VANTEC CB-ISATAU3 NexStar SATA/IDE to USB 3.0 Adapter - 2.5"/3.5"/5.25"/SSDs

Pros: 3 connectors cover commonly used types of drive interfaces. USB 2.0 output seems stable.

Cons: USB 3.0 Unstable, plugged into HP P6-2326S desktop. Problem could be the NexStar, the USB 3.0 cable supplied by VanTec, or USB 3.0 on the HP. No other USB 3.0 cable, or ports available to troubleshoot. Transfer from Seagate Momentus XT drive seemed stable when USB 2.0 cable used.

Other Thoughts: Infrequent (4x in 1 yr) user of the device, so other's experience may differ.

Pros: Very good product and excelent seller

Cons: No cons

Pros: From ATTO, 200MB/s read and write on Vertex 3. For IDE/SATA to USB 3.0, the speed is decent. Just a note for those who didn't know, there's no adapter like this will hit >250MByte/s read speed. It's limited by the chipset.

Cons: Must use power adapter to use this device. Even for low power 2.5 devices. Read below.

Other Thoughts: I should have read reviews more thoroughly. This adapter is required to use the power adapter for it to power on. It will not take power from USB at all. This is a real big disappointment for me. I have also have a red adapter from China, that will supply power via USB and AC adapter, offers same performance as this one. I bought this one because I need an extra adapter for me to travel and didn't want to wait two weeks for the red one arrive. But I was wrong. This adapter cannot be used without having the power adapter. Now this adapter stays home, and I carry the red one with me.

If you want an IDE/SATA to USB 3.0 adapter that is able to power 2.5 devices via USB, then this device is NOT for you.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Customer,
We value your input about our product and will strive hard to provide our customer with good quality products. This product provides the flexibility to connection 2.5" and 3.5" hard drives. The power requirement from the USB 3.0 is not enough for any 3.5" drives as a result we have to use the ac adapter for the additional power requirement. We also made the ac adapter to be a universal adapter so that you can travel with it. If you have questions about our products, or anything that are not functioning the way it is advertised, please feel free to write to us for assistance at support@vantecusa.com. We will try our best to support and answer your questions. Thank you for looking into our products.
Best Regards, Vantec

Pros: It does work for older IDE drives parcelly for usb 2.0 I did get it to work with a cdrom drive but only for a music disc.

Cons: It says it should work work USB 3.0 did not worked only connect to the USB 2.0 port ( even though when connect it suggested is would work fast on the USB3) The CDrom drive worked with music discs connected to the USB 3.0 port but not the usb 2.0

Other Thoughts: Does work but not they way it is supposed to.

Pros: This device works fine with USB 2.0.

Cons: I contacted Vantec support directly. They had me update my USB 3.0 drivers, but that didn't help. So they sent me a replacement device. IT HAS THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM! This device is completely useless with USB 3.0 because it hangs either after a couple of seconds or several minutes. And the main reason I bought this was for the speed advantages of USB 3.0.

Other Thoughts: Stick with a USB 2.0 device until they redesign the USB 3.0 device to work properly.

Pros: Works fine when using a USB 2.0 port.

Cons: When using USB 3.0, I'm having the exact same issues as Tekpal. At first, it detects the drive and works fine, but after anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes, the external drive is no longer accessible.

Other Thoughts: I've been using USB 2.0 versions of these adapters for a long time without any issues. I bought this USB 3.0 adapter for the additional speed, but it appears to be useless when using a USB 3.0 port. But no problems when you use a USB 2.0 port. I'm wondering if there's a design flaw, especiallty since Tekpal has the exact same issue.

I already checked the Vantec support webpage and there's nothing helpful there. So I'm going to call their tech support line tomorrow to see if they can help resolve the USB 3.0 issue.

Manufacturer Response:

I am deeply sorry that your product is not working properly. There is a small amount of CB-ISATAU3 that had the problem you described, which has since been fixed. Please contact our support team so we start your RMA process at support@vantecusa.com.
Best Regards,
Vantec

Pros: Connects data and power to every type of SATA and IDE drives I have, easy to attach drives (no additional cables needed), Status lights are nice. Seems to work very well with USB 2.0 at about the expected speeds.

Cons: Useless with USB 3: It drops out in about 2 minutes (disconnects in Windows 7 and drive letter vanishes). Whether I am copying or formatting, in 2 minutes or so it's GONE! I know my USB port is fine because I have an external USB 3.0 drive I have been using with no problem. Though it works with USB 2.0, gave it just 2 eggs because I wanted USB 3.0 speeds.

Other Thoughts: Although NewEgg would refund my money, but the time I pay shipping and restocking fee I get about $22 back, about the price of a cheap scotch. Since it works with USB 2.0 I'll keep the unit and not drink the scotch.

Manufacturer Response:

I apologize that your device has not been working properly. Please contact support@vantecusa.com so we can quickly resolve the issues with your adapter. We would love for you to be able to use your device to its full potential.
Best Regards, Vantec

Pros: Nice small device that has USB 3.0 capability, handy for people who prep or copy data off lots of old and new drives when building or upgrading systems for others.

Cons: Did not work with any of my Seagate drives (7200.7 ST340014A) ATA drives - 2 40GB drives, and 2 80GB drives. It just plain outright did not see them. This is with them set as master,slave, or chip select. Tried with another ATA/SATA USB dock and they worked fine. Worked ok with some older Maxtor and WD drives.

It isnt the most stable device, being only a couple inches long and wide, as well, the feet on the bottom of it are not level with the bottom of the drive connected, so it bends upward slightly when placed on a flat surface with a drive connected.

Other Thoughts: I believe this is intended for a temporary use of copying data to/from drives, not for use as an external data drive used all the time, based on how small this device is.

Ive used it with laptop ATA drives, SATA drives, and IDE drives, and it has had acceptable performance for everything (except the Seagate's that I tried that the adapter was unable to see)

Pros: Love this thing! Got tired of USB 2.0 devices only delivering 20-30 MB/s, now I see over 100 MB on my 7200 RPM drives and get full SSD speeds even! Fantastic device and I'm sure I'll get more in the future when the price comes down!

Cons: A bit pricy for such a small device