Kingwin Z1 External USB/eSATA Drive Enclosure

The reverse end is colored black and is the connection point for all power and data cables.  From top to bottom we find the USB 2.0 port, eSATA port, on/off rocker and power jack.  The external SATA port is actually SATA II meaning that it can take speeds up to 3.0 gigs per second.  How's that for fast?

That same back cover also had two Phillips head screws.  Whether you choose to use the included screwdriver or one of your own, removing these screws allows access to the interior of the Kingwin Z1.  Sliding the outer shell of the internal drive frame was tight but not so much so as to warrant complaint.  With the internal frame all the way out, we see how our drive mounts in and slides back into the outer cover.  One thing that struck me as odd was cooling; no cooling fan and no appreciable vents to speak of.  Hard drives can get very hot and without any real cooling we plan on putting the screws to the Kingwin Z1.

  

With everything connected and powered up the Z1 looks like this.  A blue LED 'Z1' logo lights on the front of the outer casing.  It doesn't pulse with drive activity or anything like that, it simply glows.

Performance

Our performance testing with the Kingwin Z1 Enclosure is two fold.  First is read, write and random access times via the USB 2.0 connection.  We dropped in a Western Digital 250MB SATA II hard drive and had at it with SiSoft Sandra's File Systems module.  An average drive index of 26MB/s is a healthy speed for large file transfers.  Unfortunately we did not have an eSATA ready machine for testing the eSATA transfer speeds.

The second phase of testing was to confirm my suspicions that with no cooling fan or large vent area, an installed drive could overheat causing read/write errors or fail otherwise.  This rack has been in use and not turned off for two weeks prior to this review being posted with VERY frequent large files (200GB+) being written, erased, copy, pasted etc.  Try as I might to overheat the WD drive in the Z1 to the point of error or complete failure, I couldn't do it.  I will still say that a cooling fan would certainly make me feel better but in the case of the Z1 it does not seem critically necessary.

Conclusion

Kingwin's Z1 External Enclosure has some sleek lines that will attract a number of folks looking for a functional and stylish way to transport large data files that are otherwise just too large for a flash drive.  Video libraries come immediately to mind here.  USB 2.0 offers speedy data transfers for the masses and super high speed (via eSATA) for the "gotta have it right now" folks.  The price point of $30 seems more than fair considering the construction quality and aesthetics of the unit.  If you like what you see, the Kingwin Z1 Enclosure is available at NewEgg for $30 now.  With the exception of our wanting (but not needing) a cooling fan, the Kingwin Z1 is an admirable unit well worth the asking price.

Pros

• Fantastic design

• $30 Price point

• Silent operation

• Easy drive installation

• USB / eSATA connectivity

• Compatible for 3 Gbps drives for eSATA

• Three colors to choose from

• Included screwdriver

Cons

• No internal cooling fan

BACK                    HOME