Thermaltake Silver River 5G ST0024Z Aluminum 2.5" Black USB 3.0 External Enclosure

Pros: The quality of the parts its great.
Great speeds.
Looks awesome.

Cons: The screws they use to hold it together are kinda meh, but they do the job. They are practically stripped out from the factory.

Other Thoughts: I did the electrical tape trick that someone else on here mentioned as it did seem really close to the aluminum casing.

As for the foam piece, it is very thick, but if you force the drive in it is like a really stiff memory foam so it holds really well.

Pros: Decent build, decent quality, "looks cool" has all needed cables, has a "cool" carry case...

Cons: Build quality still not to what *I* would expect from Thermaltake. Possible stripped screws from the start.

Other Thoughts: So, I had this crazy idea, that I would remove my 5400RPM Notebook HDD replace IT with a SSD, and then use a 1TB drive externally. Since I already had the drive, all I really needed was the external enclosure. I went with Thermaltake, because of their rep. It's a sad thing to say, that while it looks good, the build quality IS lacking, After inserting the HDD, and trying to secure the side, I noted that the other side was bulging. Really? I mean REALLY? Look, I KNOW that MOST notebook HDD's are in the 1.8 rage, but such quality that I literally had to jury rig the case...

Pros: Good while it lasted.

Cons: One of the solder joints broke after a few months of use, rendering it inoperable (and my files inaccessible).

Manufacturer Response:

Hi Anonymous,

We at Thermaltake apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you. We can replace it through warranty service. Please contact our customer service team for RMA instructions.

Thermaltake USA Customer Service
email: ttsupport@thermaltakeusa.com
Toll free: 1-800-988-1088 M-F 9:00AM ~ 5:30PM (P.S.T)

Pros: Like the aluminum case.
is easy to assemble. like the external case to protect from scratches.
usb 3.0 speed was ok

Cons: USB 3.0 connection is flemsy and would not read anymore. applied for RMA cross ship provided my CC # and all never recieved unit. was gong to put defective in cross shipped box to ship back but never got it so. I ended up chunking this poor qualitydiscontinued unit.

Other Thoughts: oh well $25 down the drain

Manufacturer Response:

Dear customer,
We at Thermaltake apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you. Did you fax or email the receipt/invoice of product to RMA department. To complete the paper work of advance replacement request.
Thermaltake USA Customer Service
email: ttsupport@thermaltakeusa.com
Toll free: 1-800-988-1088 M-F 9:00AM ~ 5:30PM (P.S.T)

Pros: Nice looking.

Does 225 MB/s read, 145 MB/s write with SIIG JU-P40212-S1 USB 3.0 Controller (nice!) and a Crucial M4 256GB SSD. (Performance seems to be limited by current USB 3.0 Controller technology, not the enclosure.)

Uses a standardized connector that's readily available (USB 3.0 Micro-B).

Extra power cable if needed. I had to use it with my USB 3.0 ExpressCard on my laptop - seems ExpressCard PCIe power specs are less than USB 3.0, meaning an ExpressCard slot can't supply full power per USB 3.0 spec.

Cons: Lots of work to fix mechanical issues, although very happy with it now:

I used electrical tape on PCB to make sure solder on PCB wouldn't touch aluminum case. They're microscopically close to each other. I suspect this is the cause of the DOA and smoking issues.

Foam in wrong place - was attached to aluminum, when should be at bottom of plastic end.

Is held together with (4) #1-72 (fine pitch) x 3/8" long screws, which are too short. Need to be 1/2", or better yet M2x12mm. The metric screws are slightly larger - was able to thread larger screw holes with included screwdriver.

Crucial M4 doesn't fit properly in far end. Pulled back flexible black plastic to get to 2 hidden screws (used pointed knife). Then snapped off ~1/4" of plastic flange and ground flat so Crucial M4 would fit. (Used needle nose pliers.)

Sanded 4 "feet" so they're not so sharp - otherwise they tear up pouch.

Other Thoughts: Sometimes enclosure is recognized by USB 3.0 Controller as USB 2.0. However, this never occurred with SIIG JU-P40212-S1 PCIe card, only SIIG JU-EC0212-S1 ExpressCard.

No issues with included screwdriver matching up to screws.

Chip in mine was ASMedia ASM1051E.

Pouch is nice, but doesn't protect corners if dropped.

Pros: None

Cons: Everything. DOA!

Other Thoughts: Contacted customer support but they don't have a clue. Took 15 minutes to explain what happened. Eventually they sent me an email with how to complete an RMA, which was basically a link to their webpage. The kicker? That webpage doesn't even have this product listed on it. Contacted support again but did not get a response.

Newegg has gone down hill in the past few years. I used to buy a lot of product from them. Recently I have spent more time dealing with subpar product and RMAs than I have using the product I purchased!

Pros: None

Cons: USB port no longer makes a connection. After 2 uses.

Other Thoughts: This is the 2nd enclosure of the same model I've had. The first one started smoking immediately after plugging it in.

Do not buy Thermaltake product. I still have not heard anything about the first enclosure RMA. AVOID THERMALTAKE AT ALL COST! PRODUCT IS TRASH AND SO IS THE COMPANY. Newegg's customer service doesn't help either.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Customer,
We at Thermaltake apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you. Please contact our support team for warranty instructions.
Best regards,
Thermaltake USA Customer Service
Toll free: 1-800-988-1088
email: ttsupport@thermaltakeusa.com
M-F 9:00AM ~ 5:30PM (P.S.T)

Pros: Fast>slim>small

Cons: had something inside for comfort and to hold steady your Drives but it was too thick I got rid of it and put a slimer tape and now is fine, also the screwdriver included was not the right size for the screws had to use a different size one, also the price is expensive!

Other Thoughts: the only reason i give the enclouser 4 eggs is cause im using it with a sata-6G SSD and is very fast even on usb 2.0 ports

Pros: none

Cons: Product was DOA. Newegg refused to RMA because the product is defective. Contacted manufacturer. They said they would RMA the product, however, the person I spoke to on the phone couldn't spell my email right, despite spelling it (literally) 5 times for him.

Pros: USB 3.0

Cons: Plugged into my laptop and it started smoking from the DC jack.

Other Thoughts: Order a new item. HOPEFULLY, this one will not be defective!