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Please read EMAIL FAQs first: Comments, suggestions, and questions to Joe Citarella, Skip MacWilliam, or Ed Stroligo

"Vantec NexStar 3i"
Joe Citarella - 5/13/08


SUMMARY: Attractive USB Hard Drive Enclosure for SATA drives with power management software.

Pic

The good guys at Vantec were nice enough to send a sample of their Vantec NexStar 3i to try out. This external enclosure ships with power management software.

Key Features

  • Built-in Power Management Function - user can set Idle, Stand By and Power Down
  • USB Interface
  • Aluminum construction, LED function lights
  • Accommodates 3.5" SATA Drives
  • External power supply
  • Includes USB cable, Manual and Program disk
  • Size: 198 x 125 x 33 mm
The back shows the USB and power ports and the On/Off switch:

Pic

The sleeve is attached to the case with two screws; the sleeve is shown below:

Pic

The PCB has a three prong port for the LED:

Pic

Attache the drive by sliding it into the connector, screw it to the sleeve and you're set to go:

Pic

Parts that ship with the enclosure include the external power supply and USB cable:

Pic

Power Management Application

Included with Vantec's NexStar 3i includes a program to manage the drive's power state. Opening the program leads to this screen:

Pic

There are three options the user can select:

Pic

Users can select times for the drive to Stand By and Power Off:

Pic

For those who use an external drive continuously, this is a nice power conserving option.

Performance

I tried Vantec's NexStar SATA Drive Dock on a Seagate Barracuda 250 GB, 7200 rpm hard drive with the following results:

Pic

Typical USB 2.0 performance.

CONCLUSIONS

A very nice way to keep an external enclosure attached full time an conserve electricity and drive hours.

Thanks again to Vantec for sending this our way to try out.

Email Joe


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