Conclusion:
If you need to have multiple removable hard drives, the Icy Dock MB453SPF SATA enclosure works great, providing zero reduction in data transfer speed as compared to being directly wired to the SATA controller. There is nothing flashy about this unit, and it is all business when it comes to appearance and performance.
The MB453SPF provides everything it advertises and allows you to take your SATA hard drive with you, giving your portability and top performance. Like Icy Dock's other removable enclosures, the trays for this model are interchangeable with other units utilizing the same tray system. This will allow you to take your hard drive with you for use inside another computer, or to convert it from an internal hard drive into an external solution.
I only have a few issues with this unit, some of which are a personal preference. The first is that there is no locking mechanism, which would alleviate the issue of not being able to disable a specific drive without removing it. The last concern is that the power requirements for this use one SATA connector and two 4-pin Molex connectors. I would have preferred to have it require three SATA connectors (or perhaps just one 4-pin Molex connector).
A search of
PriceGrabber returned only one result for $79.00. Looking around, I found this item at various other sites starting at $79.99, and going as high as $99.99 (check
newegg.com and
pc-pitstop.com).
If three SATA drives is not enough for you, Icy Dock does make other versions that allow four or five drives in three (3) 5.25" drive bays. These I found to cost a little more, starting at $118.99 and $128.99.
Given the performance and overall high quality features, I award the
Icy Dock MB453SPF Internal SATA Multi-Bay Enclosure the rating of "Highly Recommended".
Pros:
» 3 Removable / hot swappable SATA devices in two 5.25" bays
» Aluminum construction
» SATA 3Gbps compatible
» Replaceable fan
» Audible/Visual alarm
» Reset button
Cons:
» Requires one SATA and two 4-pin Molex power connections
» No locking mechanism
» Can't disable drive without removing
Special thanks to
Icy Dock for providing the Icy Dock MB453SPF 3 Bay Hot Swap SATA Hard Drive Enclosure to Bigbruin.com for review!
