• Vantec NexStar 3 HDD Casing

    Vantec NexStar 3 HDD Casing

    Punit Lodaya, Jan 17, 2007 1600 hrs IST

    Today, we take a look at a unique hard disk drive casing; the Vantec NexStar 3.

    eSATA speed as fast as SATA, Sleek looks, Excellent build quality.

    eSATA popularity hasn't picked up yet, Expensive.

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Specifications

The following specifications are according to the manufacturer's Website.

Model: NST-360SU-BK
Interface: SATA to eSATA & USB 2.0
*206 X 123 X 33 mm
*Window 98SE / ME / 2000 / XP, Mac OS 8.6 & Above

*Aluminum Casing Cools Down Your Hard Drive
*Transfer Rates Up to 3Gbps W/ eSATA
*Transfer Rates Up to 480Mbps W/ USB 2.0 (12Mbps W/ USB1.1) Easily Add *Storage to Any System with SATA or USB
*Hot-Swappable: Plug And Play without Rebooting
*Attractive Blue LED Indicates Power/HDD Activity
*Supports Up to 400GB Hard Drives

The Design

With its mirror finish, sleek curves, and bold colors, the Vantec NexStar 3 stands out from the crowd. The sturdy aluminum drive cage protects your hard drive and also claims to effectively draw away the heat, protecting your drive from overheating. The manufacturer website shows up the drive availability in four colors; Black, Red, Blue, and Grey. We received a black colored one.


One thing to note, it is very finger-print-prone just like Apple iPods. You can place the drive flat on the plane or even hold it up vertically with the help of the stand that is bundled along.

There is a Blue LED on the front; this illuminates the Vantec Logo and serves as an indicator for hard disk activities.

Bundle

User Manual
Driver CD
USB 2.0 cable
Power cord with mid-wire power supply
Plastic stand


The installation was quite simple. The eSATA bracket has been provided for those who lack eSATA connector on thier motherboard. This connector utilized one SATA connection from the motherboard.

Testbench

AMD Athlon 64 3200+
MSI K8NGM2-FID
512 * 2 MB DDR 400 MHz RAM
Zebronics 300W SMPS
Seagate Barracuda 320 GB 7200.10
LiteON 16x DVD Writer

Vantec NexStar 3
Western Digital WD400YR

We connected the Western Digital WD400YR into a SATA II port and benchmarked it. Then we finally attached the drive to the enclosure and benchmarked it in USB and eSATA mode.

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Related Links
Buffalo DriveStation 250GB External Storage
Vantec NexStar NST-250U2 HDD Enclosure
Seagate ST3320620AS 320GB Hard Disk
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Vantec NexStar 3 HDD Casing



Discussion Board
(18) Comments
Shubham
,Pune, on Sep 30, 2010 08:36 PM
I have 3.5" WD 1 TB SATA HDD with 7200 RPM. Please inform me if you have a compatible casing and its price. My Budget is Rs. 500 - Rs. 1000. Thanks
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nirmal
,mumbai, on May 26, 2009 01:22 PM
looking for nexstar casing 3.5' cx for 1tb hdd please send us quote and availability in mumbai india
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Dharmendra
,Gurgaon, on Sep 20, 2007 09:35 AM
Dear Sir, We want to purchase this HDD CASING Vantec NexStar 3 HDD Casing, pls confirm us that how can we contact to you.
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Nagesh
,Hyderabad, on Sep 14, 2007 02:01 PM
Where can I get 2.5" 250 to 320 Gb SATA or eSATA EHDD. Prefarably a 320 Gb.
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Ganesh Gupta
,hyderabad, on Sep 18, 2007 09:39 PM
hi nagesh,u can get Seagate External Sata Drives ( Retail pack Ready made hdds) @ Fortune Marketing ; contact @ 9391054001
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Tarun
,New Delhi, on Jan 18, 2007 02:49 AM
i got a tech-com one for 200 only with 1 yr warranty from nehru place.. for 2.5" drives.. usb 2.0 and works blazing fast!!
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manishs0
,CALCUTTA, on Jan 21, 2007 08:58 PM
purchased a tech.com's 2.5" HDD casing [USB 2.0] for Rs. 150 at Chandni Chowk, Kolkata last month... getting 25 MBPS speeds guys: just check the price when you go to purchase yours....
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Karan
,Ludhiana / Delhi, on Aug 31, 2007 11:45 AM
I want SATA casings/enclosure for 2.5" HDD. PLease suggest
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Dex
,Pune, on Jul 19, 2007 12:58 PM
>Can anyone recommend a compatible usb casing for 320GB Baracuda(7200rpm) HDD.i heard techcom 3.5" gives some problem.
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Mahadev
,Bangalore, on Apr 18, 2007 02:11 AM
I got a seagate 160gb 7200.7 rpm the model number is as follows- st3160021 in my computer. i am planning to buy an HDD casing for this. can you please tell me if the HDD will work with the Nexstar or techcom.. thanks
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Goutam Nath
,Kolkata, on Jan 18, 2007 05:46 PM
The model "NST-360SU-BK" Supports Up to 750GB Hard Drives, and you mentioned above that the specifications are according to the manufacturer's Website ? I demand an explanation for this, you are spreading false information among users, user's depend on product reviews before they visit the market for buying it. An user who might have wanted to use a 500GB Harddisk will be misguided by your review and will be forced to buy a 400GB Harddisk instead.
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doc
,Bangalore, on Jan 18, 2007 08:26 AM
instead of waiting for boards that have eSATA ports, why not use a simple adaptors or cables which allow to interface between eSATA and SATA? I am pretty sure they are available....also the cable length for a eSATA is limited to max of 2m while for USB it is more? Nevertheless, the speed the former offers is without doubt way too superior.
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Eazy
,mumbai, on Jan 18, 2007 03:15 PM
This Vantec case comes with a eSATA to SATA bracket which is mounted inside the computer case.
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Eazy
,Mumbai, on Jan 18, 2007 06:02 AM
I have used this Vantec eSATA case for a few months now and I find it very good. With my Hitachi 160GB HDD I get 62MB/s real life data transfer speeds. A couple of the major advantages of this case have not been mentioned in the review - first is that this case lets the HDD in it show up in the BIOS like a regular SATA HDD so you can BOOT XP/Vista or any other OS from the HDD in the case. The second advantage I find with this case is that the Temperature of the HDD can be seen in XP/Vista - this became important when I found that an old SATA I 120GB HDD I have was running at 63C in this case whilst the Hitachi 160GB I now have runs at 38C. Drives heat up a lot inside External cases and it is nice to know the HDDs temperature which USB2 cases cannot show. Excellent case but expensive.
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Goutam Nath
,Kolkata, on Jan 18, 2007 02:29 AM
Take a look here - http://www.vantecusa.com/p_nst360su.html The model "NST-360SU-BK" Supports Up to 750GB Hard Drives, and you mentioned above that the specifications are according to the manufacturer's Website ? I demand an explanation for this, you are spreading false information among users, user's depend on product reviews before they visit the market for buying it. An user who might have wanted to use a 500GB Harddisk will be misguided by your review and will be forced to buy a 400GB Harddisk instead.
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badvt
,Chennai, on Jan 17, 2007 08:45 PM
The casing you bought was for PATA disks. Not SATA - regular SATA casings are costly.
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tECHTREE
,GET, on Jan 17, 2007 06:21 PM
I BOUGHT A USB CASING FOR 450 BUCKS.. WTF ..FOR AS LOW AS 1200??
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Jack
,Jane, on Jan 17, 2007 08:42 PM
u even get for 300 bucks
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