Hate the boring waiting when you transfer data from external HDD to your computer? Try the brand new Rosewill RX-358-U3B! The next-generation USB 3.0 SuperSpeed technology enables blistering fast speed of up to 4.8 Gbps, which is 10x of the predecessor USB 2.0. And designed for extra ventilation and enhanced cooling for years of use, it has an 80mm side fan. Air is brought in through the side and directed out the rear, for direct cooling of your drive. You don't have to worry about overheating your hard disk anymore.
SuperSpeed USB 3.0 TechnologyThe Rosewill RX-358-U3B equips the revolutionary SuperSpeed USB 3.0 technology to deliver up to 4.8Gbps bandwidth which is 10x faster than USB 2.0 and boosts data transfer rate between a PC and USB device.
Aluminum BodyFeaturing a full aluminum cover and strong metal tray, the Rosewill RX-358-U3B HDD enclosure delivers excellent heat dissipation and tough, reliable protection for your hard drive.
Built-in 80mm Cooling FanThe Rosewill RX-358-U3B features a built-in 80mm cooling fan with large vents on the side and front panels for enhanced ventilation. With the Power On/Off switch, you can turn off the fan for ultra-quiet operation.
Learn more about the Rosewill RX-358-U3B
Model
Brand
Rosewill
Series
RX358
Model
RX-358-U3B
Details
Color
Black
Size
3.5"
Material
Full Aluminum Cover, metal tray
Internal Interface
SATA I/II
External Interface
USB 3.0
Fan
1 x 80mm cooling fan (Internal Tray)
Specifications
Transfer rates up to 4.8 Gbps with USB 3.0
Compliant with USB 3.0 Backward Compatible With USB 2.0 & 1.1
Power On/Off for internal cooling fan
USB Supports Win 2000/ME/XP/VISTA, and Mac OS 9.x/10.x and above, Linux kernel after 2.4.1.0
Power Adapter, 100-240 VAC(47Hz~63Hz), 12V/2A output
Pros: Fast access speeds, quiet fan (for a while). Plug it in and it works.
Cons: 1: We have several of these enclosures, both the eSATA and USB3 variety. On all of them, the fan starts off whisper quiet but, after three to six months, the bearings start to fail. So much for quiet operation. Finding suitably quiet 80x10mm replacement fans is difficult.
2: A more serious problem with the USB3 version is that is randomly disconnects. This has happened with 3 different enclosures connected to 5 systems (Win 7x64 and Server 2008 R2). After anywhere from less than a day to over a week, the drive disappears. Power cycling or disconnecting and reconnecting the USB 3 cable restores connectivity, but this is not a turn on and forget about it enclosure.
Overall Review: None of the Rosewill eSATA enclosures we have display the random connectivity failures of the USB 3 variety. Access time with eSATA is slightly slower (110MB/s for a 7200 RPM WD drive vs 125MB/s for USB 3), but the connections is rock solid. No random dropouts seen over 6 months.
The eSATA variant does, however, have the same fan failure problem as the USB 3.
Pros: HD Tach reported 199 MB per second Xfer rate. Dont remember exact details but its fast. Its optimized for performance not quick removal. The drive inside is a Samsung Spinpoint f4 5400rpm (mod#HD204UI) (note on the Samsung: update the firmware to avoid data loss) Win XP SP2, Phenom II x4, MSI 890FXA GD70 (current bios), 2GB Gskill ddr1333. Anyway Im using it to backup my dvd collection and mp3s. So far its fast and relatively cool.
Cons: Only major complaint I have is the drive mounts upside down, many users have wondered and complained about this. I know for a fact another major HDD company says its fine to mount drive whichever way you want. But Samsung fails to make a statement. The lack of mentioning this in the documentation of the enclosure is obviously a cause for concern for many people.
Overall Review: So far so good.
Anonymous
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
Verified Owner
Great external enclosure!11/6/2010 4:39:24 PM
Pros: Easy to assemble. Worked perfectly, just as advertised. This is my third Rosewill external enclosure and this time I opted for the USB 3.0 version (my other two are USB 2.0/eSATA)
All the screw holes lined up perfectly, and the assembled unit is very rugged and well built! The fan is quiet and I had to shine a flashlight on it just to make sure that it was running.
