Installation:

   In order to get to the hard drive tray inside you'll need to remove two screws on the end with all the connections (hence the included screwdriver). No tool free operation here unfortunately, but it only takes a minute. Once those are removed, remove that end cap and then push the exposed hard drive tray into the shell in order to push it out the back end. Then easily install an SATA hard drive of your choice and fasten it to the tray with the 4 included screws.

   Now if you're observant, you may notice that there doesn't appear to be any cooling fans in this unit. You would be correct. There is indeed no fans to aid in hard drive cooling. On one hand, the unit itself is completely silent barring hard drive rotational noise. On the other hand...there is no airflow inside the unit and when I say "no" I mean absolutely none. There isn't so much as a slit for a vent. This unit relies completely on it's thick aluminum shell for heat dispersion. Now, I tested this unit for many hours without any major noticeable heat from the unit, but then again it's not like the hard drive itself it actually touching the outer aluminum shell so it would be fairly tough to get a reading there. I wouldn't personally have a problem putting a 7200rpm or less hard drive in this unit. However I don't think I'd feel so secure putting a 10,000rpm Raptor in this. So take that information as you will.

Testing:

   Now this Z1 hard drive enclosure is compatible with both USB 2.0 and e-SATA. Since my Striker Extreme motherboard just happens to have 1 couple e-SATA ports built right into it, I figured I'd test it both way for you guys. I'll be using HD Tach and also HD Tune for the testing.

   It's interesting in the results how e-SATA starts off strong but tend to drop over time yet USB 2.0 starts slower but stays very consistent. Either way, it worked perfectly both ways so whatever is good for you.

Conclusion:

   Overall these Kingwin Z1 hard drive enclosures are of good quality and the kit includes everything you need to get up and running other than the hard drive itself. The ability to use wither USB 2.0 or e-SATA is a nice option if you're switching between maybe a main rig with e-SATA and an older rig with only USB ports.

   If I were to recommend a couple possible improvements to these units I'd have to say 1) make them tool-less and 2) add some cooling by either a small fan or even just a few slits on top to help let the heat out.

   The Kingwin Z1 series is still a real nice hard drive enclosure and certainly worth a look if you're in the market. They're both attractive and clean in design with adding dual connection abilities. At a street price of just $29.99 right now from Newegg.com, you can pick up this unit in blue, red or black. I'd like to thank Kingwin for sending out these units for review.