Operation:
The testing portion of the review provided enough details on the performance aspect of the use of these two enclosures, so let's look at the other issues that may impact operation... Size / weight, noise, cooling, durability, convenience.
Size / Weight - The two enclosures are roughly the same size and weight, so there really is no difference. But, the design of the Vantec NexStar 2 allows for multiple enclosures to be stacked on top of each other with feet designed to nest one inside another. If multiple enclosures were to be installed, the Vantec would take the prize for size considerations.
Noise - No one wants any more noise coming from their system than what is absolutely necessary, and to that end I was interested to see how these devices compared. The Vantec NexStar 2 has no cooling fan, while the Ultra Products enclosure uses a 40mm exhaust fan, and the difference is noticeable.
The only noise from the NexStar 2 is that of the hard drive itself, and even that is minimized thanks to the rubber mounts used to isolate the drive. With the enclosures installed on my desktop, I can feel the desk vibrate as the drive operates in the Ultra Products enclosure, but not in the NexStar 2.
Cooling - Hard drive life can be negatively impacted by extreme heat, so I was interested to see if the cooling fan on the Ultra Products enclosure would make a big difference in drive temperature. A thermal probe was affixed to the center of the top surface of the drive before testing in each enclosure, and then monitored on a stand alone LCD display. In addition to all of the benchmarks run, I also sent files to the drive from two source drives simultaneously while defragmenting, just to see what the maximum temperature was that could be achieved.
With about an hour and a half of fairly intensive testing on each drive, the maximum temperatures surprised me! The fan cooled Ultra Products enclosure let the drive hit a high temperature of 40.6 C, while the passively cooled Vantec NexStar 2 let the drive hit a high temperature of 40.5 C in the vertical position and 43.9 C in the horizontal position. An insignificant difference of 0.1 degree was experienced in the vertical orientation, but considering the device with no fan ran cooler, it was surprising. The open slots of the NexStar 2 allowed as much heat to radiate off as the little fan in the Ultra Products device was able to dissipate. Big points to Vantec in this round! Even with the drive in the horizontal position, the temperatures were acceptable, and better than I have seen on some drives inside a computer chassis.
The noise from the Ultra Products fan is now even less desirable, knowing that the cooling is no better than a passively cooled device.
Durability - Both enclosures are plastic and fairly well designed, but I would give the durability marks to the Vantec NexStar 2. The plastic of the Vantec enclosure is flexible and the rubber drive mounts make it seem like it could absorb an impact better. The plastic of the Ultra Products enclosure is much more rigid, and seems like it would be more susceptible to cracking from a drop, impact, etc. In addition, the hard drive is hard mounted to the case, providing zero impact / vibration isolation to the drive.
Convenience - The only screws used in the NexStar 2 are for holding the rubber mounts to the drive. There are no screws used to hold the drive to the enclosure, and no screws used to hold the two sides of the enclosure together. The Ultra Products enclosure uses 6 screws to hold the drive to the enclosure, and 2 more screws to hold the enclosure shut. Convenience points go to Vantec so far, but there are other things to consider...
The power cord of the Ultra Products device makes it more convenient than what Vantec offers. The Ultra Products cord has an AC adaptor built into the wall plug, and has one cord terminating in a typical coaxial plug on the device end. The Vantec NexStar 2 includes a two piece power cord with a large brick near the middle for adapting AC to DC. In addition, the plug on the device end is not typical, and features multiple pins that need to be properly aligned in order to be plugged in without damage. More to carry around, and more fuss to setup... The Ultra Products enclosure wins this round.
The Vantec NexStar 2 is available with Firewire connections, but the test sample did not include them. Having both would definitely be more convenient, and a device such as the Ultra Products enclosure tested would be preferred for the flexibility of both connections. We'll call this a draw, since they do offer similar products, despite not being tested.
Conclusion:
The Vantec NexStar 2 with USB 2.0 connections sells for $32.00 at Directron, and the version that also includes Firewire is available for $45.00. Checking PriceGrabber for both the USB 2.0 and Firewire/USB 2.0 models shows that you can't really do any better than the Directron price.
I was hoping to find the Ultra Products ULT31310 enclosure at Directron for a direct price comparison, but as indicated by the Ultra Products "Where to Buy" page, they don't have it. Looking at a few of the stores that do carry this enclosure, one can expect to pay about $47.50. Same ballpark as the Vantec enclosure with Firewire, so a purchasing decision will all come down to personal preference based on other features...
The Ultra Products enclosure performed slightly better than the Vantec enclosure in most tests, but neither device did poorly and the differences were slight. Style is a subjective quality, but in my opinion, the Vantec NexStar 2 wins with its sleek looks and lack of marketing propaganda on the side panels! The devices are roughly the same size and weight, so no advantage can be awarded on these attributes. The cables included with the Ultra Products device seemed to be higher quality, and the simpler design of their AC adaptor is much more convenient. Installation was simpler and quicker on the Vantec NexStar 2, and the rubber mounts are a nice touch for noise and vibration reduction. Speaking of noise... The fan on the Ultra Products case was not really noisy, but it was quite noticeable in quiet environments, and in our testing it actually provided less cooling for the drive than the passively cooled Vantec NexStar 2!
Instead of the usual Pros and Cons listed at the end of our reviews, I am going to use a table to summarize the key features of the two devices, and then award a final rating to each. With the eight factors considered, an average was taken and then applied as the overall score...
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Ultra Products ULT31310
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Vantec NexStar 2 NST-355U2
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Performance
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Price
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Style
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Convenience
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Size/Weight
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Noise
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Cooling
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Durability
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Overall Rating
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Quite close, all things considered! The two enclosures offer many unique features that make them slightly better in different ways, but in the end the final scores came out about even with rounded off scores of 4.0 out of 5.0 stars each... "Recommended".
Special thanks to Directron for providing the Vantec NexStar 2 NST-355U2 and to Ultra Products for providing the Ultra Products ULT31310 to Bigbruin.com for review!
Please drop by the Bigbruin.com Forum and feel free to discuss this review.
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