Introduction

Last year right before the summer we tested this HDD Dock from Brando; today we have 3 very similar products in for test, but with more interesting price points.

• USB/eSATA: Sunbeamtech HDD Dock ~$37
  
• USB: Sharkoon QuickPort HDD Dock ~€20 (€30 for USB/eSATA version)
  
• USB/eSATA: Thermaltake BlacX HDD Dock ~$37

The Sunbeamtech and Thermaltake HDD docks can be found in most USA/Canada webshops, while the Sharkoon model is mainly for Europe only.

If the companies did not put logos on their products, they would be quite hard to keep apart:




At the rear you do notice a difference, albeit small, the Sharkoon unit misses the eSATA connection:



Each of devices takes 3.5” or 2.5” SATA drives, be it conventional HDDs or SSDs:



All three come with an external power adapter, USB cable, and the two eSATA models also have an eSATA cable. USB operation is plug and play, for eSATA connection you need to have the HDD plugged in and the device powered on for it to be correctly detected by your computer.
These HDD docks all work identical to the one we tested from Brando.

A few performance numbers on the next page ->

Performance... Comparison?

eSATA is faster than USB 2.0, USB 2.0 is plug and play, eSATA requires a system reboot. That pretty much sums up the benefits and drawbacks of each interface.

The Sharkoon Quickport was the only one without eSATA connection; we tested it first;

The HDD is detected as follows over USB:



Performance is limited to the USB 2.0 maximum speed:



Next up is the Thermaltake BlacX, hooked up with USB:


yes it’s the same

Doubling checking performance, yes it’s also maxing out the USB 2.0 interface:



A reboot later we’re hooked up with eSATA on a MSI P45 Platinum motherboard:



The HDD is now correctly detected as a Samsung Spinpoint 1TB drive; performance is noticeable better:



Our last test subject is Sunbeamtech HDD docking; over USB:




And over eSATA:

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If you want to easily backup/restore a HDD, or expand your storage on the fly, these HDD Docks are definitely worth the investment; the original Brando unit cost more than $50 to get to your doorstep, now with local distributors providing better access to these products, companies like Thermaltake, Sunbeamtech and Sharkoon help bring down the price to much more affordable levels. We do miss the front USB hub on the front of these docks, but the more expensive models from Thermaltake and Sharkoon resolve this issue.

We like to thank Sharkoon and Sunbeamtech for allowing us to test their products, the Thermaltake unit we bought from an eBAY store in the US as they are not available here in the Europe.

Unit next time!