Vizo Shuttle ST - External 2.5-inch HDD Enclosure Review

Page 3 - Tests, observational thoughts

Test system

• Test 2.5” hard drive: Fujitsu 2.5” 5400 rpm SATA2 100GB HDD
• Processor: Intel C2D Е4500 @ 3.3 GHz
• Memory: Apacer 2x2GB DDR2 800 MHz
• Motherboard: ASUS P5K-E WiFi
• Video card: ATI Radeon HD 4770
• Hard drive: Maxtor 250GB; Seagate 640GB
• PSU: Fortron 350W

For the tests we used two software products for measuring transfer speed – the free version of HD Tach and another similar tool named Disk Throughput Tester. We also measured temperature reported from the hard drive sensor after 10 minutes of intense load (uninterrupted file transfer).

Results

We used these products for comparison:

• Vizo Shuttle ST + Fujitsu 100GB;
• Icy Box 2,5” External HDD Enclosure + Fujitsu 100GB;
• Samsung S1 Mini;
• WD My Passport Essential Portable;
• Revoltec Alu Book II + Western Digital Raptor 360ADFD, 10k rpm, SATA 1 ;
• Revoltec Alu Book II + Maxtor 6V250F0, 7200 rpm, SATA 2;
• Cyber Snipa Dog Tag flash drive, 4GB;
• PQI Intelligent Stick, 1GB;
• Patriot Xporter GT;
• CBM Flash Disk, 2GB.

As we can see from the results, Vizo Shuttle ST is slower than the specialized external hard drives of he same kind, but it is indeed performing just as good as any of its 3.5” brethren, and even better than its only seal rival in this test - Icy Box, it being the very cheapest external enclosure we've been able to find. Vizo being just a couple of quids more expensive is clearly using a better controller.

Охлаждане

Vizo Shuttle ST is hotter by 1 degree, which is minimal difference from the direct rival in the face of Icy Box. This is largely caused by the bulging in the middle of the case, preventing direct contact between the aluminum hull and the hard drive, you have to acknowledge though that loosing the bulge will negate the added protection. Also, bear in mind that these disks never operate at great speeds, because even under prolonged load they don't reach maximum RPM – their transfer speed is to a great extent limited by the USB interface.

Observational thoughts

Design – sort of oval shape, black aluminum hull with nickel accents, make the design of Vizo Shuttle ST quite stylish. Yes, it's not flashy, nor it is something very remarkable, but it looks serious, more suitable for the serious business users.

Accessibility – you need not external power or drivers (unless you're running Windows 98 for example, for it you will need to download software from the Vizo website) – you plug the mini USB cable and gain access to your precious info. Dimensions of Vizo Shuttle ST are compact enough, with only the bulging in the middle to be remarked upon – not all that necessary, but still adding protection at the cost of slightly larger case.