Vantec NexStar CX SuperSpeed USB 3.0 external drive enclosure

Summary and Conclusion:

As I mentioned before, the NexStar CX has a few weak points namely the power cord. Aside from that, installation was easy and the speeds were fast. 58MB/s though is not very close to the specified maximum 5Gbps or 3.2Gbps after overhead. 58MB/s roughly translates to .46Gbps. While fast, this means that USB 3.0 might be a replay of USB 2.0 with some high theoretical speeds, but relatively low real-world speeds. That is, until you take into consideration that I’m using a SATA II drive, which has a theoretical maximum throughput of 3Gbps which explains the low speed(relatively). Also keep note, that this enclosure doesn’t support SATA III so if you want to get the most out of USB 3.0 you are going to need SATA III support with it’s wonderfully fast 6Gbps and a SATA III drive (and there aren’t to many of those).

Overall, the NexStar CX is a good enclosure. It’s sturdy, it has easy installation, and it performs as expected. I can’t really recommend another product at the moment, though this enclosure seems pretty good. PC users can now finally get the speeds that I’ve been getting for years on my Mac with FireWire 800. So, for all of you looking to get up to date as soon as possible, this is something to look into. Personally, I’d wait. Newer ones are bound to arise, and hopefully they will have SATA III and hopefully SATA III drives will become more available and cheaper. I’m actually a little disappointed with the speeds that I’m seeing here. As I mentioned before, I’ve been getting these speeds for years on my Mac with FireWire 800. To me, 58MB/s is nothing new and I was really hoping that USB 3.0 would give FireWire a run for it’s money. Sadly, I have a feeling that when FireWire 1600 and 3200 emerge later this year, we will see speeds much higher. But, for now the NexStar CX is certainly worthy of being the enclosure that brings you to the future of USB 3.0, though I’d still wait.

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