StarTech.com 2.5-Inch Silver USB 2.0 External Hard Drive Enclosure for SATA HDD (SAT2510U2) - Silver
by STARTECH.COM
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List Price: Our Price: $11.55 You Save: $17.44 (60%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $8.79 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
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for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of StarTech.com 2.5-Inch Silver USB 2.0 External Hard Drive Enclosure for SATA HDD (SAT2510U2) - Silver
Customer Review: Good for the money
Summary: 4 Stars
I ordered this item to go along with a new hard drive. I used it to image the current computer hard drive onto a new hard drive. Overall this product does what it is supposed to so for that it is great.
Pros
- It lined up and plugged right into the hard drive
- Case seems sturdy and solid
- Drive was found right away
Cons
- Small screws (comes with three, I lost one already and these are so small you drop it you will not find it.)
- Dual USB plugs (it takes two of your ports)
Ease of Use (3 Stars) - This got the rating because of the small screws and one of the drives that I put in the case gets stuck. So I am not very happy with that. But it does work
Gets Heated (4 Stars) - It does get warm, but it is a drive and it will get warm the case has no vents so there is no way for the heat to escape. So it gets warm but I have not been burnt or anything like that.
Overall this is a good project and it does what it suppose to. Am I over the top excited about it, not really but it does what it does and that is what I paid for.
Customer Review: Worked fine
Summary: 4 Stars
Bought this enclosure to house my 100 GB internal laptop drive I replaced recently from my Dell 9400. The 2.5 Fujitsu drive fits fine. I didn't even have to install any drivers with my Windows XP Professional OS. The OS recognized my old drive right away.
The enclosure is kind of small and can slip out of your hand. The product comes with a leather pouch. There is a small (almost cute) phillips screwdriver about 2 inches in length (yes!) to screw the tiny-weeny screws to hold the enclosure over the hard drive. The screws are so tiny you need to have a sharp set of eyes. Just make sure that you keep the screws on a bright sheet of paper while fixing the drive in the enclosure.
Though I tightened the screws well enough, the hard drive inside can be heard moving a bit when shaken. I wish the enclosure could stand upright on a firm base.
Overall I am happy for the price. If you want higher speed, make sure to but an enclosure that supports Fireware cable w/ speed above 480mbps which you can get with a USB 2.0.
Customer Review: Kinda Cheap feeling, but works Great!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was a little disappointed with this unit out of the box as it really is just a cheap piece of aluminum with a small pc board that converts USB to SATA interface - that's where my disappointed stopped though.
The unit was extremely easy to assemble - you do need steady hands for the very small screws, but at least the unit comes with a small screw driver!
I purchased the Vantec case at the same time as the StarTech. The Vantech was a more solid unit and looks great, comes with a better carrying case, and a thicker USB cable, but otherwise, the units functioned exactly the same. I actually like the StarTech better because it's slimmer and less bulky to carry around in my book bag.
The unit doesn't have any cooling fans, but it really doesn't need any. The 2.5" sata drives don't make this case warm up at all. The case is nearly silent. You wouldn't know it was even there.
If functionality, portability, and a good price are more important than looks, get this case and you'll be happy.
Customer Review: Great device at a great price.
Summary: 5 Stars
In this drive I placed a Hitachi 5400RPM 100GB drive and now a 120GB drive. The StarTech enclosure is fairly easy to work with, but I have fat stubby fingers and found the screws a bit hard to work with. The 2 screws are basically the same as you would find on a pair of glasses to give you a point of comparison. The drive itself is a VERY snug fit which I like, and the cable has 2 USB inputs so that you can draw power off of two USB ports if necessary. The hard drive I have requires 550mA which is just over the USB standard of 500mA, and I found that 2 of my laptops and one desktop both went fine with just the data/power plug used. One of my laptops and 1 desktop would give a USB power error and not load the drive. Using both plugs however resulting in it working with every system I tried. The file transfer performance is extremely good, the enclosure is lightweight and only requires me to carry one cable. I plan to buy one or two more of these.Customer Review: UPDATED REVIEW, Find something else!
Summary: 1 Stars
When I first got this thing, I was happy with it, it did its job easily and well. I only had to use it a few times to get some data off an old laptop drive, so I used it maybe 5-6 times.
I can no longer recommend this product because the USB plug has broken off the internal circuit board rendering the unit unusable. And that is only after maybe half a dozen times plugging and unplugging the USB cable.
I suppose if you plug it in once, and then never unplug it, you might be happy, but don't expect any kind of durability out of this thing.
OLD REVIEW BELOW
Not a lot to say, except this thing works. The drive fits in easily and without having to shoe horn it in. I did a lot of research and this one seemed like the best compromise between price and quality. I am happy with the item and recommend it to anyone needing a 2.5 inch drive enclosure.