can be used to mount pretty much anything you care to...well...mount.
Instructions
Instructions are not included with the bracket, and although the outside of the box and the web link from the sales website do give a good idea of how it all goes together, instructions would be quite handy to enable a clear idea of the various permutations of configurations the bracket is capable of.
Being real men of course we don't need instructions and, if asked, would never admit to needing them, although I suspect if this came with any we might sneak the odd glance at them when no-one was looking.
Fitting.
Bit of a fiddle to be honest not made any easier by the lack of instructions.
Assembling the bracket is kind of akin to putting up a frame tent for the first time. Sure it looks simple enough, I mean how hard can it be, it's only 3 pieces of metal and two screws, but after about 5 minutes of staring at it and offering up one piece of metal to the other in various connotations you're about ready to throw it into the next field. Once you do suss it out, it's actually not that hard to work out how to use it to mount the sort of things it's designed to accommodate. The box suggests such things as fans, HDDs, Radiators, Reservoirs and "many more"!
In reality it's not quite as simple as that, as the space available inside the modern PC case with its Massive tower CPU heat sinks and it's monster GPUs severely limits the space available to mount anything else.
Performance.
I wasn't really able to mount that many things on it, as the Titan Fenrir Heat sink I have fitted prohibited mounting anything at the same level as it or higher, effectively cutting down the area in which the bracket can be deployed by half. I think this problem would be pretty much the same with any tower type heat sink. It was also necessary to mount the bracket quite low down on the PCI rack as the size of modern GPUs gave clearance issues if the bracket was mounted higher up the rack. I think the Bracket would be ideal for older set ups with smaller heat sinks and GPUs where these clearance issues are not a problem, and also for Small form factor and HTPC cases where the ability to mount an extra "something" in a confined area may be useful. However, for the modern mid to high end system the Bracket is simply too restricted by the internal layout.
Conclusion
An innovative device that promises great flexibility but unfortunately fails to deliver. it is something of an anachronism in the age of towering heat sinks and huge GPUs. It may however be of use in low end systems and in HTPCs where the clearance problems are not a issue
Good points.
Cheap.
No frills.
shiny!
Bad points.
Limited in where it can be installed.
Unable to be deployed fully in most modern cases
How could the product be improved?
The offset of the main mounting of the bracket could be increased to give clearance over large GPUs
Would I want to spend more to make it better?
No, as it still wouldn't solve the other problems that limit its use
Sunbeam Wherever PCI Rack
Manufacturer and code
Sunbeam 17081
Cost
£9.54 (inc VAT @ 20%)
Supplier
Witheld in respect of forum rules
Description and overview.
A bracket that attaches to the PCI card securing screw area of your case. The bracket enables the addition of a large range of components into areas that would not otherwise be able to accommodate them.
First impressions and quality.
Having viewed the promotional Gif on the sales page of the website I was very excited by the opportunities this product offered. The premise is a simple one, you attach the bracket by means of screws into the holes in your PC case usually reserved for screwing down and securing the flanges of your expansion cards (wonderful word flange don't you think). The bracket does not restrict the use of any of the PCI slots. Once in place the two "arms" mount onto the main bracket at 90 degrees and can be used to mount pretty much anything you care to...well...mount.
Instructions
Instructions are not included with the bracket, and although the outside of the box and the web link from the sales website do give a good idea of how it all goes together, instructions would be quite handy to enable a clear idea of the various permutations of configurations the bracket is capable of.
Being real men of course we don't need instructions and, if asked, would never admit to needing them, although I suspect if this came with any we might sneak the odd glance at them when no-one was looking.
Fitting.
Bit of a fiddle to be honest not made any easier by the lack of instructions.
Assembling the bracket is kind of akin to putting up a frame tent for the first time. Sure it looks simple enough, I mean how hard can it be, it's only 3 pieces of metal and two screws, but after about 5 minutes of staring at it and offering up one piece of metal to the other in various connotations you're about ready to throw it into the next field. Once you do suss it out, it's actually not that hard to work out how to use it to mount the sort of things it's designed to accommodate. The box suggests such things as fans, HDDs, Radiators, Reservoirs and "many more"!
In reality it's not quite as simple as that, as the space available inside the modern PC case with its Massive tower CPU heat sinks and it's monster GPUs severely limits the space available to mount anything else.
Performance.
I wasn't really able to mount that many things on it, as the Titan Fenrir Heat sink I have fitted prohibited mounting anything at the same level as it or higher, effectively cutting down the area in which the bracket can be deployed by half. I think this problem would be pretty much the same with any tower type heat sink. It was also necessary to mount the bracket quite low down on the PCI rack as the size of modern GPUs gave clearance issues if the bracket was mounted higher up the rack. I think the Bracket would be ideal for older set ups with smaller heat sinks and GPUs where these clearance issues are not a problem, and also for Small form factor and HTPC cases where the ability to mount an extra "something" in a confined area may be useful. However, for the modern mid to high end system the Bracket is simply too restricted by the internal layout.
Conclusion
An innovative device that promises great flexibility but unfortunately fails to deliver. it is something of an anachronism in the age of towering heat sinks and huge GPUs. It may however be of use in low end systems and in HTPCs where the clearance problems are not a issue
Good points.
Cheap.
No frills.
shiny!
Bad points.
Limited in where it can be installed.
Unable to be deployed fully in most modern cases
How could the product be improved?
The offset of the main mounting of the bracket could be increased to give clearance over large GPUs
Would I want to spend more to make it better?
No, as it still wouldn't solve the other problems that limit its use
