by Ganesh T S on 6/18/2012 1:30:00 PM Posted in Gadgets , SATA , USB 3.0
StarTech.com specializes in gadgets performing niche, yet handy functions. We reviewed their portable SATA duplicator last year, and this time around we have another interesting gadget from their stables. SATA and IDE hard drive docks / enclosures are a dime a dozen. However, the combination of features provided by the StarTech.com USB 3.0 SATA/IDE HDD docking station persuaded us to get a unit in-house for evaluation.
The unit supports upright docking of up to two disks (one SATA and one IDE). Both 2.5" and 3.5" drives can be used. Simultaneous access to both slots is also allowed. USB 3.0 (backward compatible with USB 2.0) is the only mode of communication between the PC and the dock.
Apart from the main unit pictured above, the package comes with the following components:
36W switching adapter with US power cord1 x 3ft. USB 3.0 A Male to B Male cable1 x IDE 40 to 40-Pin Cable (for 3.5" IDE drives)1 x LP4 Power Cable (for 3.5" IDE drives)1 x 40-Pin + LP4 to 44-Pin IDE Cable (for 2.5" IDE drives)Instruction Manual
For the purpose of testing out the unit, we used the following drives:
Western Digital Caviar WD400 40GB IDE HD WD400BB-00DEA0Samsung HD103SJ 1000 GB 7200rpm SATA HDCorsair Performance 3 Series SATA III SSD CSSD-P3128GB2
While the WD and Corsair units were used for testing performance, the Samsung unit was used to check up on the power consumption profile of the unit under typical operating conditions. The Corsair SSD was also securely erased prior to the benchmarking in order to restore it to the optimum performance level. The IDE drive wasn't recognized with the jumper settings in Slave mode. Removing the jumper completely enabled access to the drive.
On the host side, we used our Ivy Bridge HTPC setup based on the Asus P8H77-M Pro motherboard. The H77 chipset provides native USB 3.0 and this rules out any performance limitation on the testbed side. The full specifications are provided below.
StarTech.com USB 3.0 to SATA IDE Docking Station Testbed SetupProcessorIntel Core i7-3770K - 3.50 GHz (Turbo to 3.9 GHz)Intel HD Graphics 4000 - 650 MHz (Max. Dynamic Frequency of 1150 MHz)MotherboardAsus P8H77-M Pro uATXOS DriveSeagate Barracuda XT 2 TBSecondary DrivesKingston SSDNow V+ 128 GB SATA II SSD SNV325-S2/128GBCorsair Performance 3 Series SATA III SSD CSSD-P3128GB2MemoryG.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) F3-10666CL7D-4GBECO CAS 9-9-9-24CaseAntec VERIS Fusion Remote MaxPower SupplyAntec TruePower New TP-550 550WOperating SystemWindows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1DisplayAcer H243H.Note that the Asus P8H77-M Pro motherboard has USB 3.0 Boost, which can be used to improve the performance of storage devices connected to its USB 3.0 ports. In the Turbo mode, the BOT (Bulk Only Transport) protocol is used to improve performance (and is supported by all USB devices). USB 3.0 boost can also operate in UASP (USB Attached SCSCI Protocol) mode if the controller on the device side supports it. UASP allows multiple commands to be in transit between the host and the device at any given point of time.
For the purpose of our testing, we operated in default mode (without Turbo or UASP). This should give us an idea of the minimum performance level which can be obtained from the unit. However, we will also see whether Turbo or UASP mode makes any difference to the benchmark numbers.
Inside the Docking Station
Introduction and Testbed Setup Inside the Docking Station SATA and IDE Performance Benchmarks Miscellaneous Aspects and Final Words Print This Article 
17 Comments View All Comments Post a Comment I've got the 4 HDD versions by alacard on Monday, June 18, 2012 And they work well, highly recommended. (just make sure when you open the box you got a new one (no scratches), the older models have major flaws, and startech will rebox returns and send them out as new). 
alacard Reply Will have to look it up. by Paul Tarnowski on Monday, June 18, 2012 I'll have to look it up. I've had USB 3.0 for almost a year and I still haven't a single device for it. This one might just give me the excuse to get one.BTW, I've never heard of SCSCI. But I'm guessing from usage that it's a Type-0 Protocol, right?
