Conclusion & Final Thoughts

The Vantec NexStar 3 is a fantastic drive enclosure. Supporting both eSATA and USB2.0, there should not be a machine in your house that cannot use this enclosure. Ideally, you can use the eSATA connection with your desktop, and the USB connection with your laptop. Of course, you can purchase an eSATA card for your laptop just the same.

The eSATA connection does not hinder drive performance at all, which may or may not surprise some. Many people are used to USB's slower speeds, but this isn't the case with eSATA. You'll get the full SATA experience through an eSATA connection.

While the enclosure does not have a fan, we found that a fan would be unnecessary, as the aluminum chassis does a fantastic job of dissipating heat. Even after 30 minutes of continuous use, the enclosure remained cool to the touch. The one downside to this enclosure is that it does not do anything to dampen the vibrations from the hard drive within. Even when the drive is not being used, I can feel the drive vibrating my wooden desk.

Aside from this single shortcoming that we found, the Vantec NexStar 3 is a fantastic external enclosure.

Pros

• Light
• Attractive
• Light-up logo
• Runs cool & quiet
• USB or eSATA Connection

Cons

• No vibration dampening

Rating

9/10

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