Test Setup

MSI K8T Neo-FIS2R: Athlon 64 3200+ (10x200: 2GHz), 2 x 512MB Kingston HyperX PC4000, AIW Radeon 9600 XT, 120GB Seagate SATA, Windows XP SP1, VIA Hyperion 4in1 drivers 4.51, ATI Catalyst 4.6

We'll be using real-world benchmarks, copying an Unreal Tournament 2004 ISO from our test rig to our enclosed hard drive and back. The drive we'll be using is a 120GB Western Digital SE HDD. The Unreal zipped file weighs in at 3.64GB (one folder) and will be used to test our large file tests. We'll be copying the same contents, uncompressed at 3.65GB (56 folders) for our small file tests. We'll be testing both read and write performance where read tests will be the time needed to copy the contents from the Western Digital to our SATA Seagate drive which is connected to a SATA interface on the K8T Neo. Write tests will be the time needed to copy the contents from the SATA to the USB.

To compare performance, we'll be attaching the Western Digital test drive to an IDE connection on the K8T Neo. We'll be doing the same tests, and compare the times between USB and IDE.

Small Files

	% CPU	Read (Time in Minutes, Seconds)	Write (Time in Minutes, Seconds)
USB to SATA	18	3:09	3:14
IDE to SATA	14	3:06	3:12

Large File

	% CPU	Read (Time in Minutes, Seconds)	Write (Time in Minutes, Seconds)
USB to SATA	16	2:08	2:12
IDE to SATA	11	2:06	2:09

As you can see from the results above, the USB performance is very close to the direct IDE performance. There's hardly any performance hit, although the CPU usage is a bit higher (5% on average) through USB.

One thing I should mention that the data transfers were very reliable, with 100% integrity with all the files transferred. We felt this was worth mentioning since the last external enclosure left a fairly sour taste in my mouth as 25% of my data was unreadable.

Final Words

The CoolMax CD-510-U2 is one of the best external enclosures we've had a chance to work with. Data transfers were very reliable, and we experienced no file corruption in any of our tests today. The USB 2.0 interface insures that the enclosure will allow drives to perform quickly, though not as fast as a direct IDE/SATA connection, regardless of what PC you use. Keep in mind that the PC in question will need a USB 2.0 connection to make the most out of it, as we've seen that USB 1.1 is simply too slow for large file transfers.

The enclosure will work with the majority of optical and hard drives, making it very flexible in application. The aluminum shell is quite solid, and would be able to withstand a fair amount of abuse. I doubt a hard drive will survive a six foot drop on to a concrete surface, but the only part of the enclosure that will break are the plastic accents. Speaking of which, for aesthetic reasons, the accents, specifically the front panel, is a nice touch for hiding a hard drive if that is what you use it for. The power switch is another nice addition, allowing you to turn off the device gracefully (rather than yanking the power cord) when it is not in use. The aluminum shell and small fan in the rear aids in keeping the drive cool as well.

Now, although we mentioned that you can build an external drive on the cheap, you still do need to purchase an additional hard drive along with the CoolMax enclosure. A 200GB drive could be purchased for about . Add the , and we're looking at a $160 investment. A quick look at shows us that an external hard drive can run you anywhere from $140 (~120GB) to well over $500 (~500GB). The capacity of these drives will be the main influence on the price, as well as the drive's ability to backup data. Many of these drives have software for this task, as well as a button to turn this feature on. This external enclosure doesn't offer this feature, but the device isn't really for backup purposes, as so much as it's for portable storage.

With SATA becoming more common, chances are you have (or will have) a spare IDE drive not doing much. You can just leave it as an additional drive in your current PC, or you can put it in this enclosure and use it on multiple PCs. If you do not have a home network setup, or if your other PC is in a remote location, this method, while bulky, is far more convenient than moving large files via CD, and quicker as well.

Pros: Flexible applications (optical or hard drive), good and reliable performance, solid (and smart) design.

Cons: 100% aluminum (rather than 90%) would be better. Heavy.

Bottom Line: Granted, it's not as portable as a flash drive, or CF card and card reader, but it is far more flexible in what kind of storage you can put in the enclosure. If you already have a spare IDE device kicking around, for another $50, you can bring that storage around with you.

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