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Stardom i201 and IB-281U

From a Windows XP point of view, the device is completely plug and play. After a few seconds doing its thing Windows detects the device and installs the relevant driver. The unit is then assigned a drive letter and you work with it as you would your fixed hard drive/s.

SiSoftware Sandra 2005

Sandra 2005 is the now includes remote analysis, benchmarking and diagnostic features for PCs, servers, PDAs, Smart Phones, small office/home office (SOHO) networks and enterprise networks.

File System Benchmark:

ICY BOX IB-281U

Stardom i201

As far as Sandra is concerned the ICY BOX plays second fiddle to the quicker Stardom unit. Of course the results are rounded to the nearest Megabyte so the difference may be less than 1MB overall.

Removable Storage Benchmark

In Sandra's removable storage benchmark the unit performs well but as expected is very limited by the USB2.0 bus.

ICY BOX IB-281U

HD Tach 3.0.1.0

ICY BOX IB-281U (click for larger image)

Stardom i201(click for larger image)

HD Tach has the two units running neck and neck in terms of average speed which was a slight surprise given the Sandra results. HD Tach though is only testing read speeds while Sandra tests both reads and writes, so perhaps the best way to tell if the writes are the culprit is to copy a file over and see how long it takes to write it.

I chose a single 307MB *.avi video file for the test and averaged the time across three runs.

Anybody spot a problem?

Slick and stylish though the ICY BOX is it's becoming apparent that it's not the fastest enclosure around. Because of the nature of external USB2.0 hard drive enclosures we can only really put this down to the bridge chip employed, a theory that wouldn't hold much water if they used the same one. Fortunately they don't.

The ICY BOX IB-281U uses a Cypress CY7C68300B bridge chip which it would appear, is slower than the Genesys GL811E Logic bridge chip employed by the i201.

Cypress CY7C68300B

Features Of The Cypress CY7C68300B

• Fixed-function mass storage device-requires no firmware code
  
• Two power modes: Self-powered and USB bus-powered to enable bus powered CF readers and truly portable USB hard drives
  
• Certified compliant for USB 2.0 (TID# 40460273), the USB Mass Storage Class, and the USB
• Mass Storage Class Bulk-Only Transport (BOT) Specification
  
• Operates at high (480-Mbps) or full (12-Mbps) speed USB
  
• Complies with ATA/ATAPI-6 specification
  
• Supports 48-bit addressing for large hard drives
  
• Supports ATA security features
  
• Supports all ATA commands via ATACB function
  
• Supports mode page 5 for BIOS boot support
  
• Supports ATAPI serial number VPD page retrieval for Digital Rights Management (DRM) compatibility
  
• Supports PIO modes 0, 3, 4, multiword DMA mode 2, and UDMA modes 2, 3, 4
  
• Uses one external serial EEPROM for storage of USB descriptors and device configuration data
  
• ATA interface IRQ signal support
  
• Support for one or two ATA/ATAPI devices
  
• Support for CompactFlash and one ATA/ATAPI device
  
• Can place the ATA interface in high-impedance (Hi-Z) to allow sharing of the ATA bus with another controller (e.g., an IEEE-1394 to ATA bridge chip or MP3 Decoder)
  
• Support for board-level manufacturing test via USB interface
  
• Low-power 3.3V operation
  
• Fully compatible with native USB mass storage class drivers
  
• Cypress mass storage class drivers available for Windows
  (98SE, ME, 2000, XP) and Mac OS X

Features Of The Genesys Logic GL811E

• Complies with Universal Serial Bus specification rev. 2.0.
  
• Complies with ATA/ATAPI-6 specification rev 1.0.
  
• Complies with USB Storage Class specification ver.1.0. (Bulk only protocol)
  
• Operating system supported: Win XP/2000/ME/98/98SE; Mac OS 9.X/X.
  
• Integrated USB 2.0 Transceiver Macrocell Interface (UTMI) transceiver and Serial Interface Engine (SIE).
  
