Product Reviews

If you've replaced your internal hard disk with a larger model, it can be recycled as an external disk by fitting it inside an enclosure. Most enclosures connect to your PC using USB - fast enough for everyday use, but less than ideal for transferring large amounts of data such as DV or HD footage.

Antec's Veris MX-1 and Akasa's Integral P2 E-SATA have eSATA ports. ESATA is the external version of the SATA II interface used by internal hard disks. It is supposed to be as fast as SATA II, but the results of our Labs in Shopper September 2007 suggest some eSATA disks can be slower.

Luckily, this wasn't the case with the Veris MX-1 or the Integral P2 E-SATA. We tested both with the same 320GB Samsung disk, and the file transfer speeds were

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in line with what we'd expect from an internal SATA hard disk. The Veris was faster than any eSATA disk we've seen recently. Neither is quite as fast as the fastest SATA disks in all our tests, though. Both enclosures also have USB ports for use with computers that don't have eSATA. The file-copying performance of both was in line with what we'd expect. The Integral can also accommodate a PATA disk for use over USB.

Disassembling either enclosure to fit a disk is trickier than we'd like. Screwing a disk into the Integral's slide-out tray is straightforward enough, although it's easy to pinch the data and power cables between metal struts so care is required. Removing the Veris's disk tray can be fiddly as you have to first disconnect the tiny jumpers connecting the activity and power lights to the circuit board.

The Veris can only accommodate a SATA disk that uses a SATA power connector. The Integral can power disks that use a SATA or Molex connection. The unneeded cable can be disconnected, but this should be done carefully as they can snap easily. The Veris is quieter than the Integral, since it cushions the hard disk with a rubber bumper, reducing vibration and noise.

The Integral is cheaper and can accommodate SATA or PATA disks, but the Veris is quieter, faster, and our choice if you need an eSATA enclosure.