Inateck USB 3.0 HDD Enclosure + 3 port Hub Review ( Model FE2007 )

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 recently received an Inateck USB 3.0 HDD Enclosure + 3 port Hub ( Model FE2007 ) for a product review. In addition to the enclosure itself, a USB 3.0 cable and another USB cable for power were included.

I have tested various enclosures before, but this is the first one with a built-in USB hub.  Installation of the hard drive was very simple and didn't require any tools - just remove the cover and insert the drive.

Top Left : Enclosure Top Right : USB 3 cable Bottom : USB power cable

No tools required to install the hard drive, just remove the cover

To test the performance of the enclosure, I used a LiveCD version of Ubuntu to perform a benchmark tests.  Using the same 2.5" laptop hard drive in the enclosure and installed in the laptop itself, the benchmark tests for average read/write and seek times showed minimal ( less than 1% ) variance.

To test the performance of the hub aspect, I used the Ubuntu system again to compare the performance of a different external USB hard drive connected directly to the laptop against the performance of the same drive connected via the hub in the FE2007.  Again, there was minimal impact to performance but I did have to use the 2nd USB cable (for power) which is understandable since I was having to power a hub and enclosure.

USB power port, on/off switch, LEDs, and 3 USB ports for the hub

I also did a few tests to see what sort of current was being pulled - I do want to note that the device I use to measure current only supports USB 2.0 mode so I don't know if the true power consumption is different when the drive is in USB 3.0 mode.  Based on those quick tests, I noted the following:

- With the hard drive off, the hub itself uses about 0.24A
- With the hard drive on, the enclosure + hub uses about 0.56A when idling ( jumping up to almost 1A when it is turned on, and about 0.85A when in use).
- Using the 2nd USB power cable put about 0.56A on the main USB 3 data cable, and 0.25A on the second power only cable.

Considering USB 3.0 is rated for 0.9A, you probably should use the 2nd USB power cable if you are going to attach anything to the hub.

Size Comparison Left to Right:
FE2005, FE2007, 2.5" HD

As a real world test, I used this drive with my Xbox One without any problems.

This enclosure would work well for situations where you would need both an HDD enclosure and a USB hub.  However, if you don't need the hub then I would suggest looking at other Inateck options such as the FE2005.

Here are the main points I noticed about this product:

Easy to Use: Installing the hard drive doesn't require any tools, and everything worked fine on the Ubuntu system without any special settings or drivers.

Versatile: In addition to supporting 2.5" SATA drives, this enclosure also has a 3-port USB hub which is great if you are using a device that doesn't have many available USB ports.

Performance: As both an external enclosure and USB hub, the benchmark tests showed that this device performs well.

Bottom line: If you have a need for an external enclosure and USB hub, this device does both jobs well.

Inateck Product Page: http://www.inateck.com/inateck-usb-3-0-2-5-portable-hdd-enclosure-3port-usb-3-0-hub/
Amazon Product Page: http://amzn.com/B00T2ODFCU