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Thermaltake Vi-On HDD Enclosure
Conclusion:
After looking at all of the results, we will notice that the pattern taking place is that the speed achieved using eSata is nearly identical to physically placing the drive in the computer. As the speeds achieved by these tests were limited to the physical hard drive that was installed within the enclosure, speeds could go as fast as the hard drive allows it to. As for the USB configuration of the device, you will notice that the speed max's out between 30-32MB/s, which will be the fastest that the enclosure will read at no matter how fast the hard drive is.
The overall design of the enclose is very elegant, as it has a high gloss black finish with an attractive looking base. The base acts as two things, to increase the stability of the enclosure and to provide an active cooling solution. Within the enclosure we find the hard drive vibration dampeners to help prevent vibrations and load operation.
The Thermaltake Vi-on ST0008U is listed on Thermaltake's web site to be priced at $59.99, but can be found at Directron for a low price of $44.99. Finding a nice hard drive enclosure in the sub $50 range is sometimes hard to find, but in this case thermaltake did a good job designing an elegant and high performing enclosure.
Pros:
- Good Performance
- Elegant Design
- Dual Interface (eSATA and USB 2.0)
- Active Cooling
- Hard Drive Vibration Dampeners
- Quiet Operation
Cons:
- Fingerprints