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VANTEC NST-360UFS-BK NexStar 3 Aluminum 3.5in External Hard Drive Enclosure Retail Serial ATA, USB 2.0, eSATA External Drive Case
The Bottom Line: At a retail price of approximately $50.00 the NexStar 3 is a little more expensive than some others on the market, but I believe it's worth it.
vemartin's Full Review: VANTEC NST-360UFS-BK NexStar 3 Aluminum 3.5in Exte...
I recently upgraded my standard satellite receiver to a Dish Network ViP722 HD-DVR that offers up to 55 hours of recorded HD programming. Not enough. Good thing the Dish Network ViP722 HD-DVR has a high-speed USB port and allows for the connection of an external hard drive.
Lucky for me I had an external Seagate Barracuda ES 750GB hard drive lying in wait for just such an occasion; all I needed was an external hard drive enclosure to put it in. After some research I concluded that the Vantec NexStar 3 SATA/eSATA 3.5" Hard Drive Enclosure was the one for me.
Vantec has long been a player in the aftermarket computer parts manufacturing business. The company's current product line-up is heavy on computer heat-sinks, power supplies and external hard drive enclosures. The NexStar 3 external 3.5 inch hard drive enclosure features a (1) USB 2.0 & (2) Firewire hook-ups that can be mated with SATA I/II or eSATA hard drives. The Enclosure
The NexStar 3 comes equipped with everything you need to connect and start using your hard drive right out of the box, including power supply and USB and Firewire cables. The NexStar 3 case is made of a sleek mirror-finished black aluminum housing that also acts as a heat-sink for the hard drive, eliminating the need for a cumbersome fan assembly.
The NexStar 3 case is composed of two parts, one of which, a tray that holds the hard drive, slides inside the other and are secured by two screws. To install your hard drive, simply ease the back-end with the ports out of the enclosure, connect then secure the hard drive with the provided screws to the tray. The whole process took less than 10 minutes to complete.
Once the hard drive was securely in place, I connected it to the Dish Network ViP722's USB port and powered it on. The hard drive whirled to life and the blue LED on the front of the unit lit up in blue emblazoned with the name Vantec.
Use The NexStar 3 was immediately discovered by the Dish Network ViP722 and formatted for use. The aluminum housing does its business quite well, that is keeping the drive cool, or reasonably cool, and even after several hours of continual use, the drive was hot to the touch, but not excessively so. As someone who works with computers as a living, I can testify that hard drive can get so hot that cannot be touched by the ungloved hand. In addition, the NexStar 3 comes with rubber feet to mitigate vibrations when placed horizontally, and comes equipped with a vertical stand for those with limited space; placing the enclosure in the vertical position will increase heat dissipation.
No doubt had I mated the drive with a computer the results would have been the same; i.e. the drive would have automatically install by Windows XP or Vista, a drive letter created for it, and made ready for use. Conclusion
Since installing the Vantec NexStar 3 SATA/eSATA 3.5" Hard Drive Enclosure almost a month ago, the unit has performed flawlessly, and frankly the NexStar 3 is one of the best external hard drive enclosures I used. Sleek design coupled with the near silent operation of the Seagate Barracuda ES allows the NexStar 3 to better the competition. At a retail price of approximately $50.00 the NexStar 3 is a little more expensive than some others on the market, but I believe it's worth it.
The NexStar 3 utilizes USB 2.0, offering speed up to 480Mbps, Firewire providing speeds of up to 400Mbps, or SATA with speeds of up to 3Gbps.More at TigerDirect.com
Product Type - Enclosure Interface -- USB 2.0 / eSATA / FIREWIRE Dimension: -- 206 X 123 X 33 mm Supports -- Windoes ME / 2000 / XP, Mac OS 8.6 & Abov...More at Amazon
Product Type - Enclosure Interface -- USB 2.0 / eSATA / FIREWIRE Dimension: -- 206 X 123 X 33 mm Supports -- Windoes ME / 2000 / XP, Mac OS 8.6 & Abov...More at Amazon Marketplace
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