Akasa noir S 2.5" USB 3.0 Review

Name: Akasa noir S 2.5" USB 3.0
Brand: Akasa

Darksaber

on Dec 21st, 2010,

in Portable Storage.

Manufacturer: Akasa

(3 Comments) »

Value and Conclusion

The Akasa noir S 2.5" USB 3.0 enclosure will set you back around 25 Euros

Reasonable price
Good USB 2.0 performance
Good USB 3.0 performance
Sturdy brushed aluminum
Additional USB power cable included
Pouch included
Compact
Screw driver included

Some SSDs are faster than what the JMS539 can deliver
Small screws - easy to loose
Some driver issues, unrelated to Akasa, but attributed to JMicron and/or NEC

With no-frills USB 3.0 enclosures out there, price is king. For the price tag, the Akasa noir S sits right in the middle of other, brushed Aluminum cases of the type. There are certainly much cheaper ones out there for a 2.5 inch drive, but then you have to settle with a plastic box instead. The only real issue I have had, is something Akasa cannot really control: the IC used does not want to play nice with the NEC USB 3.0 controller under certain conditions. But when everything works, the noir S is a solid enclosure and worth the price premium over USB 2.0 counterparts.