Brugo Travel Mug Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought three of these mugs based on a recommendation by Mens Health Magazine. None of the mugs works correctly and the chrome ring on the cover has come off of each one. Initially this looks like a great idea but if the slots don't line up just right the mug will not work. I have three of these mugs and each set of slots lines up differently. Stay away from this product if you wish to avoid agravation.

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Ext 3.5" Sngl Bay ESATA+USB2.0 Review

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(More customer reviews)This is an external USB or eSATA drive enclosure. What sets it apart from other enclosures is the fact that the drive sled is easily removable. Additional sleds are available, but costs more than what other manufacturers charge for a whole enclosure.
The enclosure is very well built and works flawlessly. The mirror black finish is a magnet for fingerprints. Little feet pop out to help stabilize the enclosure when used vertically.
The enclosure has an external power supply, and does not have any active cooling (read : no fan). Newer models has a pretty ingenious solution : there is a bracket included, that you screw into an expansion slot, and it provides both power and an eSATA port. It attaches to a regular molex connector (the same type used to power IDE hard drives) and a SATA header on the motherboard or expansion card. The power connector looks like a S-Video cable. This is a very elegant solution, because you won't need a power brick, and the drive is always powered off when the computer is not on. As long as you don't need the drive to be running when the computer is in sleep mode, this is a perfect solution.
Using eSATA requires you to enable AHCI in BIOS if you want to swap disks without powering down. So far I've used only USB. When you use Safely Remove Hardware to dismount the drive, the hard disk stops spinning. I like that!
In the vertical orientation, the drives do not slide in as smoothly as I hope. It's not too difficult, but it doesn't give me the industrial feel of the server class machines I use at work. The aluminum arm feels a little flimsy, but I've used it for almost a year now, swapping drives often, without any issues.
For anyone interested, according to Windows device manager and google, the chip used in the enclosure is the Sunplus SPIF215a (VID=04FC, PID=0C15).
Why 4 stars? Well, mainly the price. If you don't mind the price, this is a great looking and great performing enclosure.

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Vantec NexStar MX NST-400MX-S2 Dual 3.5-Inch SATA to USB 2.0 with JBOD External Hard Drive Enclosure (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)I just purchased this to house two drives for basic backup purposes. I was very impressed while unboxing: solid case (the black burnished steel has a cool look and feel), easy connections, not too bright lights. Overall it's a great enclosure.
But I'm returning it, because the fan never turns off. The noise really is loud enough to be annoying. If the fan only ran when the drive was heating up - I'd be happy. However, I won't be able to deal with this constant white noise.
After purchasing this (spur of the moment, not on amazon), I found a great review here (http://www.modders-inc.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&file=print&reid=222) which has lots of pics, mentions the benefits, but also mentions the noise. If you're looking for a more detailed review before purchasing, go check that one out.

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Antec MX-100 3.5-Inch USB Aluminum Enclosure for SATA Hard Drive Review

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(More customer reviews)I recently went from having several computer workstations, to a single laptop. I did not want to backup everything on disc (I already have things backed up on external drives) and I didn't really want to just sell my drives with my work on them (I have loads of pictures, video, and 3d renders stored over 2-3 TB of space).
I was at circuit city, and seen this case. It is from Antec, a company I trust and like, and it works with internal sata drives. As long as they didn't screw things up, this was going to be a good thing (they did not, and it is).
Assembly is so easy, a caveman can do it (darn you geiko!). You take your sata drive out of your computer, open up the antec case, insert your harddrive, screw in the 4 screws (they fit easily with my Western Digital 500gb drives) then insert the drive (and backing) into the case and plug in the power cord. Once that is closed, you screw in 2 black screws. Very easy, and it looks great too.I have 5 of these right now, in use, and they all run perfectly, look fantastic, are slim, make no noise, do not have glaring lights, and work the way you would want.
These look great, and work great. Transfers are fast, and the unit does what you want it too.
If I have a complaint, it is the stupid power supply, The thing is slanted sideways, and takes up 2-3 ports on your power supply. Why they can't use standard power supplies, or supplies connected to a power brick is beyond me.
If you are going to be setting these up and keeping them on your best bet is to buy the Surge Protecter known as PowerSquid (it is here on amazon) that way you can keep them running at the same time, without messing up anything.Also while I am at it, if you want a USB hub that matches these drives perfectly, then I highly recommend the low priced, and highly functional Cables To Go 7 Port USB 2.0 Hub that is also available here on amazon. It matches the design of the enclosure perfectly.All in all, a perfect product, it does what you want, with no frills.
Note this model only has USB 2.0 function, which is fine. If you need high speed transfer for video, I would recommend a firewire 2 setup, or nas, and this will cost money.

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