Intro

Ask anyone that is into computers, "What's your favorite Vantec product?" and you will get a cornucopia of answers. It seems like anything that can give people control over cooling or case accessories is being produced by them. The Vantec product up for review today is the Vantec NexStar 3. The NexStar 3 is an external HD enclosure which is an updated version of the previous NexStar 350UF enclosure we reviewed some time ago here at PimpRig (without the Firewire support).

Package

I received the package in a basic brown box with blue Vantec logos on the side, with all sides and corners intact. Grabbing the trusty box cutter, I sliced open the tape and saw very few packing peanuts. The first thing that came to mind is, "I hope everything is okay inside." Just because the outside looks good doesn't mean the inside can't get bashed up—just look at what can happen to eggs in the carton. I opened the factory box for further inspection, and found everything was fine.

Nested between four blocks of packing foam is one aluminum hard drive enclosure (you get to choice on any of these four colors: Brilliant Red, Onyx Black, Steel Gray, and Midnight Blue). I received the Midnight Blue for the review.

In the space between the foam and box are the following:

The case where the hard drive will dock is made of 19-guage anodized aluminum. That's some pretty stout stock for making an enclosure. The whole assembly measures 206mm x 123mm x 33mm. The front bezel is a realistic chrome-looking plastic that holds a piece of black acrylic, with a small Vantec logo that is lit up blue when the power is on. The left side displays the NexStar 3 logo along with where to put the USB 2.0 cable and the power cable so you are not blindly looking where to stick those inputs. It is tastefully designed—very minimal—and was masked off before the anodizing process was done, leaving aluminum showing through what ever color you choose. The right side is reserved for the glued feet, should you choose to lay the enclosure flat on it's side. I peeled the clear protection sticker from the back, went to peel off the one in front and there wasn't one. (That was a surprise, as my fingernail slid across the front and caused a scratch).

Install

Armed with my old 20G Western Digital 200 hard drive, a pair of tweezers (for the HDD jumper) and a number 1 Phillips screwdriver I went to work. To assemble, the hard drive cage slides on machined grooves inside the case. Unplug the led wiring to fully remove, set the hard drive to master and connect. Tuck the wires underneath, and screw it into place with the enclosed four chrome screws. Slide everything back together; secure with the two black screws in the back. Just for fun, I decided to time the installation. It took less than five minutes.

I plugged in the power and USB cable, flipped the power switch, and booted up. I run XP Pro with SP 1 and the drive showed up without any problem. Your system may vary, but the driver disk will handle the installation on any operating system from Windows 98 SE to XP and Mac 8.6 and above. Also, make sure the system has a CPU equal to or higher than a Pentium II 350 MHZ, Mac G3 or a AMD K 6 and has a USB-equipped motherboard.

Performance

As far as performance goes, the USB2 spec tops out at 480 megabits/sec which equates to about 60MB per sec. When the drive was tested via a PATA connection I received 91.1 MB/sec. When running the same drive in the NexStar 3 the score was 28.5 MB/sec which is on par with other good performing USB2 enclosures.

Impressions and Thoughts

There are a few minor flaws though, I must point out. First, the front acrylic scratching from my fingernail concerns me. Granted, it is purely cosmetic, but if it scratched that easily, what is going to happen with dust, dirt, or if someone packs it up for a trip? Make sure you get some sort of covering for it, if traveling and using it for a storage device for documents, pictures, or what other uses you can think of. Second, is the stand—no rubber protection inside to prevent it from marring the finish of the body. I used the stand once, then removed it to shoot some more pictures and there are already some light scratches. Finally—and this isn't that big of a deal—when I think 'external' I think of portability. There is only one power cord and adapter, lose this on a trip, and you're stuck with a nice looking hard drive case. Also, it would be nice to have a spare adapter for a trip so you do not have to crawl under your desk when wanting to take it away from home. Weight might also be a factor, the closest guess I can give is a couple of pounds with a drive installed. Sorry on the weight issue, but I don't have a scale to to give a precise measurement.

Conclusion

A simple design and an excellent finish seem to be the best way to describe the NexStar 3. It did its job on converting a hard drive into extra storage that can be easily portable. In addition, it also frees up a 3.5 bay, leaving a primary drive more room to breathe. Just the fact of being able to have a large external hard drive makes me warm and happy. No more last-minute burning of art, music, or video files when I go to visit someone; which is a huge plus—just pack and go. Also, the aluminum body isolated hard drive noise and kept it cool. The substantial body is a great protector for any hard drive. I have to give the NexStar 3 seven hats out of ten and award it the PimpRig Approved Award. The NexStar can be found for $39.99 USD at various retailers.

The Mack
- Stylish.
- Thick wall construction.
- Flawless finish.
- Easy assembly.
- Performance on-par with PATA.

The Wack
- Scratches easy.
- Weight could be a issue to some.

PimpRig Rating //
(7 pimp hats out of 10)

I would like to thank Vantec for providing the Nexstar 3 for review.