Other by stefan @ 2011-05-10
Inside the Max 5G Active Cooling 3.5'' USB 3.0 External HDD Enclosure from Thermaltake, we can install in a matter of seconds our drive and start transferring data at high speeds. The dual 80mm fans help cooling the HDD while it is on, so we can obtain similar temperatures as we would have installed the drive inside a well ventilated computer case.
At first I would like to thank Thermaltake for offering me a sample of their Max 5G Active Cooling 3.5'' External HDD Enclosure for testing and reviewing.
"Started from the passion for the DIY (Do It Yourself) concepts and the desires to realize the goal of “Ideas are originated from humanity; Realizing ideas is our belief.” Thermaltake Technology was established in January, 1999 and has been market to the world with “Thermaltake” brand name ever since.
The brand personality of Unique, Aggressive, Vivid, and Stylish makes Thermaltake an expert in creating Exciting things and Fascinating environment for gamers and enthusiasts, also Keep them Constantly High physically and mentally. Excellent technical expertise and integration ability, plus dare to experiment on the new possibilities give Thermaltake the source of authority in the market. Moreover, Thermaltake get close to consumers and observe lead users’ behavior and requirement, to design aesthetic and high quality products which will greatly improve system performance and bring the user to the up most potential. With innovative design and unique style, Thermaltake products spread rapidly among the enthusiasts in DIY market and soon become the number one choice for PC DIY enthusiast worldwide.
Entered the global market with own brand name, Thermaltake, and successfully established six branch offices in Australia, China Germany, Japan, Netherlands, and USA, with ninety-five regional distributor and over four thousand premium resellers. All product planning is orientated by observation of global PC peripheral market and understanding of consumer demands. Thermaltake create direct contact opportunities with resellers and consumers by participating major global IT exhibitions and trade shows every year, also develop creative marketing strategies for new product promotions. At the same time, Thermaltake incorporates the composite marketing system by making branch offices and regional distributors both the distribution channel and technical support or service center, to provide the most instant support and service to consumers, maintain close contact with end users, and strengthen corporate competitiveness."
- Dual ultra-silent 80mm fans with blue LEDs ensure data integrity during file transferring between external hard disk and the host computer.
- Easily turn off blue LEDs with built-in switch on the back of the enclosure.
- Blazing file transfer speed utilizing the world’s fastest SuperSpeed USB 3.0 transfer speed of up to 5Gbps.
- Backwards compatible with all USB 2.0 (up to 480 Mbps) and USB 1.1 hosts.
- Supports for all 3.5” SATA I, II, and 6G Hard Drives up to 2TB.
- Includes shielded USB 3.0 cable to ensure maximum transfer speed with minimum distortion.
- Integrated stand easily twists out for added overall enclosure stability.
The Max 5G Active Cooling USB 3.0 Enclosure from Thermaltake is shipped inside a medium sized cardboard box, with lots of information on the outside; the frontal side shows us a photo of the product, while in operation, along with the list of features:
On the same side we can find some small pictograms, representing some of the product highlights:
On one of the laterals, we can find a graph, which shows the speed differences between the USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 interfaces, but also some photos of the product connectors or power on/off switch:
Some more product highlights are shown with photos on the opposite side:
On the back, we can see the full list of technical specifications and the features are written in many more languages:
After opening up the box, we can see a portion of the enclosure itself in the center, which is surrounded by protective foam material, along with two boxes with the product accessories:
Along with the previously mentioned items, we can also find inside a paper which describes the warranty terms, but also a small manuals with installation instructions:
The manual has some drawings on the left side, and on the right we can see the written instructions in multiple languages:
One of the box holds two HDD spacing tabs (in case we are using smaller HDDs), a USB 3.0 cable and a special screw driver:
The power adapter that comes with the device is rated on the output 12V, 2A:
The other end of the power adapter cable we can find the power plug:
To protect the device against scratches, the enclosure is wrapped inside a transparent plastic bag:
This product comes with active cooling, so on one of the sides we can see the internal fans, covered by a metallic black mesh, along with the Thermaltake logo; the air is evacuated through the bottom:
Here is a closer look on the finned area on the bottom:
The other side holds the product logo, and we can also see the two black screws which need to be removed in order to install a HDD inside:
The bottom side the product will stay on has rubber pads, to avoid slipping on the table; one of the components can be rotated to a perpendicular position, to offer even more stability:
In the front, we can find the activity LED, which blinks when read/write operations are performed on the internal drive:
In the back, we can find the On/Off button, a switch which powers on or off the LED lighting for the lateral cooling fans, the DC-IN and the USB 3.0 ports:
The black screws can be removed with the included special screwdriver:
After opening up the lateral, we can see the enclosure electronics, along with the two fans:
Each 80mm fan is rated 12V, 0.15A:
On one of the sides, we can find a plastic piece with two pins, which must be aligned with the holes of the HDD we are inserting:
After the HDD has been inserted, we must slide it back to engage the connection points:
Next, we have to snap the locking clip against the other side of the HDD:
The HDD will be also held from the other laterals with the plastic pieces located on the cover:
After fixing again the cover with the black screws, we can plug in the USB 3.0 cable, power adapter, and turn the unit on. The blue LEDs add a nice effect and aren't excessively bright:
The front activity LED also lights up blue:
The test bench was composed from the following hardware:
CPU: Intel I7 920 @ stock
Motherboard: Foxconn BloodRage with G42 BIOS
RAM: 3x2GB Patriot PVT36G1600LLK 1600MHz
Video: Sparkle GTX 470 with stock and OMNI A.L.C.
Power Supply: Nexus RX-8500 850W modular
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200.11
Case: Thermaltake Armor+ LCS, stock cooling
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x64
ASUS U3S6 Expansion Card
With the help of the HD Tune Pro and HD Tach benchmark software, we will try to compare the Max 5G Active Cooling 3.5'' HDD Enclosure with the Antec MX-1. Inside both enclosures we will install a Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200.10 drive.
Detailed Results
The Thermaltake Max 5G USB 3.0 enclosure offers very good transfer rates and managed to beat the Antec MX-1 in terms of performance, when connected on the USB 2.0 interface. By using USB 3.0, we could max out the HDD performances and got about the same speeds as when the drive was connected on eSATA (on the MX-1).
The HDD installation can be made very quick (only two screws need to be used to fix the plastic cover), and can be done in a matter of seconds; also, the HDD stays fixed enough inside the casing, because it is held fixed from all 4 sides.
The two 80mm fans are a very nice addition (measured 34.7 dBA when on), to prevent overheating of the drive. After installing a 3TB drive inside the enclosure and transferring data to the disk for one hour, the temperatures never exceeded 35 degrees Celsius; when the same drive was installed in a case with no active cooling, the temperatures went up to a total of 55 degrees Celsius. The fans also come with LED lighting, for a cool effect (however, the LEDs can be turned off with the help of the switch in the back, when needed).
The Max 5G is definitely a recommended product, in case we want to make sure our drive won't die from overheating.
The Thermaltake Max 5G enclosure can be found in shops for about 35 Euros, a good price for what it's offered.
I would like to thank again to Thermaltake for making this review possible!