Rosewill RX358 3.5" USB 3.0 Enclosure Review 1

Rosewill RX358 3.5" USB 3.0 Enclosure Review

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Value and Conclusion

  • The Rosewill RX358 sells for 54.99 US Dollars on the Newegg website.
  • Great way to upgrade to USB 3.0
  • Performance gain as expected
  • Excellent USB 2.0 performance
  • Price in line with other 3.5 inch USB 3.0 enclosures
  • Keeps HDDs cool with active fan
  • LEDs can be turned off
  • Large power switch in the back
  • Available in black or silver
  • Compact power brick
  • Silent Operation
  • Rather large price premium over USB 2.0 enclosures
  • Traditional drives cannot max out USB 3.0
  • Priced much higher than eSATA enclosures
The Rosewill RX358 is an excellent USB 3.0 enclosure and delivers the performance you would expect from such a piece of hardware. With USB 3.0 being a new standard, the current SATA II interface cannot really take advantage of it and even the new SATA 6 Gb/s drives on the market today cannot push the envelope in that regard. The main advantage is the compatibility with USB 2.0 and 1.1. That said, the Rosewill manages to score the same benchmark results as the Vantec NexStar 3 SuperSpeed we reviewed, but also delivers active cooling along with the ability to turn the LED lighting off if desired. The only thing really holding the big crowds back right now is certainly price. USB 3.0 equipment is rather expensive at the moment when compared to USB 2.0 or eSATA. The latter is a natural alternative to the USB 3.0 standard when coupled with a traditional SATA II hard drive. So, until the price drops - which is certainly not the manufacturer's fault - they do not have the price / performance ratio of affordable eSATA enclosures. If you are looking for a future proof investment which works on your current USB 2.0 connectivity, as well as USB 3.0 once it is available to you, the Rosewill RX358 is an excellent choice.
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Dec 23rd, 2024 13:45 EST change timezone

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