Product Review

2008-02-01

 “Vantec continued on their reputation of building quality products for enthusiasts with the NexStar MX. The ability to install two drives in a small enclosure like this as well as the JBOD feature is something we’ve never seen before and a welcome feature.”

2008-02-01

“The Vantec NexStar MX Dual Hard Drive Enclosure is a solid option for a number of a reasons. I love the choice of materials and the overall appearance is professional, yet chic at the same time. The cool black brushed aluminum body is a definite step up over its plastic counterparts and I’d imagine that the aluminum probably helps with cooling as well.”

2007-12-16

“The enclosure is one of the best we've seen. The body is a solid aluminum piece painted a deep reflective blue. The front and rear panels are surrounded by chrome panels and the design in general is very appealing.”

2007-12-05

"The NexStar MX Dual is one of the top Dual Hard Drive solutions currently available. It's also one of the nicest looking I've had the pleasure of working with. Given the ease of installation, USB 2.0 performance, software support, and design, it's a great alternative choice to much costlier back planes."

2007-12-02

"The Vantec lceberq 6 is a very good and versatile VGA cooler for the price. It’s strongest asset is that you can mount it on almost every modern VGA card, so you don’t have to worry if you upgrade often. The quality of this product is good, but the plastic parts could be improved. Finally, the performance of the Vantec lceberq 6 is very good, giving it a very clear advantage over stock cooling solutions while also lowering chassis heat by expelling out the rear."

2007-11-27

"External drives are becoming an indispensable tool for added storage and backup. With the NexStar MX enclosure, Vantec brings several nice additions to the typical USB enclosure."

2007-11-21

“Vantec has created a useful option for people who might have spare 2.5 inch SATA HDD(or IDE with their IDE/USB product) lying around or who are in need of a portable storage system that is small and compact in design but versatile in functionality.”

2007-11-12

“Given the price and simplicity in which a user can upgrade their computer to 5.1 channel surround, the Vantec NBA-100U 5.1 Channel USB Audio Adapter earns the rating of "Recommended" for any laptop user tired of their weak onboard audio solution.”

2007-11-08

“Whether you're looking for a great backup system or just a way to add a lot of external storage to your system, then the Vantec NexStar MX would make a great start to this endevour.”

2007-09-27

"A very nice package with very good performance potential - a good solution for portable storage. A fast 2.5" HD should perform quite well compared to internal 3.5" HDs."

2007-09-25

“If you're looking for a stylish way to add some external storage to your system but don't want the hassle of large 3.5" drive enclosures with their bulky adapters, then you should definitely look into a 2.5" enclosure like the Vantec NexStar SX. This was an excellent enclosure and offered great performance, looks, and features all at a highly affordable price!”

2007-09-25

“For anyone who does a lot of file transfer using 2.5" external drives, then the EZ Swap EX is definitely a must have. The ability to dock it into your primary computer system adds a whole new level of ease and speed when transfering to removable drives. On the go, you can easily connect it to any computer using USB or E-SATA. I can't forget to mention the included carrying pouch which will easily hold everything you need on the go with this drive!”

2007-09-18

"The Vantec All in 1 USB 2.0 Internal Card Reader is a good memory card reader that is exceptionally easy to install and use. Other card readers offer dual USB ports, IEEE 1394 port and fan controllers but at a higher price. Many of them also use a 5.25” drive bay instead of the otherwise unused floppy bay. If all you need is a good card reader and maybe a front panel USB port, this is an excellent choice. Easy to install and use, fast card access, USB 1.1 compatible, black and white face included."

2007-09-16

“OCIA.net has awarded the EZ Swap EX our seal of approval!”

2007-09-11

"Vantec's NexStar SX 2.5" HD Enclosure is an attractive, durable package for mobile storage - overall a very nice package."

2007-09-09

"The Vantec EX Swap EX is very easy to setup and install requiring just a couple of minutes for the external enclosure and not much more for the internal components. As with any enclosure the performance is dependent on your drive choice, but as you can see from our Momentus tests, the EZ Swap EX retains nearly all of the performance over SATA."

2007-08-28

"If you are in need of portable storage but you do not want to pack around a large 3.5" enclosure with a large power brick and such but you need something with more capacity than the similarly priced USB flash drives this may just be what you have been looking for. At home convenience, on-the-go performance all wrapped up in a unit that can literally fit in your back pocket, but I would use the included carrying case."

