Review of AMACOM DESKTOP USB2 EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE ENCLOSURE

Product Info:
Style, speed, capacity and reliability - the Amacom Desktop HDD provides computer users and digital content creators with all of these benefits, the unrivalled features provide the ideal solution for desktop and laptop users to store, edit, view or run documents, applications and digital media content.

With high speed data transfer rates and fast access times the Desktop HDD is a simple and quick way to share presentations, digital photos, video and MP3s with your work colleagues and friends or to carry files between work and home.

Product Description
Amacom Desktop HDD storage enclosure - Hi-Speed USB Device TypeStorage enclosure - external
Interface TypeHi-Speed USB
Dimensions (WxDxH)13 cm x 21 cm x 4 cm
Expansion Bays1 x internal - 3.5"
Supported DevicesHard drive
Max Storage Devices Qty1
System RequirementsApple MacOS X 10.2.1 or later, Microsoft Windows 98SE/2000/ME/XP
Manufacturer Warranty2 years warranty

Cooling – Air vents at the front, no fans.

Durability of Case – 9/10 I suspect the case would easily support me standing on it (note I haven’t actually done this), its very thick steel several mm which does make it very heavy compared to other cases.

Style – 6/10 Its just practical, nothing fancy.

Ease of putting together – 6/10 Very easy to put together, the hard part is removing the HDD once attached if you have any problems, see controller card comments. The hdd fits onto a tray that slides easily into the case. Securing the end cover is a bit tricky and requires a thin Phllips screwdriver.

Controller card design – 2/10 Very poor the IDE cable is securely attached to the controller card which makes removing the attached HDD very difficult.

Power Supply – 10/10 A single connector very durable and almost impossible to break (unlike the power connectors which have several pins like a PS/2 connector)

Note this isn’t an average of the above but an overall personal opinion.

Overall – 5/10 A very durable hdd enclosure which is let down by its failure to support drives large drives 300gb + and the poorly designed controller card which has had the IDE cable secured to it.

Review of Raid Sonic Icy Box

RaidSonic IB-351U-BL

Product Details

RaidSonic's target is to develop innovative products, which enrich and perfect the use of mass storage in a functional, aesthetic and high quality way on the European market. Being a manufacturer enables RaidSonic to have direct influence on the design of its products in look and quality. By the consequent use of high class components and materials RaidSonic has positioned its products already in the upper level market segment. High quality founds the basis of customer's satisfaction and low RMA effort. Good results in independent tests confirm that issue in regular intervals.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

Aluminum case with lateral grid; Hot Plug & Play and Hot Swap; Noiseless without fan; Set vertical or horizontal; No tools needed; Support IDE ATA100/133 (>250GB); USB2.0, USB2.0 & SATA or USB2.0 & 1394a Combo interface; Data cables and sockets in the scope of supply.
Main Features
Product Description RaidSonic ICY BOX IB-350U-BL - storage enclosure - ATA-133 - Hi-Speed USB
Device Type Storage enclosure - external
Interface Type Hi-Speed USB
Dimensions (WxDxH) 12.8 cm x 22 cm x 3.7 cm
Weight 0.4 kg
Enclosure Colour Silver
Expansion Bays 1 x internal
Controller Interface Type ATA-133
Data Transfer Rate 133 MBps
Supported Devices Hard drive
Product Material Aluminum
Power AC 110/230 V

Cooling – Mesh at front and sides which will circulate air, whether it will help cool the hdd I don't know, but the case itself will radiate heat away.

Durability of Case – 7/10 The Icy Box seems a very durable case, sturdy and solid, although I’m not certain how well the mesh around the case would hold up against a hard knock.

Style – 10/10 In a class of it’s own, flashing blue LED’s all round the case when the disk is on and being accessed.

Ease of putting together – 8/10 Very easy to put together, there are screws that you can loosen/tighten with your fingers to get into the case, four screws for holding the hdd in place which screw in at the bottom. You need to slightly force the hdd into the case as it’s very tight.

Controller card design – 8/10 Very good the IDE cable is easily detachable from the controller card which makes removing the attached HDD very easy with little risk of damaging the cable, if it did you could probably always get a replacement 80pin IDE cable.

Power Supply – 3/10 The power cable is very similar PS/2 connector, these are very easy to bend if your not paying attention, although solid once in place. Why companies insist on these sort of connectors is beyond me.

Note this isn’t an average of the above but an overall personal opinion.

Overall – You must be joking you can’t give something like this a rating out of ten!!! If you ever wondered what it would be like to have that head turning / jaw dropping boyfriend/girlfriend then get one of these. The design is a class apart from anything else around, sleek and stylish. You’ll be the bell of the ball at a Lan party with one of these.

Damm sexy

Mentor

This is the same case

Sorry no product specs.



Cooling – No air vents, no fans it just relies on the case radiating heat away.

Durability of Case – 6/10 The USB case is Plastic, seems sturdy enough but it won’t take long for the case to show wear and get marks.

Style – 7/10 Looks very sleek.

Ease of putting together – 8/10 Very easy to put together, the case comes apart by pushing in the corners a very nice quick release mechanism, four screws hold the hdd in place which screw in at the side.

Controller card design – 8/10 Very good the IDE cable is easily detachable from the controller card which makes removing the attached HDD very easy with little risk of damaging the cable, if it did you could probably always get a replacement 80pin IDE cable.

Power Supply – 3/10 The power cable is very similar PS/2 connector, these are very easy to bend if your not paying attention, although solid once in place. Why companies insist on these sort of connectors is beyond me.

Note this isn’t an average of the above but an overall personal opinion.

Overall – 7/10 If you need to watch the weight and need something portable this case is for you. Very light, easy access which is good if you need to test a hdd as you can quickly slip one in. This case has served me well.

5.25 Case - I'll post a picture if I get chance.

But similar to this

Review to follow.

I think I'll still stick with my Maxtor OneTouch II 300GB. Or maybe I should get the 1TB version of the Maxtor OneTouch III Turbo?

Add a review if you've got one. I'm only adding the stuff I own. However if anybody wants to send me any freebies to review, I won't object.