Tranquil T7-HSA

What's so clever about the T7-HSA, though, is what you don't see - or hear, come to that. There isn't a single fan in the whole system, with the chipset, hard disk and CPU all cooled by the case itself via heatpipes. With the hard disk the only source of noise (and suspended in a vibration reducing cradle), that makes it all but completely silent - particularly if you can find a cabinet to put it away in. A word of caution there, though - we did just that, and left files transferring overnight, to find it almost too hot to touch in the morning: you'll definitely need to give some serious consideration to the T7-HSA's airflow.

But once it's installed, you can practically forget about the unit itself, particularly given the fantastically low power consumption: we measured a peak draw of just 20W, which isn't all that much more than a standard NAS device. Tranquil PC also claims the product has a "zero carbon footprint", with "offsets managed by working with responsible organisations that undertake tree-planting campaigns". And while we take that with a fistful of salt (it only includes a rather conservative forecast of running costs over five years, and doesn't include manufacturing at all), it's a gesture more than most manufacturers make. Tranquil claims that more than 70% of the aluminium and steel casework is recycled, too.

It's a good outing for the first Home Server device, and we can only hope that its competition, when it arrives, is as power-conscious and well engineered. Tranquil predicts that the final units will be available in early September at around £339 - which looks pretty competitive. If it holds, it looks like the company will be giving the big boys a serious run for their money. We'll bring you an update once production units arrive.

Author: Ross Burridge