Rosewill RX353-S BLK (Black) 3.5" SATA to USB & eSATA Ext. Enclosure w/Int.40mm fan

Pros: I am extremely pleased with this eSATA/USB drive enclosure for SATA drives. I’ve had it running now for three weeks 24/7 without a single problem. Fit and finish is very good. Unlike some of the other reviewers, on mine, the stand fits adequately. The fan is quiet and keeps the unit well within heat tolerances. The little blue light looks nice and the red drive activity light looks nice. The power switch on the front works great.

Cons: Some of the other reviewers didn’t like the fact that screws are used to hold the drive in place in the enclosure, preferring thumb screws or some other mechanism. If one needed to swap out drives often, I could see where screws could be a problem. If, like me, you intend to install one drive and use it for a very long time without swapping it, the screws are very adequate and do a very nice job.

Overall Review: I bought this as a combo deal with the Western Digital 5000 SATA II drive. As mentioned, I’ve had it on now 24/7 for three weeks without a hiccup. I ran the Western Digital diagnostic “burn-in” software on it for three straight days after I got the drive and enclosure and it passed all tests without a problem. My laptop didn’t have an eSATA port, so I ordered an eSATA PC Card from WeibeTech to be able to use the higher throughput of eSATA over USB. My testing consisted of copying a folder of 8.12 GB. With USB it took 9 minutes and 16 seconds. Using eSATA with the WeibeTech card in a PCMCIA Type II slot took 7 minutes and 56 seconds. If my laptop supported PCI Express, the eSATA would be even faster. The USB speed is actually very adequate, making my purchase of the eSATA card somewhat superfluous.

Pros: eSATA connection is fast, Fan, Sturdy Case, stand, cables included, Price...

Cons: eSATA connection requires SATA ribbon in desktop, Fan doesn't do all too much (but is quiet), Case is a little funky-looking and power switch seems cheap (just need to be a little careful), unit fits loosely into stand (but it sits straight--not that big of a deal), Cables are a little short...

Overall Review: As far as SATA cases go this seems to be a good compromise. Look into the combo deals...

Pros: It's external and it boots my CPU! Uses a standard 12VDC little wall wart (also available at R-Shack) - not another stupid brick with clunky wires hanging off it. I had one and just bought another three so I'm happy enough to spend more $$ :)

Cons: The fan works semi-well but for big or hot drives I recommend just enlarging the six tiny little slits on the front plastic faceplate. No problem - EZ to do. I used my DremelTool to enlarge them and also to make some additional holes. I guess using a small screwdriver or Xacto knife would also work. My temps dropped more than 10 degrees afterwards. The fan also sucks air from around the on/off switch. A con? They were out of silver so I had to order black - I guess I just was not fast enough at the Egg :(

Overall Review: Problem solved: I have identical computers at home/work so now I can use a common 500gb drive for all my stuff and just carry it back and forth. The drive now sits on my desk(s) connected to a 6 foot shielded SIIG eSATA cable. The cute on/off switch has red & blue LEDs and the red flickers on a drive R/W. To travel back and forth I just throw it in my knapsack and the sturdy metal housing is taking a good beating and, the on/off switch is still intact. I tried for weeks to get XP to boot from a USB drive and always failed but this eSATA hookup is perfect for me and very secure. By secure I mean I don't leave a drive at work overnight for the peeps to snoop like they do. FYI, the regular SATA connectors are only good for 50 connections where the eSATA is grounded on both ends and good for 5000 connections. For eSATA and 3gb speeds you must use quality shielded cable and the shorter the better. I hope this helps someone.

Pros: I was going to buy two of these but hesitated (based on other reviews) and decided to buy just one to test out. Saved time/money by avoiding the second purchase.

Cons: My first experience with Rosewill products. I thought I would give it a try with NewEgg's free shipping promotion. Before I even got to the point of inserting a drive, I was examining the unit. The front panel tabs either came broken or were broken during the examination. These tabs are where the screws go in and keep the case from falling apart. I read about this in other reviews but after reading the "manufacturers response" about their confusion as to why these defective units were still in NewEgg's stock... I was hoping now that it's January 2009, the problem would have cleared. I was wrong.

Overall Review: Returning this one and going with another mfr.

Pros: Nice looking case. Inexpensive. A little noise, but not as loud as the 500G Hammer I have.

Cons: The end cover with the power button broke when I first tried to install a SATA hard drive. Seems to still stay together so far. I haven't moved it yet though.

Pros: It looks good and works extremely well for the price The almost eSATA addapter makes me want to buy a real eSATA card. For now it works well for me as long as I turn it on before the computer.

Cons: Fan is noisey an almost useless

Overall Review: I got this one because it had a fan and the hard drive I wanted to put in it tends to run hot. The fan did almost nothing for the drive. I had to put a different drive in it that runs cool enough to not need that LOUD fan.

Pros: The enclosure works as advertised, fits standard hard drives, and works with Vista, XP, and RedHat. The fan on the enclosure is audible, but no more than expected. I sometimes forget that I leave the hard drive on, and it's nice to know the fan prevents overheating.

Cons: This is definitely an enclosure for your desk. It's a bit big, probably 1.5x as long as a 3.5 inch drive. Also, because the drives are securely stored in the enclosure, it's a bit cumbersome to swap out drives. None of these are major issues, though.

Overall Review: Posting a review to show popularity... that's how I buy products anyway on Newegg.

Pros: works better than i expected. nice metal case case, thin profile. NOT bulky and easy to transport. easy installation. i'm using this with a brand new Western Digital 500GB SATAII HD. The transfer rate using eSATA is at least twice as fast as USB 2.0. quite fan does an nice job keeping the hard drive cool. nice LED blue/red on/off switch on the front and fan switch in the rear too. some of the reviews i read say they thought the stand was loose. i dont know if they improved that but the stand (at least for now) is really snug and have no problems with that at this time. nice eSATA mounting bracket for PC enclosure.

Cons: eSATA cable could be a little longer. wish it had NIC port.

Overall Review: i've read where some say you have to have the device turned on and plugged in before turning on the computer when using eSATA. For me thats NOT the case. all i have to do is go to Device Manager and do a "Scan for Hardware Changes" and detects it instantly. fan is relatively quite - hardly noticeable. i like the AC plug in. i've read where others fall out of the back b/c of the design. not so on this model. NEWEGG did a great job!!