Thermaltake recently added the Max 4 Active Cooling Enclosure to their lineup. This portable unit works with SATA hard drives and allows them to be used with USB 2.0 ports or faster eSATA connections. To help keep the drive cool, there is an 80 mm by 15 mm blue LED fan on one side and black mesh on the front and rear.
Spire has just released their new interpretation of a sleek looking hard drive enclosure namely the all new MegaPOD III IDE. With the MegaPOD III Spire wishes to conquer the mid-range enclosure market, but can this enclosure keep up with rest, or has the sleek design prohibited performance?
The Akasa Integral PNES is one of the first 2.5 inch external enclosures which can either utilize an IDE or SATA drive. This also results in a USB 2.0 or eSATA connectivity, which makes the P2NES perfect for anybody with na eSATA equipped PC at home or work and a USB 2.0 equipped notebook
The new AluBox series from A.C. Ryan covers all types of hard drive enclosures utilizing both IDE and SATA drives, with various connection options. We get to take a look at the AluBox LAN in its IDE flavor, which boasts USB 2.0 and Ethernet connectivity.
The Antec MX-1 is part of the new Veris brand and features a very unique design. You get eSATA and USB 2.0 connectiviy inside a solid plastic & aluminum enclosure. It is a bit larger than most enclosures, but features a very effective cooling design to keep the temperature of the installed SATA drive down to a minimum.
The QNAP QBack-25 is an external HDD enclosure for 2.5" HDDs connected via USB. The use of 2.5" drives allows that it is powered by USB only. What makes the unit special is the included backup software which can easily compete with professional solutions. It is very easy to use and has a clean screen layout. Optional 256-bit AES encryption helps you protect your data from prying eyes. With a price of about $35 this unit is also very competitively priced.
The Verbatim Store'n'Go 1" USB Hard Drive differentiates itself by using - as the name suggests - a hard drive to reach capacities of 12 GB. The 8 GB offering on the test bench today uses a minuscule 1 inch drive packed into a nice white & chrome enclosure. We take a close look and let you know if it has any advantages against solid state, flash based USB memory devices.
The A.C. Ryan AluBoxTFX is an external hard drive enclosure that allows the user to implement an IDE or SATA hard drive, utilizing the new eSATA connection for SATA drives, as well as USB 2.0 for SATA or IDE drives. And the TFX? That means “Tool Free Experience,” which is A.C. Ryan’s way of saying that the enclosure is completely tool-less in design.
The Vizo Uranus looks quite different than most other HDD enclosures. The shape clearly dictates the use of the stand and the rounded corners, thick aluminum, blue color and modern label will surely look good on your desk. Vizo includes everything from eSATA bracket to special screws and screw drivers, as well as software to use with the backup function of the Uranus. We benchmark it and take a quick look at the included software, to find out if it has what it takes under that shiny aluminum shell.
The Vizo Luxon Advanced HDD enclosure is a very versatile case which gives the user complete choice what type of internal and external connection is used. The rounded corners and nice black, blue or silver exterior make this a great addition to your desktop and the performance of both USB 2.0 and eSATA is good no matter what drive is used.
The I-Rocks IR-9300 Combo is a HDD enclosure with USB 2.0 and Firewire. It features completely passive use and two LEDs on either side of the enclosure. It may be a bit bulky when compared to some from Coolermaster or Akasa but does work well. The USB 2.0 connection is not very fast, but the speedy firewire option makes up for this, while reducing the CPU utilization as well.
Akasa has a full range of external hard drive enclosures. The integral line-up includes every connection variant from LAN and USB 2.0 to eSATA. The Akasa integral eSATA combines USB 2.0 and eSATA. You can also use an IDE or SATA drive with the enclosure. This makes the integral eSATA a very versatile enclosure. We use every possible combination and take a look at the performance of both connection types. Its stackable, sleek looks combined with the good performance make this a perfect choice for users who plan to use multiple external enclosures.
The Akasa integral fusion combines two devices into one sleek functional device - an USB hard drive enclosure and a multi format card reader. It may not be the fastest enclosure for your money and the software may be a bit crude, but it gets the job done - that is what counts.
The Akasa Integral P2 LAN is just one of many hard drive enclosures from Akasa. It looks quite sleek and solid, holds the hard drive well and comes with everything needed. Setting up the drive may not be as easy as other variants, but the software is bug free and easy to use. You can even use up to eight of these units to build a RAID setup.
Sharkoon has an extensive line-up of external enclosures for all types of drives. The Sharkoon Swift-Case 3.5" Combo is made of shiny, brushed aluminum and gives the user the choice between USB 2.0 and Firewire. The case is incredibly solid and looks quite nice. We take a look if the installation and performance keeps us smiling with joy or frowning in frustration.
Cooler Master enters the external hard drive enclosure market with their X-Craft series. Just like their cases, the X-Craft is very sturdy and once again does not disappoint. Everything from the tool-free design down to the extra USB/Firewire connectors and great looks make it a joy to use. The performance for both Firewire and USB is just as expected and the backup software, albeit very simple, gets the job done.
The Thermaltake MUSE LanDisk is an external enclosure for one 3.5" HDD. In addition to USB connections it also supports 10/100 MBit Ethernet making this a nice entry-level NAS system. The installation is extremely easy and can be performed without tools in a few minutes. When connected to the Ethernet interface a nice and easy to use web-based configuration page is available to change the settings.
If you are a person who is (physically) moving a lot of data around, you have only a few options: USB stick, notebook or USB HDD. A notebook is quite expensive, big and heavy and USB sticks might not provide enough capacity for you. With the Thermaltake Muse 3.5" external HDD enclosure you can put your old IDE harddisks back at use. It supports fast USB2.0 transfers with speeds of up to 480 Mbps.
