Installation:

     The Barracuda 7200.9 SATA hard drive was easy to install. The cables were just the right length and I didn't have to jam the hard drive in the enclosure to make it fit. VIZO did a real nice job here. As far as drivers go, you don't need any as long as you are using Windows 2000 or XP. Windows 9x and Mac users will have to install some drivers.

The top edge of the drive lights up when the drive is powered on. Nice touch.

Test System:

     For this review we'll be using an ASUS P5W DH Deluxe motherboard which is based on Intel's 975X chipset. Here is a basic rundown of the test system:

Testing:

     All hard drive testing will be conducted using HD Tach RW. ClubOC has been using HD Tach for years and it has proven itself to be the most accurate and reliable hard drive benchmarking program we've used.

Test #1 - USB 2.0

     The first test we ran was using the USB 2.0 interface. As always, USB 2.0 works great, requires no drivers for Windows 2000 or XP, and was hassle free. The only problem is USB 2.0 is slow when it comes to transferring large amounts of data. The burst rate of the LUXON was only 26.3 MB/s and average read and write speeds of 26.0 MB/s and 6.2 MB/s, only a small fraction of what this Barracuda hard drive is capable of.

Test #2 - SATA
(Using the included external SATA port)

     This time we used the SATA port and the external SATA bracket and port that came with the LUXON. This option will require you to reboot your computer in order to setup the hard drive. It's really no different than adding an internal hard drive.

     With SATA, the benchmarks were much higher and had a burst rate of 68.6 MB/s with average read and write speeds of 59.1 MB/s and 44.1 MB/s. Although this is much faster, the benchmarks still seem a little low for this particular hard drive so I removed the hard drive from the LUXON and plugged it directly into the same SATA port VIZO provided and ran another test to see just exactly how much speed we are loosing with the LUXON controller card located inside the external enclosure.

Test #3 - SATA
(Bypassing the LUXON and using the included external SATA port)

     This time with the LUXON controller card bypassed using the same Barracuda hard drive, burst rates went through the roof with a speed of 233.0 MB/s. The read and write speeds also went up slightly with average speeds of 60.9 MB/s and 54.2 MB/s.

Conclusion:

     The VIZO LUXON is a welcome change in the world of external hard drive enclosures. With so many HDD enclosures out there to choose from, it's nice to know that there really is one that stands out in the crowd. With great universal capabilities, the LUXON is an easy choice to make.

     The LUXON is a great choice and I really like what VIZO has done, but it's not quite perfect. VIZO should consider changing out the included SATA port and bracket with an e-SATA bracket. The technology is pretty much the same, but the cable and port are different. Also, the benchmarks show me that the internal controller card could use a little work to increase burst speeds along with average read and write speeds. However, the SATA speed is still there which makes me very happy, especially when it comes to transferring large files.

     Overall, VIZO has done a great job with the LUXON and I highly recommend it over any external hard drive enclosure that only offers USB or SATA alone.

Innovation:	9.5 out of 10
Performance:	9.0 out of 10
Quality:	8.5 out of 10
Stability:	N/A
Overclocking:	N/A
Software/Drivers Pack:	10 out of 10
Value:	9.0 out of 10
Overall Rating 9.0
Project Skill Level (10 being most difficult)	3 out of 10