HD Tach V3.0.1.0	Source: TCD Labs Inc.

Easy External Hard Drive Docking Station

The Thermaltake BlacX is a very convenient platform for quickly connecting and disconnecting serial ATA hard drives to a computer. Be it a 3.5" or 2.5" hard drive, sliding the disk into the bay till the connectors engage is as complicated as this docking station gets.

The USB2.0 cable transfers data at an acceptable pace to the host PC, easily fast enough to not make dumping an entire 20GB folder too much of a chore. A second BlacX model offers USB2.0 and eSATA connectivity, and given the choice we'd definitely opt for the eSATA version for that level of extra flexibility.

PCSTATS' experience testing the Thermaltake BlacX has been quite positive; it's simple and it works. If you've long desired a solution to rapidly connecting different SATA hard drives without powering down the PC first, I think you'll be satisfied with the BlacX's capabilities.

In our line of work the Thermaltake BlacX is a real time saver. If you aren't a techie with five open computer systems on the go, and a mountain of hard drives loaded with 40 GBs of benchmarks and drivers, the usefulness of the Thermaltake BlacX may be lost on you. External drive enclosures offer more hard drive protection, especially when transporting data to different locations. With this device, you've alway got to be mindful of handling the bare drive carefully.

From a critical standpoint, having a half-exposed hard drive sitting out in the open while the drive is spinning poses some risks. For example, if you knock into the Thermaltake BlacX, you can damage the spinning disk. If you splash coffee on the drive, that could short it out. Dust, static electricity, magnets, metallic objects, being bumped, these are all potential hard drive killers... However, when used in the appropriate desk environment where such hazards are kept well away from powered computer hardware, the $39 CDN / USD Thermaltake BlacX should prove is usefulness very quickly indeed.