Brando begins deluge of anonymous USB 3.0 hard drive enclosures

Hey Brando! You're awesome for being your usual self -- $49 isn't too bad for this next-gen product (also the first USB 3.0 hard drive enclosure sans drive we've seen; 2.5-inch here, by the way), and it doesn't burn our eyes either. Now, maybe those drive manufacturers can start sorting out those extortionate SSD prices? We've seen the numbers and not even the 7200rpm 3.5-inch hard drives have made it over half the theoretical speed of USB 2.0, let alone reaching ten times that on 3.0. Still, there's no harm in making the early jump -- it is backward compatible after all, and if you don't mind paying for juice you can't use, who are we to stop you?

[maxkirsch Posted Dec 22nd 2009 3:22PM]

now if only they made 3.5" SSDs

[maxkirsch Posted Dec 22nd 2009 3:23PM]

@maxkirsch woops looks like it is a 2.5. guess i'll be eating my words and ordering one

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 22nd 2009 3:27PM]

@maxkirsch
It is 2.5"? Well that changes the numbers game then...2.5" drives are slower than 3.5" unless it's an SSD...so yeah, I still stand by my statement -- pretty good product here.

[manofchao5 Posted Dec 22nd 2009 4:32PM]

@maxkirsch why would you need a 3.5" solid state drive
it would be a waste of space and bigger chips means it will get warmer
this isnt like hdd's where the bigger it is the more space it has

[zeepkist Posted Dec 23rd 2009 4:46AM]

@maxkirsch
ohhh, but they do.
just look on their website.

[NWIFSER Posted Dec 22nd 2009 3:23PM]

Wow, nice use o tha extortionate.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 22nd 2009 3:26PM]

Well, let's do the math...
A high end 7200 rpm sata drive (let's say the A7K1000), can do anywhere from 75-100 MB\s...Using usb 2.0 it's limited to about 45 MB\sec...so I'm all for this, especially at 49$!

And to maxkirsch, there are 3.5" SSDs.
At least one company I know has them, but they're SAS not SATA.

[looselycoupled Posted Dec 26th 2009 6:33PM]

@(Unverified)

Exactly! What is engadget talking about? They need to get some decent writers.. it always seems like they employ the least-tech saavy writers who haven't a clue about average tech knowledge.

The USB2.0 Bus is limited in practice to ~30MB/sec, whereas decent 7200RPM HDDs can easily push 75-100MB/sec.

[Richard Lai Posted Dec 26th 2009 8:17PM]

@looselycoupled

"The USB2.0 Bus is limited in practice to ~30MB/sec, whereas decent 7200RPM HDDs can easily push 75-100MB/sec."

And your point is?

Look, it's not hard to find the numbers to show that even external 7200rpm 3.5" drives are capped at around 30MB/s for both read and write over USB 2.0 (including the review we linked to above).

Do your research first or even read what you're writing next time.

[bigkah624 Posted Dec 22nd 2009 3:28PM]

Me likes. I'd buy when laptops start showing up with usb 3.0.

[glamajamma Posted Dec 22nd 2009 3:30PM]

I actually got my new "mega-ultra speed" drive enclosure which everyone knows is faster than "super-speed". They told me when I bought it that the burning smell and screeching noise meant it was working at

MEGA-ULTRA SPEED!

[dkking Posted Dec 22nd 2009 3:35PM]

Does anyone else have USB 2.0 portable hard disk that transfer at some 6mbps? ...
I can't wait as long as it does atleast 70+ on a 2.5" hdd usb i'll be happy.

[Jaylittles531 Posted Dec 22nd 2009 3:37PM]

Wow if thats not a copy of Vantec NexStar 3 I dont know what is.

[whiskers Posted Dec 22nd 2009 3:47PM]

@Jaylittles531
Indeed, the 2 NexStars on my desk nod in unison.

[dustinlenguyen Posted Dec 22nd 2009 3:49PM]

@Jaylittles531

Agreed. I had one and it broke in about 2 weeks, maybe this one's the same with a new brand slapped on it.

[Jaylittles531 Posted Dec 22nd 2009 3:59PM]

@dustinlenguyen

You must be rough on them, I have 4 NexStar 3's, have had them for about 3 years and never had a problem.

[dustinlenguyen Posted Dec 22nd 2009 4:16PM]

@Jaylittles531

Oh, I don't really know what happened with mine. After a few weeks of operating, my PC just stopped recognizing it and said no driver was available. Googled it up and some forums said it was probably dead.

[Chaosdivine Posted Dec 22nd 2009 9:03PM]

@Jaylittles531

I thought the exact same thing as I looked at my Vantec too.

I sure do love my Vantec enclosure though. It comes with a nice two in one usb power cord with by pass plug (lets you use the second usb plug for something else like a mouse), a nice zip up case and even an additional power cable though I have never needed it. It was super cheap too from a local store. Only thing I don't like is mine is EIDE and not SATA. Since it takes 2.5" HD's its super small and portable. Very road worthy.

Yeesh, I just sounded like a Vantec fanboy! Nice...

[JonWall Posted Dec 22nd 2009 9:16PM]

@Jaylittles531 Heh, im sitting here looking at it thinking it looks familiar, then i read your reply and look to my left and my nexstar 3 and realized WHY it looks familiar. I love that enclosure though.
And it looks like the article writer failed his pc unit conversion class. 480 megaBIT is the speed of 2.0, which is equal to 60 megaBYTES, which the majority of drives available easily surpass.

[Chaosdivine Posted Dec 22nd 2009 11:11PM]

@Chaosdivine

Since I'm a self proclaimed Vantec fanboy I thought I'd post their USB 3.0 line up that due early in 2010:

http://www.vantecusa.com/front/product/pro_list/86

[bob cobb Posted Dec 22nd 2009 4:13PM]

Brando's got what plants crave

[Jorvay Posted Dec 22nd 2009 4:56PM]

@bob cobb

Damn, you beat me to it.

[jsjohnson Posted Dec 22nd 2009 4:14PM]

In true Brando fashion the next version will include memory card reader..and the version after that will also add HDMI output.

[Evoss Posted Dec 22nd 2009 6:18PM]

I would welcome power supply in usb ...

[usb Posted Dec 22nd 2009 6:56PM]

I approve.

[YuriTenshi Posted Dec 22nd 2009 9:37PM]

Why does this have a power adapter for a 2.5"? USB 2.0 supplied enough power for 2.5" drives.

[Quark Posted Dec 23rd 2009 8:05AM]

No, it didn't - which is why you have contraptions like Y-cable etc. They still were out of spec - everything that worked was a bonus, but you couldn't rely on it, it was just an unusually high-spec'd USB port...

[surgex Posted Dec 26th 2009 8:37PM]

@Richard Lai
Well, not to be over-critical, but the article *really* should have mentioned that this is an enclosure for 2.5" drives...that changes the game entirely, since I failed to read the source link (doh!) before posting and mentioned a 3.5" hitachi drive in my original response (woops :P). Either way, great product. Shove an SSD in there and watch it fly (hopefully!).

[Richard Lai Posted Dec 26th 2009 8:39PM]

@surgex Done. :)