Paul Tarnowski Reply Using the single HDD version with fan, USB 3.0, eSATA by Chuck_NC on Monday, June 18, 2012 The single HDD version with built-in fan that I have has worked very well. It is finicky when used with a USB3.0 hub (random disconnects, noticed on large file copies), and won't pass Smart data to older SATA and eSATA ports. The adjustable fan is loud, but when dialed up to full speed, even keeps the fastest spinning drives cool (tested up to 10K drives). I have tried other units, especially some that use port multiplier technology with severely poor results. Have been very happy with this one on both USB3.0 and eSATA. The eSATA port seems to be faster on most machines that I have. 
Chuck_NC Reply Does it spin down the hard drive after inactivity? by Rix2357 on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 Lots of these USB 3.0 to hard drive adaptors don't spin down the hard drives after inactivity. I care a lot about this because I keep mine attached to the notebook as an almost permanent storage and if they don't spin down, the hard drives get pretty hot after awhile. 
Rix2357 Reply RE: Does it spin down the hard drive after inactivity? by ganeshts on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 Yes, it does! I have mentioned that in the review also. 
ganeshts Reply Vertical drives by AstroGuardian on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 Doesn't it have a detrimental effect on the drive life that it's positioned vertically?Especially for older IDE drives which were probably placed horizontally for most of their life time.
AstroGuardian Reply RE: Vertical drives by sheh on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 I've always been uneasy about that too. Also some of these decks keep the drives in an angle, I think. I wonder not only about used drives but also new.I recall reading something about drives being designed to run when positioned straight in any orientation, but it still makes me wonder.
sheh Reply RE: Vertical drives by AssBall on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 I really doubt it will make a difference. I have run drives hanging upside down off a power cable for 4 years without any issues. Run several of them sideways as well, and never could tell any difference in lifespan. 
AssBall Reply RE: RE: Vertical drives by Lerianis on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 That is an old-wives tale. Modern hard drives (last 10 years) are meant to be able to run fine when mounted in any way. Stood up, on it's side, sitting on it's top, etc.As long as the drive doesn't vibrate and move, the drive should be fine. SSD's, of course, with no moving parts, you don't even have to worry about the drive moving.
Lerianis Reply RE: Vertical drives by Taft12 on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 Got a source for that claim? I've not heard it before and many smaller cases have hard drives mounted vertically. 
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Mike1111 Reply RE: What? by quiksilvr on Monday, June 18, 2012 Because Microsoft has a firm death grip on their OS (and its camera MP limitations) that Nokia had no choice but to use Symbian to power this DSLR phone.
quiksilvr Reply RE: What? by Fleeb on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 "rivals many DSLRs in that price range."
Fleeb Reply RE: What? by Belard on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 In what way makes you think this camera-phone on a dead platform can even come close to a DSLR? I don't see any removal lens on that phones.
Belard Reply RE: What? by Mint on Sunday, June 24, 2012 If you don't understand cameras, you really shouldn't be commenting.
Mint Reply RE: What? by Flunk on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 It doesn't even have a CCD sensor or optical zoom. That doesn't even bring it up to point and shoot camera parity.
Flunk Reply RE: What? by juhatus on Thursday, June 21, 2012 We still have people who haven't read about the tech and still mock it.
juhatus Reply RE: What? by zlandar on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 Maybe Nokia has to dump the rest of their stock somewhere.
zlandar Reply LULZ by DukeN on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 "Hay guyz, this Windoze shit is not working out all that gr8" - Nokia CEO
DukeN Reply Not at all by Johnmcl7 on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 The Pureview technology (very high resolution camera with the hardware to process it) has been in development for five years and wasn't suitable for the current Windows platform due to restriction on the processing hardware. So they were faced with either binning the Symbian project entirely and keep it quiet until they were able to release a Windows version (at least another year) or while working on the Windows version, announce the Symbian one anyway and release the phone as a technology demonstrator. Given the widespread coverage and discussion there has been on the Symbian phone most of which is positive, I think they were quite right to go ahead and release it anyway particularly amonst generally negative Nokia headlines.
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