2007-08-20

“The Vantec 5.1 audio adapter isn't for everyone. If you already have a soundcard in your system capable of outputting 5.1 channels, you probably won't need this, which adds another external device to the mix. However, if you have a laptop or other portable system, most of which only have stereo outputs, this adapter will be helpful, especially if you watch movies a lot and would like to take full advantage of your 5.1 speaker system. Watching movies with a full 5.1 channels is far better than listening to them in down-converted stereo mode. This is the audio adapter's intended use, as it quickly and easily adds 5.1 output support to any system, and does it well.”

2007-08-20

“Simple surround sound upgrade, good audio quality, small and easy to carry, no external power required.”

2007-08-15

“The device itself is easily transported in a laptop bag, and does not require any external power.  The software is simple, efficient and effective.  Any road warrior that needs more audio flexibility should definitely look into the Vantec Audio Adapter as a solution.”

2007-08-14

“Overall, this is a well-designed product that works well and has a reasonable price. For that I am awarding it an eight out of ten along with our Editor's Choice award.”

2007-08-07

"The Nexstar 3 simply looks and feels great, but also works great. The eSATA gives the Nexstar a lot of potential as it is by far the fastest external drive protocol at the moment and does not limit the speed potential of the SATA drives, but the USB 2.0 connection makes sure that the enclosure will be able to connect to any PC on the planet that was built this millennium. The bundle of the Nexstar is very well thought but is not extraordinary, which would result to an excess pricetag as well, and also its quality feels very good."

2007-07-21

 “Clearly, the Vantec eSATA PCMCIA card will provide much better performance than the same USB solution.  While the PCMCIA bus is not as fast as the ExpressCard bus, this card certainly does the best that it can with the bandwidth it has and consistently outperforms USB in any situation.”

2007-07-12

"The LapCool 5 lived up to its name by successfully reducing the tempurature of my laptop under load, and even at idle. The cooler is compact enough to fit inside your backpack for travel, and doesn't even require external power sources outside of your laptops USB port."

2007-06-15

"Overall the Vantec IceBerq 4 is a worthy cooling solution of your graphic card needs. The heat sink is embedded with Blue Led lights which make it really cool and eye-catching."

2007-06-11

Vanrec has manufactured a top notch 2.5" hard drive enclosure with an innovative twist. The EZ Swap EX 2.5 Inch Hard Drive Enclosure was a breeze to install into its enclosure, and use with the internal 3.5" chassis posed no problems. The SATA connection allowed the drive was able to operate to its peak performance, and it was able to push the USB 2.0 connection to its fullest extent.

2007-06-03

"Silent fans, Three usb ports, Adjustable fan speed"

2007-05-23

"Vantec's EZ-Swap EX docking enclosures offer record-matching performance in USB 2.0 mode and perfect performance in SATA mode, but are they a good value? For most uses the answer is a hearty "yes.""

2007-05-04

"The Vantec NexStar LX is a good product that offers interesting features for a low price. At just around $60/€79 it is far cheaper than other more advanced NAS-solutions and yet still offers the most important features like FTP and SMB server support. It is easy to use and even looks pretty good."

2007-02-16

"The Vantec Lapcool 2 does all that is designed to do. It effectively cools your laptop and means that you can have it on your lap and not worry about it."

2007-01-17

"The Vantec NexStar 3 sells for a street price of around Rs. 3,700. This makes it an expensive option when compared to other USB HDD casing, which are available for as low as 1200 and onwards. However, the selling point of this enclosure is eSATA for which the price seems worth for now. However, a point to note is that eSATA still hasn't picked up popularity. As of now, eSATA is found on high-end motherboard. One can use the eSATA bracket similar to one bundled along. If you plan to use USB interface most of the time, then give this one a skip for now."

2006-12-02

“Top USB 2.0 performance, top eSATA performance, durable aluminum housing, good looks and an exceptionally low price give the Vantec NexStar 3 our highest rating to date.”

2006-11-16

“Do you need a high-performance external storage device? If so, then you probably don't want to hook it up via USB 2.0. Go for Vantec's NexStar 3, which connects to your PC via external Serial ATA (eSATA). eSATA provides exactly the same bandwidth as on-board or add-in SATA controllers: 150 or 300 MB/s. The NST360-SU is the black version that features an aluminum finish and a mirror-like front.”

2006-11-16

“Vantec's external storage solutions are high quality, well designed products that any computer enthusiast can appreciate. The stylish and well built Nexstar 3 NST-360SU offers a solid enclosure and lets you pick the hard drive of your choice for an excellent external storage solution. Combine that with the eSATA PC Card and you've got a high speed, low latency storage device that can serve anyone's needs.”

