Contents:

   The packaging of the NexStar GX external hard drive enclosure was excellent. It provided excellent cushioning and protection to the contents to ensure a safe delivery to it's purchasers.

   Inside the package you'll find:

• Main NexStar GX Unit

• White Plastic Cover

• NexStar GX Manual

• NexStar GX Driver Cd

• White Box with Power Brick

• Black Power Cord

• Black USB 2.0 Cable

• Small baggy w/ screws and yellow tape

A Closer Look:

   The NexStar GX unit itself is actually made mostly out of metallic grey plastic. It feels very sturdy and not cheap in any way at all. It's not entirely plastic though as it uses a unique half-sleeve heatsink unit that slips tight over half (the hot side) of the hard drive you are installing and hangs thru a cutout in the NexStar GX unit. The purpose of this design is to release heat from the hard drive outside of the unit viz the heatsink being attached directly to the hard drive. It works pretty well as once the hard drive is in use for alittle while, you can definitely feel the warmth by placing your hand across the heatsink.

   It's a wide hard drive heatsink with 15 fins that are a full 4" in length. The heatsink fins are made from aluminum for good heat dispersion and, as I stated above, they definitely seem to do their job.

    The one part of the main unit assembly that I did not like however was the white plastic cover. It feels sturdy enough, but there is just a "cheap" or "after thought" feel about it. It attaches uses some basic snap tabs that lock into the main unit. It's very easy to install after you've assembled the unit with the hard drive inside, however it's quite a pain the remove. I had to use a precision screwdriver (ya know, those tiny tiny screwdrivers) to get in there and pry open the tabs enough to pry it up high enough to get it open. It fits so flush inside the unit and that makes it even tougher to remove. It's certainly not a 30 minute process or anything, but definitely seems that there should be a better way, if not using some higher quality parts there.  

Front View	Rear View	Rear Close-Up
Bottom View	Prying White Cover Off	Micro Security Slot

   You can see on the bottom of the unit that there are long rubber strips that hold the unit securely in place on just about any surface. Once the hard drive is installed, the hefty weight of the unit combined with the rubber strips on the bottom really hold it down tight.

    You'll also notice, in the pictures above, the fins from the hard drives passive heatsink application. You'll see here in a bit how exactly that connects to the hard drive itself.

   The rear of the NexStar GX has a good bit more than a typical external hdd enclosure, but the biggest difference is the addition of the 3-port USB 2.0 hub. It's not as complicated back there as it may look to the novice user.

   One more thing I'd like to mention is the on/off switch. You can turn this unit on and off at random once it's been detected in windows the first time and assigned a drive letter, etc. However, the on/off switch is very easy to mistakenly switch, meaning it's much too soft. I think it should've been a bit more click-click, if you know what I mean. Luckily the switch is on the back and hopefully won't have too many fingers near it, however with the USB ports not far away, it may get hit by accident.

   Hitting the switch accidentally will cause not only your hard drive to power down (hopefully NOT while you're writing data to it!), but it will also cause those 3 USB 2.0 ports on the back to power down as well. When the drives off, it's OFF completely.