The Basics:
Before checking out all of the features, let's see what else you receive. The below left image shows the plastic shell which protects everything, and is probably the only reason I received a function device after the long journey. The below right image shows the application/driver CD, a user's manual, and baggie containing a mounting screw and a sheet full of translucent adhesive tabs for securing the thermal probes.
 
All of the cables you need are also provided, and some style points come with them. The below left image shows the 8 thermal probes, all of which have clear insulation showing off the 'silver' wires inside. The below right image shows the required USB cable, which also features clear plastic over 'silver' braided insulation. I guess they may not have provided all the cables you need, as you will need to get a 4-pin power connection to the unit, but hopefully you have a spare on your PSU that will reach, and an extension / splitter won't be necessary.
 
In the images below we finally get a look at the Theta TP-101 itself. As you can see, it looks like a PCI expansion card, except that it has no goldfingers for connecting to your motherboard. The black PCB just pops into a PCI slot for a convenient place to locate it, and the combination of the PCI slot and your case's PSI card retention mechanism hold the card in place.
 
The device has a fairly simple layout. You have all of the control features on what would be the bottom of the card, and the various connectors are all located around the edge on the top side of the card.
The below left image shows a close up of the 8 3-pin fan connectors, each of which is labeled as "FAN1" through "FAN8". The below right image shows the external surface of the PCI slot cover. This is where the communications to the software is handled. You connect the provided USB cable to this port, as well as to a USB port on your system, and a green LED will light up to indicate it is powered up.
 
The below left image shows a close up of some of the features on the bottom side of the card. Here we see sets of 8 for just about everything, as each of the channels can operate independently. We also see what might have been the only minor damage to the card from the trip from Taiwan to New Jersey... One of the eight white and blue features (perhaps a variable resistor?) was slightly mushed, but luckily still functioned well.
 
The above right image shows the end of the card, where we have a header designed to accept the 8 thermal probes and the 4-pin Molex power connector. Each of the thermal probe connections is labeled "T1" through "T8" in order to make identifying each lead easy, as well as allowing you to match thermal probes to the appropriate fan, if necessary.
I can picture a system where perhaps it is desirable to control up to 8 fans, but I can not really think of 8 items that I would want to monitor temperatures on. I guess it is possible, but perhaps overkill. One scenario... (1) CPU, (2) chipset, (3+4) dual sticks of memory, (5+6) dual GPUs for SLI, (7+8) dual hard drives in RAID.
|
|
