When it comes to working on computers some people know, especially computer techs, the hassle it can be to tear apart and put back together a computer just to get to a customer’s hard drive. Well with the popularity of hard drive docking stations rising this no longer has to be the problem. With the Thermaltake BlacX Docking Station you can simply and easily swap hard drives to make the pain of this tedious work go away. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t just for people who work on computers, this can also be extremely handy for those that have many hard drives with back up on them. Let’s take a closer look at this easy to use docking station:

Price: $39.89

Closer Look:

Thermaltake BlacX USB 2.0 & eSATA Docking Station

Let's move on to specs and features:

Specifications:

Features:

	Patented Design
	RoHS Compliance
	Supports All 2.5” & 3.5” SATA HDDs up to 2 TB !
	Hot-Swap Capability for Rapid Multi HDDs Access & Exchange
	Supports USB 2.0 Transfer Speed up to 480Mbps
	Windows & Mac OS Compatible
	Compact Docking Station Design maximizes Heat Dissipation & Exhaust
	Windows Vista Ready !

		Patented Design: 2.5” & 3.5” USB SATAHDD Docking Station, Supports All 2.5” & 3.5” SATA Hard Drives up to 2 TB !!			Patented Design: Safely Detach SATA Hard Drives Without Damage !!
		Easily Connects All 2.5” & 3.5” SATA Hard Drives

 Let's move on to some testing:

• CPU: Q6600
• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3
• Memory: 2 x 2GB Kingston
• OS: Windows XP Home SP3
• Video Card: ATI Radeon EAH 4550
• Power Supply: Thermaltake Litepower 450W
• Case: Cooler Master Storm Series Scout Chassis

Testing:

I will start by using my 1TB backup hard drive into the docking station and then running the same tests that we always use for these types of hardware. I will begin the tests by running HDtune to find the average MB/s speed, the access time, the burst rate, and also the CPU usage. After that I will be timing how long it takes a 10MB, a 100MB, and a 500MB file to transfer to the hard drive. I will be running these tests for both the units USB and eSATA functions. I will be putting the Thermaltake BlacX Docking Station up against the Sunbeam Tech Docking Station.

USB - HDtune

USB – File Transfer Speed

eSATA – HDtune

eSATA- File Transfer Speed

In the end the Thermaltake BlacX Docking Station did well. With these tests done we can see that these two docking stations performed almost equally as well as each other. With many docking stations the way you have to eject the hard drive is to rock it back and forth until it pops out. With the Thermaltake BlacX Docking Station this is not the case, there is a handy little eject button right on the front, and seeing as how it also has a slot to hold a 2.5” hard drive and that it has eSATA this makes for one adaptable docking station.

Now let’s take a look at my final thoughts:

I have to say that this is a great docking station. With the way that its built to quickly, easily, and safely swap in and out your hard drives. These are all due to the fact that it has an easy to use, drop in slot for both 3.5” and 2.5” hard drives and with an eject button for removing said hard drives. Also the fact that this model is equipped with eSATA makes this model a saver of both time and sanity for anyone who knows the pain of having to backup a clients 500GB or larger hard drive onto another hard drive.

So in the end would I recommend this docking station? Yes I would. For anyone that has a need for a good, easy to use docking station that helps keep your hard drives safe, also boasting that it can support up to 2TB drives, then the Thermaltake BlacX Docking Station should definitely be one that I would have to say should be put near the top of your next purchase list.

• Works great
• Easy To Use
• Eject Button
• Slot To Hold 2.5” HDD
• Reasonably Priced

• Non That I Can Think Of

3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."