• Supports 4 endpoints: Control (0)/Bulk Read (1)/Bulk Write (2)/Interrupt (3).
  
• 64/512 bytes Data Payload for full/high speed Bulk Endpoint.
  
• Supports 16-bit Multiword DMA mode and Ultra DMA mode interface (Ultra 33/66).
  
• Embedded RISC CPU.
  
• Supports Power Down mode and USB suspend indicator.
  
• Supports USB 2.0 TEST mode features.
  
• Supports 2 GPIO (GPIO5 & 6) for programmable AP (only for 64 pin package).
  
• Supports device power control for power on/off when running suspend mode (only for 64 pin package).
  
• Supports 32 bit and 48 bit LBA hard disk.
  
• Provides LED indicator for Full Speed and High Speed (only for 64 pin package).
  
• 12 MHz external clock to provide better EMI.
  
• 3.3V power input; 5V tolerance pad for IDE interface.
  
• Supports Wakeup ability.
  
• Available in 48-pin LQFP and 64-pin TQFP package.
  

  Conclusion

  The 3DVelocity 'Dual Conclusions Concept' Explained: After discussing this concept with users as well as companies and vendors we work with, 3DVelocity have decided that where necessary we shall aim to introduce our 'Dual Conclusions Concept' to sum up our thoughts and impressions on the hardware we review. As the needs of the more experienced users and enthusiasts have increased, it has become more difficult to factor in all the aspects that such a user would find important, while also being fair to products that may lack these high end "bonus" capabilities but which still represent a very good buy for the more traditional and more prevalent mainstream user. The two categories we've used are:

  The Mainstream User ~ The mainstream user is likely to put price, stock performance, value for money, reliability and/or warranty terms ahead of the need for hardware that operates beyond its design specifications. The mainstream user may be a PC novice or may be an experienced user, however their needs are clearly very different to those of the enthusiast, in that they want to buy products that operate efficiently and reliably within their advertised parameters.

  The Enthusiast ~ The enthusiast cares about all the things that the mainstream user cares about but is more likely to accept a weakness in one or more of these things in exchange for some measure of performance or functionality beyond its design brief. For example, a high priced motherboard may be tolerated in exchange for unusually high levels of overclocking ability or alternatively an unusually large heat sink with a very poor fixing mechanism may be considered acceptable if it offers significantly superior cooling in return.

The Mainstream User ~

If style and substance matter more than plain speed then the IB-281U is great. Stylish and practical, the blend of leather and metal works well in my view while also offering excellent protection.

The integral short USB plug eliminates a problem I've personally run into before, namely reaching your host machine and suddenly realising you've forgotten to bring your USB cable with you.

With even video streaming to your PC requiring just 8 to 15MB/sec on average, somewhat less that the 30+MB/sec available from the ICY BOX, even the lack of raw speed will only impact how long you have to wait for your files to transfer, not what you can do with it.

	NA

The Enthusiast ~

The device is cool, the integrated lead is cool, the look and feel is cool, the performance is suspect. If you can look beyond its rather odd write speed lethargy this is a really nice enclosure that just feels rock solid enough to be a companion for years to come.

I haven't really been able to test out its cooling efficiency yet but the alloy panel will certainly help it stay cool to some extent.

At 21.99+VAT it's a touch on the expensive side compared to similar enclosures but most don't share the same look or feel. Still, the price combined with the slightly off-par performance is enough I think for it to miss out on a recommended award from an enthusiast standpoint. Maybe they should switch to the Genesys bridge chip?

	NA

NOTE** This enclosure is also available in a 1.8" HDD format under the model number IB181U-T. For more details contact Nanopoint at info@nanopoint.co.uk

We're always looking for ways to make our reviews fairer. A Right To Reply gives the manufacturer or supplier of the product being reviewed a chance to make public comments on what we've said. They can explain perhaps why they've done the things we were unhappy with or blow their own trumpet over the things we loved. It's easy for us to pick a product apart but sometimes things are done a certain way for very specific reasons.

Should Nanopoint decide to exercise their "Right To Reply", we'll publish their comments below: