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Product ReviewsVantec Nexstar 3 3.5IN eSATA USB2.0 SATA Blue Aluminum Hard Drive Enclosure W/ Power Adapter
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48%
42%
8%
2%
0%
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 Rating: Review Date: 11/29/09  |
Cons: Power/activity light way too bright!
Pros: Easy drive installation |
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Rating: Review Date: 10/28/09 |
Cons: Power cord too short, uses bulky plug at the end
Pros: Recognized right away in XPeSATA port works perfectly Comment:
I purchased one of these a couple of years ago and was always very happy with it, so when I needed a second enclosure I figured I would buy the same (or at least similar). This is almost identical to my old one, and works well, but it comes with a very short power cord with a bulky plug. My old one had a normal 3-pronged plug, and came with a long power cord. Anyways, despite the inconvenience of finding a good spot to plug it in, a good buy overall. |
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Rating: Review Date: 07/31/09 |
Cons: none.
Pros: exponentially faster eSATA speed compared to USB.(ASUS onboard eSATA port owners may need to use the included eSATA bracket) Comment:
FYI for ASUS P5K-E with onboard eSATA port owners. Had very slow eSATA speeds until we installed the included eSATA bracket which increased the eSATA speed dramatically. Fault is with ASUS and its JMicron eSATA controller. Use the Hotswap.exe utility with eSATA to detect/remove the drive if needed. With the USB connection the drive is detected fine on its own. |
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Rating: Review Date: 07/08/09 |
Cons: Case feels a bit flimsy and plasticky.... even though it's aluminum.
Pros: Very compatible. No loose cables...everything is inside Comment:
Stuck a 1tb drive in... it's running cool and quiet. On the eSata port it smokes! (fast not actually on fire). |
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Rating: Review Date: 12/16/08 |
Cons: Expensive, eSATA not plug-and-play, short cables, may not spin down drive when not in use
Pros: Includes eSATA bracket, good quality Comment:
One of the best enclosures out there, but the included cables are too short, and it may not spin down the drive when not in use. Too big/heavy to carry around regularly (compared to 2.5".) |
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Rating: Review Date: 12/05/08 |
Cons: none
Pros: Fast, cheap, reliable and looks nice. Comment:
This is a solid hard drive enclosure. The eSata works great and is super fast even compared to USB 2.0. Set up is easy too, just plug in a go. |
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Rating: Review Date: 10/29/08 |
Cons: -HOT HOT HOT, almost want to take my new hard drive out because the amount of heat it generates is worrying-Length of power cord is short, bulky power box.-Length of data cables is really pathetic-Manual is plain WRONG.
Pros: Feels really sturdyworks greatcheapUSB 2.0 / ESATAcomes with a SATA (internal) to eSATA bracket (good for my older motherboard) Comment:
Got this to pair up with one of the new 1.5 TB seagate drives and it was no problem, working great once you get it set up, recognized it fine.While installing the hdd into the enclosure my heart skipped a beat because the instructions have pictures that don't match the product (enclosure is shown using a seperate SATA data / power cable) ... took me a few minuets to realize that you can just connect the drive right in, there is a semi hidden DATA/power connector under the lip of the boardnot a fan of the bulky power adapter and cable which others have pointed out is short, not to mention the data cables themselfs are even shorter so expect to be dissapointed if you want to place the enclosure under a desk, you might not make it.accoustics with the drive i'm using (seagate 1.5TB) are lousy but that doesn't bother me.if i had to do it all over again i'd get another enclosure with active cooling as this enclosure tends to get really really warm after even 15 min of use. |
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Rating: Review Date: 10/05/08 |
Cons: -you have to pay for the quality
Pros: -high quality-looks great-esata and usb Comment:
This enclosure may be twice the cost of others but it is worth it. Great solid feel and look. Both esata and usb work every time for me. No complaints at all. |
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Rating: Review Date: 09/30/08 |
Cons: Doesn't seem to work with Seagate 7200.11 drives using e-sata.
Pros: Looks great in blue.Easy to setup. Comment:
Got this yesterday, popped a brand new Seagate 7200.11 640GB drive in it, connected trhough e-sata and... nothing!Tried with jumper on and off the drive (Sata I / II), nothing would happen on any of my systems (Asus P5WDH, Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3P, Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H). USB would work fine.Tried with a Seagate 7200.10 250GB with the same results. Finally put in a Western Digital 500GB drive in there, and e-sata started working. So I'm still wondering what component is responsible for the compatibility problem : is it the Seagate drives or the Vantec enclosure?One thing for sure: do *not* buy this enclosure if you intend to use it with either of those Seagate drives!!! |
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Rating: Review Date: 09/26/08 |
Cons: None
Pros: Solid, Simple Comment:
a very good buy, great value for the money.Also include the esata port. With this option, it's veryfast. |
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Rating: Review Date: 09/13/08 |
Cons: LED wire connector is this fiddly little piece, and they placed the pin-out diagram in a spot where it's behind the HDD you just screwed in.
Pros: Sleek, good looking, and does the job. Comment:
Sleek, good looking, and does the job. I place it on my desk for on-demand backups. The build quality is so precise that the whole chassis will hold your HDD without screws. |
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Rating: Review Date: 07/30/08 |
Cons: None so far
Pros: Good looking enclosure, Well made Comment:
Very pleased with this enclosure. It feels like it is well made and for 29$ I cannot complain. I mainly use it with my PVR so it is always on and not hot. I recommend it. |
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Rating: Review Date: 07/21/08 |
Cons: Lack of heat spreading when the drive is lying flat down as opposed to standing upright.
Pros: Aluminium conducts heat well and is light.... Comment:
Use a WD5000AAKS (WD 500 GB) in this enclosure and it gets quite hot under hours of usage. I would trust nothing else to enclose my hard drive. Just be sure to use the stand provided when possible since the surface area exposed to air increases when it is propped upright therefore stays cooler. |
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Rating: Review Date: 07/04/08 |
Cons: Power cord to short
Pros: Looks GoodUSB 2.0 & eSATAEasy to install HD Comment:
Only issue I'm having with this is getting the eSATA to work right. If I boot the PC with eSATA connected & the unit powered on then I can use the eSATA port. But if I try to turn the drive when I'm already in WinXP my system locks up until I turn drive off. This may be a motherboard/eSATA port problem.Drive seems to stay fairly cool & quite. |
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Rating: Review Date: 06/23/08 |
Cons: Not so pretty lookin'.
Pros: Tidy, new transformer is more compact, clean hookup for sata drives, comes with eSata bracket for your computer Comment:
Put in a Seagate 1TB, and seems to work just fine. Gets a bit warm, but that's the heat transferring through the case, rather than getting trapped inside. The newer power transformer's more compact, and is one piece instead of two, like the older Nexstars. |
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Rating: Review Date: 06/22/08 |
Cons: -Gets kinda warm-Continuous Drive spinning
Pros: -Easy install-Great looks-Low price Comment:
So far so good for this enclosure. Just had to slide the front out, slip in an older sata drive, add some screws and plug everything in. Not much to it really. When running, the enclosure gets kinda warm and it sounds like it keeps the drive spinning even after shutting off the computer. I just turn the power off (No big deal). |
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Rating: Review Date: 06/20/08 |
Cons: None so far
Pros: CompactNice looking enclosure (mine is black) Comment:
It didn't take me 5 minutes to install the Samsung Spinpoint HDD that I have. It now sits next to my Pace Tahoe TDC755D PVR. |
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Rating: Review Date: 06/18/08 |
Cons: None
Pros: Nice looking and robust enclosure Comment:
Bought one to house the WD6400AAKS as a backup for the WHS data and it's working very well with fast transfer and no issues unlike cheap enclosures. It's very well built and assembling is a piece of cake. I would recommend this to anyone who need it for backup, expansion storage for the Explorer 8300 digital terminal or for moving data between various places. |
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Rating: Review Date: 05/18/08 |
Cons: -eSATA can be a little finicky
Pros: -Classy looking-eSATA and USB-Easy to set up Comment:
This enclosure looks great, and seems to function wonderfully. I have a 500GB Samsung HD in it, and it runs both cool, and quiet. The eSATA works fine, but seems to take some fiddling. I actually had my SATA1 jumper on the drive and it didn't work, so I removed it and it works with no problem. My only complaint is a lack of hot-swapping, but from what I understand, it is a problem with motherboard support, rather than the fault of the enclosure. At any rate, it just means that I either have to reboot after plugging it in, or remember to turn it on and plug it in before firing up the computer. Not a huge deal, and it's still a great price for what it is. |
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Rating: Review Date: 04/22/08 |
Cons: None so far.
Pros: Attractive, Quite Case. All cables and components included - worked well out of the box. Comment:
Both USB and Esata work well. The included internal Esata bracket was extremely handy. No problems and worked right out of the box. |
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Rating: Review Date: 04/18/08 |
Cons: -eSata is good speed but the drive must be on when you start the PC-Dissipation of heat depends on drive inside
Pros: -Very sturdy and well built drive enclosure.-Nice glossy finish-Easy Installation Comment:
The drive enclosure is very nice. Yes eSata speeds are nice, but remembering to turn the drive on when you start the PC is sometimes difficult. The benefit of USB is that you don't have to have the drive on when you start the computer. My drive runs extremely hot and the heat is definitely noticeable after its been on for awhile. |
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Rating: Review Date: 02/12/08 |
Cons: Power cable too short.
Pros: Looks greatVery SturdyComes with eSata mount and cables. Comment:
Got this enclosure the other day and I'm very happy with it. This packages comes with a eSata mount and cable so if you don't have eSata built in you can easily install this little piece of hardware and have the benefit of eSata speeds. Also comes with a USB cable capable of USB 2.0. I've seen some reviews where people complain about the HDD activity light cable installation but it was really easy as pie. Comes with all necessary screws and software. All you need is a Sata drive. Great product. This review was modfied by poster @ 02-12-08 03:21 PM |
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Rating: Review Date: 02/01/08 |
Cons: None that I can think of
Pros: It's small and light Comment:
I've used Thermaltake enclosures in the past, and still have one of their 5.25" ones. I've also used the nGear ones and I must say that the Vantec ones are the best. Hard drives are easy to install, they're relatively light and the finishes are better than the other ones. Highly recommended. |
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Rating: Review Date: 01/30/08 |
Cons: Fingerprint on mirror finish =(A little bigger than my other 3.5" enclosure
Pros: AffordableVery fast on eSATA connectionExternal power adapter for safety Comment:
I used to have the Bytecc enclosure (5.25" one without external power adapter) and every time I plug it is I can see a spark from the power hole :-O so the external power adapter is a nice safety bonus to protect HDD from electric shock surge. Build like a tank and pretty neat looking :) |
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Rating: Review Date: 01/23/08 |
Cons: None
Pros: Really like the look of it! Good build. Comment:
Very pleased with this enclosure. Not only does it look good, it feels like it's well made (unlike some other enclosures I've bought at a similar price!) |
I haven't tried the eSata but this enclosure has worked flawlessly for me and drive installation couldn't possibly be easier. Build quality is good too, but as someone else mentioned the cables could stand to be a bit longer.