Testing

Testing the Nexstar 3 consisted of installing an 1.5TB SATA, 7200RPM 3.5" Seagate Barracuda hard drive and running HDTune and HDTach to compare transfer speeds.

Results

In order to get a good gauge of the enclosure's performance, we will compare it to that of a native, internal SATA port. 

HDTach Internal SATA:

The eSATA port on the NexStar enclosure shows a similar performance curve except that the peak is capped at 110MB/s as opposed to the near 140MB/s that we saw on the native controller.  Burst speeds are at 127.1 MB/s.

HD Tach FireWire 800:

 Here is the HDTach numbers for the FireWire 800.  Not surprisingly, performance is capped at 80 MB/s, with a burst speed of 85.1 MB/s.  The 1394A port on the card gave us identical performance numbers as well.  This is as expected; a native FireWire 400 port will run at half the speed of this.

HD Tach USB 2.0:

Finally, we have the USB 2.0 test.  As universal as USB 2.0, it is definitely showing its age, with an average bandwidth of 37.2MB/s.

Next up is our HD Tune numbers.  HD Tune is another test that gauges the bandwidth and latency as well.

HD Tune Internal SATA:

First up is the internal SATA test.  In this test, we saw an average bandwidth of 100 MB/s, and seek time of 13.6ms. 

HD Tune eSATA:

Next is the eSATA test. Just like the HD Tach test, HD Tune shows a peak of around 100MB/s, with an average of 92.7MB/s.  Seek time was the same at 13.5ms. 

HD Tune FireWire 800:

HDTune again verifies our HD Tach findings.  FireWire 800 is capped to around 75MB/s for average bandwidth, and a 13.5ms seek time.

HD Tune USB 2.0:

HD Tune also shows us the limitations of USB 2.0, with an average bandwidth of 33.2 MB/s and a 13.6ms seek latency.

Conclusion

Vantec shows once again that they build some pretty awesome storage solutions, and the new NexStar is no exception.  The NexStar offers a huge advantage by supporting every major external connection interface there is, all with excellent performance. On top of that, installation is a snap, the build quality is great, and the looks are absolutely killer.  But that comes at a price.  With a retail price tag of $90, this is easily the highest priced external enclosure with this level of features.  However, you get what you pay for, and I have had my fair share of cheap plastic enclosures that break in no time; I am confident that won't happen here.  On the other hand, the older Vantec NexStar 3 (360UFS-BK) is much cheaper and only lacks the 1394B capability.  With more motherboards including eSATA as a standard, and the ease of converting SATA to eSATA, I would have to say that the older Vantec gets my recommendation with the exception of those users that have a specific need for 1394B. 

Performance:	5 out of 5
Innovation:	4 out of 5
Quality:	5 out of 5
Stability:	N/A
Aesthetics:	5 out of 5
Software/Drivers Pack:	N/A
Overclocking:	N/A
Value:	3 out of 5
Project Skill Level (5 being most difficult)	1 out of 5