I looked at different makes and models before deciding on this particular enclosure. Primarily used for backups. The USB 2.0/eSATA units have been in use for the past 10 months.
Highly recommended!
Cons: None
Overall Review: The USB 3.0 speed is comparable to eSATA speed. Both are much faster than USB 2.0 as you are already aware.
Pros: solid build and feel. easy installataion. all screws/cable included.
I get over 560Mbps sustained transfer rate to an old 500GB HDD I had laying around.(3 gig test file)
On/off switch for overall drive, plus a separate on/off switch for the fan.
Cons: The blue power and "activity" LEDs are on the bright side, but just don't stare at them.
as mentioned prior, no rubber "feet" for setting on desk. ($2 fix at local hardware store)
Overall Review: Others mention plasitc sides. Yes, they are plastic, but they are cosmetic for hiding the sides of the metal box and the screwholes for mounting the HDD. Top and bottom are aluminum and solid feel remains. I don't think the plastic sides detract from the enclosure. Besides, I don't need a bulletproof case.
Also, others mention screw hole patterns not lining up. I had no issues.
Pros: I picked this up to pair it with a HD204UI. I opted for the USB 3.0 version because I see an upgrade in my future. Some people complain about the fan noise, but it isn't overly loud. Seems pretty quiet, actually. Who knows how it'll sound in a few more months.. But you can find a fan to go in it, it's just a little more rare than others. They're all gonna be sleeve bearing reguardless. The light isn't that bright, but I know some people don't like those sort of things. It doesn't feel cheaply made at all to me. The HD stays very cool. Serves as my backup.
Cons: The normal price seems a bit too pricey. For 35-40 bucks I'd buy these things all day. But for 60, I'd probably look elsewhere. No rubber feet also but.. like everyone else has said, a trip to the home depot solves that quickly for a few bucks.
Overall Review: Rosewill is great quality stuff for its price. Anything I've ever bought has been good, although I got a LCD monitor from them years back that worked awesome for many years and lots of hours.. until one day it crapped out, weird lines would cover the screen and eventually it wouldn't even ever power on. Not to knock them though, I took it as a sign to upgrade to a bigger, widescreen lcd asus :)
Pros: Opted to purchase the USB 3.0 model and added a USB 3 card to my Mac Pro 3,1 tower (NEC chipset works, search for tips). Connected to USB 2.0 port, performance was fairly poor at only 35/40 mbps both read and write. When connected to USB 3, performance increased to between 130/150 mbps average read and write using a 5400rpm Samsung F4 2tb drive. Clearly with a faster drive, performance increase would be even more significant.
Fan on top is VERY quiet. Enclosure stays far cooler than any of my OEM external drives.
Cons: The blue LED indicators are very bright. Only one port. No rubber feet. Not stackable without modification (adding some sort of feet as spacers).
Pros: Keeps HD cool, fan is very silent, blue LED lights.
Cons: doesn't have SATA port, or any other alternative plugin. Overpriced by a single-port connector.
Overall Review: I have SATA connectors on my PC. those are just as fast for me. but USB 3.0 isn't too bad.
The Fan is useful to keep your HD cool, especially if you have a WD Black HD. For a WD Green HD too if you do transfer a lot of stuff.
Pros: Fast access speeds, quiet fan (for a while). Plug it in and it works.
Cons: 1: We have several of these enclosures, both the eSATA and USB3 variety. On all of them, the fan starts off whisper quiet but, after three to six months, the bearings start to fail. So much for quiet operation. Finding suitably quiet 80x10mm replacement fans is difficult. 2: A more serious problem with the USB3 version is that is randomly disconnects. This has happened with 3 different enclosures connected to 5 systems (Win 7x64 and Server 2008 R2). After anywhere from less than a day to over a week, the drive disappears. Power cycling or disconnecting and reconnecting the USB 3 cable restores connectivity, but this is not a turn on and forget about it enclosure.
Overall Review: None of the Rosewill eSATA enclosures we have display the random connectivity failures of the USB 3 variety. Access time with eSATA is slightly slower (110MB/s for a 7200 RPM WD drive vs 125MB/s for USB 3), but the connections is rock solid. No random dropouts seen over 6 months. The eSATA variant does, however, have the same fan failure problem as the USB 3.