Joined on 12/06/06
Works Great - Read Reviews/Tips
Pros: Came with low profile bracket. Good price. Good performance for my needs
Cons: If you read the reviews/tips - none. If the company corrects there documentation or setup... we'll be up the creek, huh?
Overall Review: I read the reviews/tips before buying. When it showed up, I immediately reversed the positions of the jumpers to activate the eSATA connections. Then I stuck it in my PC, booted up, loaded the driver that came with it, plugged in 2 external hds (500gb SATA and 750gb SATA) and there they were - ready to go. Transfer speeds were just fine (didn't measure speeds, but they were faster than USB2).
Good Media But Use Caution
Pros: Taiyo Yuden is rated as some of the best media available. Once I got it to burn I have seen good results. Ultimately time will tell just how good this media turns out to be.
Cons: It could be a hardware problem... a software problem... a disc media problem... or any combination. I have a Lite-On external DVD burner and Nero 6 OEM (also tried Nero 7 Essentials) software but could not burn data/movies to the Taiyo Yuden discs. I could burn to Maxell without a problem. I used CDBurnerXP software with the Lite-On burner and was able to use the Taiyo Yuden discs without a problem.
Overall Review: Do your homework about what media is recommended for what hardware. There are some gotchas out there and it appears that some hardware is finicky about using Taiyo Yuden DVD-R media. (My Lite-On burner listed Taiyo Yuden DVD+R as a preferred media but did not make mention of the DVD-R media... Does it matter? Don't know... Be advised.)
Great Case
Pros: Silent case fans. The case contributes 0db to noise. I have an SSD for the OS and a conventional disk for storage. Also using the OEM fan that came with the i3 CPU. This build makes NO noise. Although one review mentions difficulty in running wires I was satisfied with the cable management in this case.
Cons: None
Overall Review: This case has EXTREME ventilation (read as: lots of vents/holes). If you are planning to use this case in a less than dust-free environment then be prepared to clean the inside frequently. Or do what I did... Seal off the side case fan vent and put a filter over the top vent. Doing this did not decrease cooling circulation in any appreciable way.
Does What It Needs To Do
Pros: Quality cable. Good connections.
Cons: NA
Overall Review: Make sure you have a power supply for your device. This is just a data cable. I had a SATA power cord for a SATA-To-USB Cable set. Recommend that Newegg setup a combo deal for SATA power brick to go with this cable.
Does Not Disappoint
Pros: Quality hardware. Easy to setup and use.
Cons: NA
Overall Review: Went with the 54 instead of the 34 hoping that 34 Express Card doesn't become the norm on future laptops. Chose Siig over the cheaper models after doing some research online and decided that quality was the way to go. Other brands may be quality as well but I could not confirm that now. Until more reviews are out on the other cards... pay the price for something good.
Good Hard Drive
Pros: Quiet and Smart
Cons: NA
Overall Review: This drive essentially goes to sleep when it is not reading or writing which makes it an excellent choice for an external enclosure. I don't do tests on speeds but it seems somewhat slower than my other drives when transferring the 400+ gig of data on to it (took about one hour) - but for day-to-day use it does not disappoint.