Kingwin 3.5" & 5.25" Portable USB Enclosures

Beginning at the rear of the unit, we see an on/off switch, DC power in and  a USB 2.0 port.  Power is obtained via an external power adapter that plugs into the wall.  This is necessary because an installed hard drive, not to mention the lighting on the device, will require much more power than can be derived from a USB plug.  Along each side of the enclosure, you can see a clear Plexiglas area which lights up with the unit under power.  One side lights blue, indicating power while the other lights orange indicating the drive is being accessed, similar to the HDD activity lamp on your case. 

  

The hard drive enclosure is constructed of aluminum and functions as a big heatsink to some degree.  The drive is installed by the removal of four screws on one end of the unit, allowing the end cap to come off and the top plate to slide out.  The drive mounts inside by screws going through the bottom of the enclosure into the threaded holes on the base of your drive.  Once the drive is installed, the aluminum that is in contact with the drive helps conduct heat off.  Personally, I would have liked to see the addition of a fan built in here.

Aluminum USB External Enclosure (Optical Drives)

Specifications

• Application: 5.25" external drive enclosure

• Observed Dimensions: 254 (L) x 185 (W) x 50mm (H)

• Weight: 2.3kg

• Construction: Aluminum/Plastic

• Bus Interface: USB 2.0

• Interface: IDE

• Lighting: Blue power light bar with orange drive activity light bar

• Available Colors: Silver

The second of our Kingwin drive enclosures is designed for 5.25" devices.  This opens up several options to us.  What immediately comes to my mind is making a DVD-RW portable.  The rear of the unit has the same on/off switch, DC power in and USB 2.0 port as the hard drive enclosure as well as the additions of a fan and left and right audio jacks.  To answer your question now, no, you do not need to connect the audio jacks to hear your CD or DVD in a drive installed in the device.  The drive is mounted via screws through the base into your drive's base.

  

Opening up the unit, we see a small 40mm fan set up to function as an exhaust.  This helps cool your drive in addition to the aluminum body of the enclosure itself acting like a wraparound heatsink.

  

One end of the Kingwin 5.25" enclosure snaps off just like any case you would see, allowing access to your optical drive.

  

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