14 DAY TRIAL // A case's 5.25-inch drive bays are seldom used for things besides optical disk drives (ODDs), and even when an ODD is present, the majority of the bays remain unused. Japanese company Scythe is not impressed.
Then again, had this not been the case, the manufacturer would not have had a market for things like the Kama Panel series.
Long story short, Kama Panel products are articles of hardware that occupy one or more 5.25-inch bays.
The latest addition to that collection is called Kama Panel 3.1 and combines the benefits of several different accessories.
First off, we have a 2.5-inch hard disk drive rack that can accommodate SATA HDDs or even SSDs (solid-state drives).
Secondly, Scythe has included a pair of USB 3.0 ports (SuperSpeed, 5 Gbps transfer rate).
Thirdly, we have a card reader for Memory Stick Micro (M2), microSD, microSDHC, SD, SDHC and MMC flash media.
Not only that, but the Kama Panel 3.1 integrates the benefits of audio ports (microphone and a 3.5 mm stereo jack).
Finally, the new panel has a built-in fan controller that can handle two spinners at once, with both 3-pin and 4-pin compatibility.
Backlight illumination makes everything on the built-in LCD visible, thought it can be switched off if one so desires.
Voltage can be adjusted between 3, 7 and 12 volts, and retractable knobs allows for individual adjustment of fan speed, so that a perfect balance may be struck between performance and silence. Individual alarms can be set too, for between 40 and 90 degrees Celsius.
Scythe Kama Panel 3.1 possesses power and reset buttons on either side. It has a price of €32 / $32 – $42 (without TAX / VAT). The model number is SCKMPN-3100.
The product page has more information. Scythe describes its invention there as “a Windows 8 comaptible multi-panel device featuring diverse functions such as fan controlling, card reading and front USB 3.0 ports all in one package.”
