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Page 1
Intro:
It seemed like some time ago that external storage was the oddball for people. Times have certainly changed now that internal hard drives are so large that backing up to optical media is really an impossibility. More and more external drive enclosures are coming out to provide the need, but they aren't created equal. Icy Dock's 3.5" External Screwless Hard Drive Enclosure (MB664US-1S) aims to fit the external storage needs of everyone in a convenient to use package. I believe they have achieved that.
About Icy Dock:
Box:
Icy Dock packaged the unit in a clear plastic box with really shows off the smooth design. This kind of packaging is perfect for retail. Another good thing is that when the product arrived from Icy Dock, it was packaged with Eco-foam. Eco-foam replaces that normal polystyrene packaging found in boxes. It is biodegradable (a minus when shipping products that might get wet since it dissolves in water) and much better for the environment.
Parts:
Aside from the enclosure itself, the box contains the manual, a USB cord (A-B), a power cable (laptop type) with a power brick, an eSATA cable, and an internal to external SATA bracket for use in your computer. Most computers are coming with eSATA, but it is always nice to have the extra part just in case.
3.5" Enclosure:
The enclosure itself is not much bigger than a standard 3.5" hard drive. There is a video supplement included with this review to demonstrate how the unit works with its screwless design. It is quite nifty to say the least. The unit is all silver (a black version is available) with white accents on the front and the feet. The material housing the drive is aluminum to act like a big heatsink. It is totally quiet except for the drive itself.
I'm even impressed with the feet used by the enclosure. Normally, enclosures come with a stand that you need to use when you want to leave the enclosure in its upright position. Icy Dock one-ups this by providing retractable feet built into the unit itself. That's a great design.
Don't worry about the big push sticker on the front. That is easily removable and is a good way to demonstrate the use of the unit. In all seriousness, you push that area and the enclosure flips up to insert a drive. Below the sticker is a white LED for status indication. The top feature the lock to secure the drive in place once installed.
The connections are fairly standard except for the power. Other than that little wrinkle, the unit provides USB2 and eSATA support. It also has a slot for a laptop type of lock so you can secure it to a desk. I think that is kind of pointless since the drive can be popped out with ease even if you couldn't steal the unit. It is a good feature for the paranoid, I guess.
Intro:
It seemed like some time ago that external storage was the oddball for people. Times have certainly changed now that internal hard drives are so large that backing up to optical media is really an impossibility. More and more external drive enclosures are coming out to provide the need, but they aren't created equal. Icy Dock's 3.5" External Screwless Hard Drive Enclosure (MB664US-1S) aims to fit the external storage needs of everyone in a convenient to use package. I believe they have achieved that.
About Icy Dock:
Quote
ICY DOCK is a privately held company with more than 10 years being devoted in design, manufacturing, branding and distribution of Storage enclosure peripherals. By keep improving its own new product release process from previous toil experiences, ICY DOCK has formed a standard yet efficient new product development procedures to satisfy timely requirement from the market.
At ICY DOCK, we constantly offers state-of-the-art design of hard disk enclosure and removable storage kit with features such as the currently launched a series of removable drive & hot swap capabilities and eSATA / SATA connectivity products. We also specializes in BTO (Built to Order) of branded, OEM-branded and non-branded products for “Tier 1” customers.
Headquartered in City of Industry, California, ICY DOCK becomes a global peripheral enclosure provider with manufacturing facility located in Zhang-Zang, China since 1997. Restrictively followed ISO9001 proved manufacturing process standard, ICY DOCK delivers high quality standard products at competitive price which provides our customers an excellent opportunity to be successful in the competitive US marketplace.
As one of the leading peripheral enclosure solution provider, we will continue to commit ourselves in supplying our customers the best performance per dollar products. “Your demand is our command” is the key to ensure our success in the business world.
Box:
Icy Dock packaged the unit in a clear plastic box with really shows off the smooth design. This kind of packaging is perfect for retail. Another good thing is that when the product arrived from Icy Dock, it was packaged with Eco-foam. Eco-foam replaces that normal polystyrene packaging found in boxes. It is biodegradable (a minus when shipping products that might get wet since it dissolves in water) and much better for the environment.
Parts:
Aside from the enclosure itself, the box contains the manual, a USB cord (A-B), a power cable (laptop type) with a power brick, an eSATA cable, and an internal to external SATA bracket for use in your computer. Most computers are coming with eSATA, but it is always nice to have the extra part just in case.
