Brilliant eCombo eSATA/USB2.0 External Enclosure ... portable data storage on the move.

Billiant eCombo's eSATA/USB2.0 external enclosure is one of those accessories that you don't come across that often. If you've recently upgraded your hard drive on your notebook, and you don't know what to do with the spare one ... then why not turn the spare drive into a cheap and versatile portable storage device. With this enclosure it will allow users to do just that.

eSATA is essentially a term to describe a device that offers "external" SATA connection. There are very few external devices onthe market that offer eSATA connection. The only ones I've come across are external enclosures for 3.5" hard drives.

In this review we'll be taking a look at the Billiant eCombo's eSATA/USB2.0 external enclosure. What this enclosure offers that others don't is the added support for eSATA connection. Most of the external enclosures I've used only offer USB2.0 connection.

There's a switch which allows you to choose between eSATA and USB2.0, and if your hard drive requires a little more power, a DC in power jack is also available. The eSATA connector found on the enclosure is a real bonus, and by using the eSATA cable provided, you can directly connect it to a motherboard that's equipped with eSATA ports. This will give you full SATA speeds (allegedly). 

According to SATA and USB2.0 specifications, the maximum (theoretical) speed for data transfer is as follows:

 - SATA-I devices ... 150Mb/sec
 - SATA-II devices ... 300Mb/sec
 - USB2.0 devices ... 480Mbps (60Mb/sec)

Notice the USB2.0 will give you upto 480Mbps (megabits per second). If there's 8 bits in a byte. Then you need to devide 480 by 8 ... this will give you 60. Looking at these specs, I'm sure they sound great, but the truth is ... data transfer speeds vary from device to device. These specs are theoretical maximums ... in real life situations, it's going to be far less.

OK, let's show you how we can turn your spare 2.5" hard drive into a very cheap and versatile portable storage device using the Billiant eCombo's eSATA/USB2.0 external enclosure.