The Basics:

The BlacX 5G dock looks similar to other Thermaltake BlacX docks. The entire body is made of hard black plastic, the front of the dock has both a BlacX 5G logo and a Thermaltake brand logo. The top portion presents several nice features, which include a power button, USB 3.0 SuperSpeed indicator, and a hard drive eject button. The SuperSpeed indicator will light up if a USB 3.0 connection is successful, while a USB 2.0 connection will not light up.



On the back we simply find a power connection and a USB 3.0 port. A close look at the USB 3.0 connector shows it is a USB 3.0 version of the USB-B style connector.



Thermaltake includes a high quality USB 3.0 cable and the always needed power adapter. While a USB-B 2.0 cable will work, the 5G is purchased for its USB 3.0 capabilities. The lower right picture shows the difference between the old USB-B 2.0 connector and the new USB-B 3.0 Super Speed connector.



Thermaltake includes 3.5" and 2.5" hard drive protectors, which cover about half the drive. While they won't provide a great deal of protection, any added protection is helpful. These slide onto the hard drive very easily, and can be removed and placed onto another drive if needed. They don't provide any performance boost, and their main benefit would be to cover exposed circuitry that might get damaged when used like this.



One slight issue with the 3.5" hard drive protector is that it is designed for the full height 3.5" hard drive. If using one of the newer slim line 3.5" hard drives it will fit, however it will be a little looser. The protector for the 2.5" hard drive fits perfect on both standard 2.5" hard drives and SSDs.

Hard drives can be used on the Thermaltake BlacX 5G with or without the hard drive protectors. The pictures below show the hard drives in the dock which will be used to test the BlacX 5G.