2006-11-13

“All in all, these are great products... all of them. Some have more pluses than others though. For internal storage or eSATA, the PCI card would be recommended over the PCI-E version. There was no noticable differences between either, but where there -were- minor decreases, it was with the PCI-E card. Since the PCI-E version costs around $10 more, the only reason you should choose it is if all of’’

2006-11-02

"All measurements, Vantec has a rich history in the market, and it clearly shows in their products.  Although they still outfit the traditional hard drives with elegant and attractive enclosures, this review will concentrate on what keeps them on the cutting edge: The Vantec NexStar 3 eSATA hard disk enclosure for 2.5" drives."

2006-09-17

"Vantec NexStar LX is a great little device for not a lot of money. It however lacks a couple of features. Very important is monitoring for example, I like to see who's connected to this little box. Currently you have no idea who's connected to it though and thus is sweeping through your files."

2006-09-10

"Vantec offers a very handy and rather small notebook cooling device, which makes a nice companion for any notebook at a very low price, although it lacks many features. Since it is very small, lightweight and easy to transport, it should become a nice accessory in your notebook’s carrying bag. At the very least it will keep your lap from getting burned and expand your notebook’s lifespan. We would like to see more features, such as a speed controller or an USB hub, but as long as the fans are silent and the price tag of the LapCool 3 is smaller than that of a coffee box, it should be ok for most users."

 

2006-08-07

"Old Friends Are Best: Vantec Stingray STG-100 Cooling Solution in Contemporary Socket AM2 Platform. It includes four water-blocks for the hottest components of your computer system and simple to assemble and install"

2006-08-06

"The NexStar comes with everything the end user will need to install and use their newly acquired NAS. Included in the box is the power supply, USB cable, CAT 5 cable, mounting screws, users manual, and a driver CD. The manual is well laid out and easy to follow for any novice or experienced user. "

2006-08-02

"The Vantec NexStar LX is a quick and easy option for anyone looking to add network attached storage to their personal network, or perhaps even a small office / home office. Vantec has a well respected history of building quality drive enclosures, making their offering even more attractive in this growing segment of the market."

2006-07-18

"The PSU supported all these devices with considerably little noise, thanks to the temperature controlled fan, which truly keeps noise levels to a minimum. The ION 2 also offers protection to your system with its Electric-Shock-Free Protection, Over Voltage Protection, Over Current Protection, Short Circuit Protection features."

2006-06-19

"This is a great product, far better from other HDD coolers we’ve seen in the past. Everything about it is great: its fan isn’t a regular fan but a cross flow blower, which distributes the air more evenly thru the hard disk drive; its digital thermometer is a must-have for all users that are really worried with the hard disk drive temperature; and you can select the fan speed or even disable it to find the perfect balance between noise and performance."

2006-06-15

"Vantec has another winner on their hands with the AVOX Jukebox. This little black box does what they claim and does it very well. Going from an external storage device, to a multi media player with just a change of cord the hook up is very simple. With the right settings one can create a power point presentation with music. The possibilities are plenty. Take on a road trip and plug into a portable device to watch movies or listen to music."

2006-05-23

"The Vantec NexStar 3 is one of the best external hard drive enclosures I have dealt with. Top-notch materials and a slick design coupled with near silent operation (depending on your hard drive) allows the NexStar 3 to eclipse its competitors. "

2006-05-03

"The Vortex 2 from Vantec is a nice product overall. It certainly gets the job done and the installation is easy. The cross blow fan is also going to last longer than any axial fan, while it provides a lot more airflow. The little details, such as the dust filter, the anti-vibration pads and the careful aesthetic details add to the pros of the Vortex 2. The Vortex 2 has two flaws however; first it will require a 5.25” bay of your case for a single 3.5” disk, and second it can become frustratingly loud at full speed. It also never is completely inaudible, although at low speed it is barely noticeable. The extra 5.25” bay will not be much of a problem nowadays, since most modern tower cases have 4 or more 5.25” bays available, except of course if you want to have many hard disk drives cooled by Vortex 2 coolers."

2006-03-22

"Well machined aluminum is high quality and slides effortlessly. Drives fit into the compartment like a glove. A sturdier locking mechanism would have warranted a 5 rating."

2006-03-19

"Overall, the Vantec Iceberq 5 is an affordable kit if you are looking to upgrade the cooling on your video card. The multi-card support makes it easy to move the cooler to another card if you upgrade in the future. The fan is also very quiet, which should make quiet PC users happy"

2006-01-13

"The shiny color finish to the case is attractive and the lighted Vantec logo on the front is a very nice touch, especially at night when it shines the brightest. This is a very nice addition to anyone's hardware list if you happen to have an extra SATA drive lying around and even if you don't, the current prices of hard drives are almost daring you to pick up a large one and order this HDD enclosure with it as well."