Thermaltake BlacX HDD Docking Station (ST005U)

Thermaltake BlacX HDD Docking Station (ST005U)

The popularity of external storage is probably all too familiar to you by now. However, this doesn't discredit the ingenuity behind Thermaltake's BlacX HDD Docking Station.
The BlacX is a brilliantly simple solution: It's designed for quick access to the data on a hard drive without busting open your system's chassis and manually installing the drive. There are two other details that you shouldn't overlook. Instead of jerking your drive out of the station, press the eject button to detach it, Pop-Tart style. Plus, the BlacX supports hot-swapping hard drives hard drives. And if you're worried about cooling issues, don't: The BlacX itself didn't generate any excess heat.
Saying that you install the BlacX is definitely a stretch: We were finished once we plugged in the power adapter and connected the station via USB cable. Next, we inserted our SATA hard drive (think NES game cartridge) and powered up the BlacX. Our PC recognized the drive almost immediately. We opened My Computer and were good to go.
Thermaltake has actually released three models of the BlacX, two of which are practically twins, save for the exlusion of eSATA connector on the N0028USU. The BlacX SE looks noticeably different than the former two: Its circular base features four USB 2.0 ports and a large, textured ejection button. It essentially performs the same function as the other docking stations. All three models support STA drives up to 1TB.

by Joanna Safford.
Specs: Interface: eSATA; USB 2.0; HDD capacity: 2.5 and 3.5-inch STA HDD; 480Mbps max transfer rate; OS support: Windows 95/98/2000/XP/Vista, Max 10.3 and later.

www.thermaltake.com