3.5" Enclosure:
The enclosure itself is not much bigger than a standard 3.5" hard drive. There is a video supplement included with this review to demonstrate how the unit works with its screwless design. It is quite nifty to say the least. The unit is all silver (a black version is available) with white accents on the front and the feet. The material housing the drive is aluminum to act like a big heatsink. It is totally quiet except for the drive itself.
I'm even impressed with the feet used by the enclosure. Normally, enclosures come with a stand that you need to use when you want to leave the enclosure in its upright position. Icy Dock one-ups this by providing retractable feet built into the unit itself. That's a great design.
Don't worry about the big push sticker on the front. That is easily removable and is a good way to demonstrate the use of the unit. In all seriousness, you push that area and the enclosure flips up to insert a drive. Below the sticker is a white LED for status indication. The top feature the lock to secure the drive in place once installed.
The connections are fairly standard except for the power. Other than that little wrinkle, the unit provides USB2 and eSATA support. It also has a slot for a laptop type of lock so you can secure it to a desk. I think that is kind of pointless since the drive can be popped out with ease even if you couldn't steal the unit. It is a good feature for the paranoid, I guess.
Page 2
Testing:
Seriously, you push the place where the sticker is located and the enclosure opens for easy drive insertion. When you slide the drive in, the enclosure beings to close and then to push the lever back down to close it. Once the drive is installed, you lock the drive in place by sliding the lock down. This prevents the lever from coming back up. Below is the video supplement.
As far as transfer speed goes, using the normal Maxtor drive I use in all of my external tests, the eSATA speed was about 45MB/s which is pretty good for this drive. Testing was done using Ubuntu 8.04 so the enclosure works in Linux with no problem as it is either USB mass storage or just looks like a normal drive (eSATA). The enclosure provides more than enough speed to handle day to day tasks. eSATA is a great technology over USB for hard drives. With USB2, the transfer speed was hovering around 30MB/s. If I used a faster drive, I could get faster speed with eSATA as well. All in all, the Icy Dock Enclosure works extremely well. I'm very impressed with the design and usability.
Conclusion:
The Icy Dock 3.5" External Screwless Hard Drive Enclosure goes for about $55. Before you jump to the wrong conclusion, let me say that the difference between this enclosure and a cheap $25 one is great. The old saying that you get what you pay for is true. Don't skimp where it matters and this enclosure shows that a small price increase comes with great additional benefits.
Icy Dock really took the time to design a functional and easy to use unit and I'm not easily impressed with a design. The enclosure is a great piece of engineering and design all around. The only minus is the power brick, but that's normally the case with enclosures. Even so, this product is on my recommended list. It fits the intended use so perfectly without hassle. Icy Dock has a winner with this one.
I'd like to thank Jeff from Icy Dock for making this review possible.
Testing:
Seriously, you push the place where the sticker is located and the enclosure opens for easy drive insertion. When you slide the drive in, the enclosure beings to close and then to push the lever back down to close it. Once the drive is installed, you lock the drive in place by sliding the lock down. This prevents the lever from coming back up. Below is the video supplement.
As far as transfer speed goes, using the normal Maxtor drive I use in all of my external tests, the eSATA speed was about 45MB/s which is pretty good for this drive. Testing was done using Ubuntu 8.04 so the enclosure works in Linux with no problem as it is either USB mass storage or just looks like a normal drive (eSATA). The enclosure provides more than enough speed to handle day to day tasks. eSATA is a great technology over USB for hard drives. With USB2, the transfer speed was hovering around 30MB/s. If I used a faster drive, I could get faster speed with eSATA as well. All in all, the Icy Dock Enclosure works extremely well. I'm very impressed with the design and usability.
Conclusion:
The Icy Dock 3.5" External Screwless Hard Drive Enclosure goes for about $55. Before you jump to the wrong conclusion, let me say that the difference between this enclosure and a cheap $25 one is great. The old saying that you get what you pay for is true. Don't skimp where it matters and this enclosure shows that a small price increase comes with great additional benefits.
Icy Dock really took the time to design a functional and easy to use unit and I'm not easily impressed with a design. The enclosure is a great piece of engineering and design all around. The only minus is the power brick, but that's normally the case with enclosures. Even so, this product is on my recommended list. It fits the intended use so perfectly without hassle. Icy Dock has a winner with this one.
I'd like to thank Jeff from Icy Dock for making this review possible.