VANTEC NexStar TX NST-210S3-BK Aluminum 2.5" Black USB 3.0 External Enclosure

Pros: - Achieves USB 3.0 speeds
- Unobtrusive single LED to indicate power (solid) and drive activity (flashing)
- 1/16" thick aluminum case
- Tight-fitting SATA connection to HDD/SDD
- Approximately 30" USB 3.0 cable
- Comes with the screwdriver needed to screw in the tiny screws
- Comes with plastic to apply to the back of an exposed PCB on a HDD
- Decent fake leather carry case

Cons: - Poor overall throughput when mated up with an SSD. Max throughput using an SK Hynix SH910 SSD was 132MB/s Write, 142MB/s Read.
- Included screws are self-tapping into the plastic endcap, which means with repeated use, the holes may strip or can become easily stripped.
- No lengthwise support to keep enclosed drive from pivoting on the SATA connector.

Other Thoughts: I have compared this enclosure with two others I've recently purchased. The SYBA CL-ENC25035 (N82E16817801109) and the Mediasonic HDK-SU3 (N82E16817576017).

Throughput testing--
To ensure consistency, I tested all three enclosures multiple times with a fresh drive each time. The results were then averaged and recorded. (Averages were pretty easy since the results were consistent within 2MB/s of each drives' subsequent test.)
This enclosure was by far the slowest of the enclosures. (The Mediasonic was surprisingly the fastest.) This NexStar unit uses an ASMedia controller chip which I thought would at least give it an advantage on one of the test system's ASMedia USB 3.0 chipset. It didn't. I tried it on a different USB 3.0 chipset and the results were similarly slow.

Perceived durability--
I like aluminum enclosures because they will dissipate heat better, although it's minor since there's no direct contact between the drive and the case. But, theoretically, it will still have better thermal properties than a plastic case.
As noted above, the enclosure has no support lengthwise to support the drive from flopping around inside the case, even if it's only a 1/8" up or down. Over time, that can wear on the connection between drive and interface, and on the interface to PCB. However, as noted in the PROS section, the connector is really tight, so any movement will be minimal...at least for now. I was testing with an SSD so there wasn't a lot of weight to be supported in the first place. An older, heavier 2.5" HDD may act differently.
If you are looking to constantly swap out drives in this case, then I suggest looking to a tool-less design such as the SYBA I referenced above. If you are looking to simply put an extra drive in here for ease of access via USB, then the self-tapping screws into the plastic endcap shouldn't be of much concern. I didn't have any problems with the screws stripping out as others have noted. However, if you have an eyeglasses screwdriver kit, you might be better served using it instead of the included screwdriver. The included screwdriver still 'feels' a wee bit bigger than what you want for the phillips head on the screw.
Other than that, no significant complaints about it's construction.

So is this a bad enclosure? No, and not for $17. It gets a solid 3-Egg rating for doing what it's supposed to do, but it's not the best in class. It's a fine case for an older HDD that gets occasional usage or just sits there plugged in. And you won't have to worry about the lower throughput numbers because a HDD won't get anywhere near hitting the maximum potential of this case. If you are looking to plug in a newer SSD and you want the fastest speed possible- who doesn't want that if you're using an SSD?? -then I suggest checking into the Mediasonic case for a couple bucks more. The speed difference is significant (+90MB/s Writing, +58MB/s Reading (yes, the Mediasonic has faster Writes than Reads)).

Pros: Cheap and pretty well made

Cons: Screws don't seat perfectly...but at this price I have no complaints

Other Thoughts: Just Works as it should

Pros: USB 3.0, 3' cable, comes with screwdriver, working well with Windows 7 and 8 computers.

Cons: Combination of softest screws ever and screw holes that aren't large enough.

I'm lucky it came with 4 screws because I had to destroy two of them to get the holes large enough to be able to screw them down flush. I don't plan on opening this case again, but if the need ever arose I don't know if I can open it, and certainly won't be able to use the screws again.

I subtracted 2 stars for this because I expect a case for mobile use to be one solid piece and not require tape or rubber bands to hold together, which almost happened just from the initial installation.

Other Thoughts: Using with HGST 7k1000 HDD.

Pros: With limited testing systems. I used my piece of junk HP notebook with sataII spin hard drive. No benchmark software. Only one day old, not time tested.

I installed a samsung ssd 830 120GB into this ext enclosure

1- 1GB movie copied at 100MB/sec, win7readings, but seemed fater than that time wise, it only took a couple of seconds. very fast.

1000 small files, about 1.5GB backed up at 50MB, win7reading, but only took a few seconds. very fast.

both those together 2.5GB, took about 6-7 seconds. fast enough for me.

Cons: Did not eject properly, stating drive was in use, but wasn't. Readyboost wasn't running at that time, no other programs using it. A log off didn't fix it, only a full shut down. Not a huge deal, you can just yank it as long as you are done copying. but not a perfect ext enclosure.

Other Thoughts: As long as it doesn't fry within a year. I'll be happy.