Introduction:

EagleTech, and it’s sub-brand Consensus Storage are a pair of names that might be new to you, the reader, but definitely are already known to us here at Virtual-Hideout. Around a month ago, our very own Sludge took a look at their 2.5” laptop drive enclosure, and wouldn’t you know, he rather liked the little thing. The only problem is, that while 2.5” enclosures are definitely popular for their compact size, variety of styles, and ease of portability, the drives they sport just don’t cut the mustard when there’s a mountain of data to be moved.

In that spirit, there’s the EagleTech N-Series Pro on the test bench today, one of a myriad of enclosures on the market today, clamoring to the user’s eyes, ears, and budgets. While the market is indeed wide, carrying everything from minimalist flare to cooled and illuminated cages, one little problem remains – where is the user to find a way to decide? With that in mind, It’s good and time to take a look at this product, to see if it could suit the needs of myself, and many other users. With that said, let’s crack open the box. 

Features & Specifications:

-Specs

• Internal Interface: SATA

• External Interface: USB 2.0

• Transfer Rate: 480mbps (USB)

• Supported Hard Drive: SATA (Serial ATA-150 / Serial ATA-300)

• Power Source: External Power Adapter (12V, 2.0A)

• Power Input: 100-240VAC, 50/60Hz

• Certification: FCC, CE Certified

• Microsoft O.S. Support: Vista / XP / 2000 / ME

• Others O.S. Support: Mac OS 9.0 or higher

• Dimension: 8.5"(L) x 1.25"(W) x 4.75"(H)

• Weight: 2.05 lbs

-Features

• Works with 3.5" SATA hard drive

•  Turn your hard drive to USB portable drive instantly!

• Compact and Stylish

• Great for business travelers or professional users

• Ultra heat dissipation

• Lifetime Tech Support

• Fan-less silent

A Closer Look, Performance: 

Perhaps the first thing I liked about this product was the simple packaging; it was a little box, with a thoughtful little handle, with just the right amount of information on it – a good photo of the product, and highlights about the unit on the front of the box, right there, and ready for the user to see. If a bit more curiosity was to be found, the box could just be flipped over, for a manifest of the carton’s contents, as well as a pair of shots regarding the enclosure’s orientation. Really, there isn’t much to say here.

Front Side of Box

Freebies? Sweet.

Rear Side of Box.

Unpackaging the unit, there really wasn’t anything particularly special to find – just a USB cable, a brief manual, and a setup CD. Below those, was the enclosure, well protected within its own foam blocks, and lurking below its surface – which was a bit frustrating to remove, mounting screws, with a spare unit, to boot.  Unfortunately, it seems that the 1 year limited warrantee promised on the box is a product that may need to be sent away for.

EagleTech External Storage System Action Set! Comes with Everything you see here!*
*Batteries Not Included.

Taking a look around the main event, it’s a rather simple unit, with the company’s logo pressed into the sides – one of which is filtered, to help keep dust out during convection cooling. That logo is also present on the front bezel of the unit, opposite to which, a standard power plug, USB receptacle, and switch can be found. Perhaps disappointingly, a look inside the unit revealed a fairly standard circuitboard – with solder pads to drop on an ESata port – a feature which could have made this unit’s performance that much higher – on a compliant system, mind you.

Front and Side View

Rear Connectors

Frustrating Screws

Filtered, not stirred

More interesting, is the pair of power connectors finding their way up to the circuit board. Judging by the power brick’s output of 2A at 12V, I assume that this unit rectifies itself two additional power sources before the drive is fed – 5v and 3.3v. Personally, I much prefer this method, as it stops the need for special, fragile and annoying connectors for power – after all, how many other enclosures have you seen using s-video ports for power plugs?

No E-Sata?

12V/5V

Drive Installed

The Eagle's Drive

My only real grievance with this unit is the fact that in order to install a drive, the user needs to remove 8 flat head screws, tie down 4 Phillips screws (mounting the drive into the plastic), then tie down those 8 screws from before.  Beyond that, I’m unsure how effective the mesh could be, considering that the drive blocks 95% of the airflow path. Couple that with the fact that there’s no active cooling, and someone foolish enough to shoehorn a Raptor drive into here may get burned. For my usage though, which is the storage of a backup, and other entertainment drive, the enclosure kept its external temperature warm – so that when picked up, it didn’t sear your fingers… something that I’ve seen cheap enclosures do all too much. Looks and configuration aside, it’s time for the main event.

Performance was as would be expected by this enclosure; it easily reached the maximum theoretical bandwidth of USB 2.0, and summarily, spent it’s time happily ferreting data around at about 36MB/s. In terms of ease of use, the drive appeared, and functioned as just another hard drive through windows explorer, and as such, setup was completely painless.  That said, it’s time for conclusions.

The N-Series with my Coolermaster 690 - Stylish Mesh Buddies.

Conclusion:

Though setup was definitely not as painless as the last product, the performance, compatibility, and acceptable thermal performance of this unit makes it a winner in my book. While it’s not something I would claim essential – an item which could make your computing experience infinitely better, I am saying that this unit is a good one to keep in mind. Especially, if it’s on sale, and let’s face it – the inclusion of Avast! Anti-Virus Home edition is a nice touch, and should you ever drop this drive while it’s containing mission critical data, the coupon for $200 off recovery from Disk Doctors will more than make up for the cost of the unit. In short, this product easily wins EagleTech another Approved award.

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