Inateck USB 3.0 HDD Aluminum External Enclosure Review ( Model FE2003 )

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product for free so that I could provide product feedback to the company and post a product review. I was not required to write a positive review and I do not rate products higher than they should have been. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's requirements.

I received an Inateck USB 3.0 HDD Aluminum External Enclosure ( model FE2003 ) for a product review.  I already did a review ( link to my review ) on the Inateck model FE2005 so in this review, I am going to make comparisons to the FE2005.

After unpacking everything, the first thing I noticed was the lack of instruction manual.  I don't feel this is a big issue, but lately I try to review the manual first to make sure I know of any unique features the product has.

Everything included in the package.

My next step was to put a hard drive into the case.  I had to figure out how to open the case ( which wasn't difficult really ) and then using the included screws and screw drivers I secured the drive and used another set of screws to close the case.  Overall not a complicated process, but definitely not as easy as the Inateck FE2005.

Hard drive tray removed from enclosure

The external enclosure has both a USB 3.0 port and a separate power port that a second USB cable connects into.  This could be useful in certain situations where the device providing USB connectivity does not have enough power ( USB 2.0 device that only provides 0.5A ) or if you want to use this on a device such as an Android tablet and want to use a separate power source.

Size comparison:
FE2003 (Left) 2.5" Hard drive (Middle) FE2005 (Right)

To test the additional power port, I put a 500GB 7200rpm drive into the case and transferred some large files over to the drive (to simulate a load during use).  Using my DROK USB testers, here is what I measured:

1) Using USB 3.0 port alone, the drive pulled approximately 0.65A
2) Using both ports, the USB 3.0 (data) port pulled 0.4A and the USB power port pulled 0.25A.

The USB 3.0 spec is rated for 0.9A so a USB 3.0 port should be able to handle this drive with no issue but if your using a device that only puts out the 0.5A per the USB 2 specifications then you may need to use both adapters.  This may not be an issue if you are always going to use USB 3.0 ports, but users may have projects where dual power is required or preferred.

To test the device performance, I turned Ubuntu (live CD in this case).  The average read/write and access times were within about 2% of the FE2005 tests (which both performed very similar to other adapters I tested).

Here are the main points I noted during my review:

Easy of Use: While it was not difficult to insert the hard drive, the tool free FE2005 was much easier than this enclosure.  If you plan to swap drives often, this is going to be a factor to consider otherwise I wouldn't make it a main decision point.

Structure and design:  The aluminum case feels solid, and as I described above the additional power is one of the main differences for this enclosure.  This enclosure also has a USB 3.0 "Type A" port on it, which is the same size most laptops have.  This should be sturdier than the USB 3.0 Micro B ports that most enclosure have.  If you are going to keep your enclosure someone stationary (for example on your Xbox One) this may not be a major factor to consider, but if you are going to be in situations where the cable may get pulled on or stress on it the larger port should prove beneficial.

Other Considerations: In addition to including the required cables, screws and screw driver this enclosure also comes with a black cloth bag to carry the drive in.  Again, this is just one of those small details that is worth considering since you don't want your nice enclosure to get scratched up.

Bottom Line: I would definitely recommend anyone looking for an external case consider how they plan to use it, and what features are important.  Both the FE2003 reviewed here and the FE2005 are solid choices, each having their own benefits.