Installation and Use
I tried out the Kingston SSDNow V-Series 128 GB Solid State Drive Bob reviewed a while ago to see how this enclosure holds up. USB saw approximately 27.79 MBps (~222 Mbps) down, 23.75 MBps (190 Mbps) up. eSATA would likely be near native speed of 100 MBps (800 Mbps).
Be careful when using SSDs with the Blacx series, though: I found that the eject button has some kick to it and once sent the Kingston SSD about six inches into the air. Unfortunately, I couldn’t reproduce it for my video.
A caveat spread throughout the packaging and documentation warns the user that multi-mode SATA must be enabled in the motherboard’s BIOS settings in order to use both ports simultaneously through eSATA:
When utilizing eSATA interface, Port Multiplier feature is required on the host system’s eSATA controller for two hard disk drives to be seen at the same time. All USB supports Port Multiplier function.
Final Thoughts
I think the Blacx series appeals the type of users who are doing repair work or who are constantly rotating hard drives, either for backup or archival purposes. Video production folks who keep a hard drive for an event would certainly like this unit, as would a sysadmin who prefers hard drives to tapes.
The appeal to the general consumer is little—the Blacx series might be too “hard” for them even though it could potentially save some money. The fact that the hard drives are unprotected is a double-edged sword: easy access for you, easy access for your pesky, meddling cat. The Blacx Duet has an MSRP of $70, but can be had for around $45 at reputable on-line retailers.
Nonetheless, we do really like the ThermalTake Blackx Duet and give it a 9 out of 10 score and our Editor’s Choice Award!. This one will be around for a while!
- Pros
- Two bays
- eSATA & USB
- Inexpensive for dual bays
- Cons
- Eject button can be a little overpowerful
- Power button catches on side of bezel when pressed
I'm waiting to receive one of these from Thermaltake. It should come in quite handy.
I have had my BlacX Duet for 2 weeks now and recently used it to transfer critical files from a HDD that a friend of mine had that became unbootable onto a new HDD that he had bought as a replacement.
It was a pretty straightforward process and the unit worked exactly as advertised. I was easily able to access the defective HDD and retrieve the files that he needed to recover and move them to the new HDD with no problems at all encountered.
Be aware that a brand new HDD MUST be formatted, initialized and partitioned before the docking unit can be used to transfer files.
Easy to follow instructions are included in the manual that comes with the Duet for those people that aren't already familiar with that process.
This is yet another excellent product from Thermaltake that will be a very welcome addition on anyone's desk that works on computers.
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If you like traveling with your best friends, you need to take a hard disk docking station or a sata hdd docking station. You know, we don't need to purchase a new laptop. When we want to watch a movie, especially a HD movie, a high capability hard drive is a must. 3 weeks ago, i got an universal sata harddrive dock station with card reader and esata port. It's fastinating and useful. Maybe you can try it here:
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