Vantec EZ Swap EX Review - DriverHeaven.net

Sata Connection Via the Insertion Rack

With the Insertion Rack installed into Test System 1 (INTEL) and powered, it’s time now to see if our new WD “Scorpio” will work. Upon inserting the Enclosure into the Insertion Rack (I.R.) Windows recognized a new hard drive was connected and prompted for a response. Of course, as with any brand new HDD, it needed to be formatted. So, I commenced with the formatting of the new drive and made the selections for NTFS and the Default Cluster Size. After a few moments, the drive was recognized by the system and was then given a Drive Letter. So far, so good!

For easy recognition, I gave the new drive a header of VantecSATA. This way, when the drive is connected to other systems, it will be easy to go right to the correct extra storage drive.

Sata Connection via External Sata Connector

If the end user’s PC case comes with an external SATA connection, the Vantec EZ-Swap system also provides the ability to connect in this manner as well. Power to the Enclosure is provided by a USB power cord and by using a standard SATA-to-SATA cable. However, it’s important to note the type of SATA connection to the PC. Some systems use a SATA II connection while others may use the SATA I so it may be necessary to acquire the proper cable. This feature would likely be more attractive to notebook/laptop users where a SATA connection is provided along the side of the system. However, anyone with access to an external SATA connection will find this feature very handy.

USB Connection

Vantec has provided other means of connecting this drive to the system - namely, via USB. The downside of using USB is that it reduces the overall speed of the HDD from its native SATA speeds. Also, in order to use USB there are TWO USB cables provided. One provides the communication with the drive itself; the other provides the power for the unit to operate:

Since many Desktop PCs come only with one or two front side USB connections, this setup makes it necessary to make adjustments each time the EZ-SWAP EX is to be used. If you have any devices connected on the front side, such as digital cameras or gamepads you’ll have to disconnect them every time you intend to use the EZ-SWAP EX.

HDD Properties and Settings

Since the 2.5-inch HDD is going to be used as a “hot swappable” drive, it’s necessary to turn off certain properties and settings for this purpose. In order to identify the drive easily, it was named VantecSATA. It shows up in My Computer as VantecSATA:

Notice here we’ve unchecked the options at the bottom in order to keep unnecessary activity from happening on the drive in the background.

Finally, I’ve selected to Optimize for quick removal. This is the crucial setting to provide the “hot swappable” capability.

Speed Testing the unit and the hard drive

All of the tests have been done using the latest version of HD TACH 3.0.4.0. The tests have been run a minimum of three times with a period of delay between the tests. Also, the tests have been altered between the Short Test and the Long Test. We want to see how the unit performs connected in three separate configurations:

USB
Via the Insertion Rack
The Hard Drive connected directly to the Motherboard without the Enclosure.

We’ll consider the Average of the three configurations:

USB Connected results

As expected, the connection via USB is much slower than what SATA enabled drives can achieve. The average we achieved was: 36.633 MB/s.

Sata connected results using the insertion rack

With the Hard Drive installed in the Enclosure and placed into the Insertion Rack, we see a significant improvement.

The average we achieved was: 127.375 MB/s.

Sata connected direct to the motherboard

Removing the Hard Drive from the Enclosure and connecting it directly to the Motherboard results in a slight improvement.

The average we achieved was: 131.2 MB/s

Temperature Readings

Due to the fact that the Enclosure unit is completely solid with no ventilation provided, I had some concerns about how well the heat would be dissipated from the HDD during long activity. So, using PC Wizard 2007, a very handy and totally free application for nearly every possible PC Diagnostics one can imagine, I monitored the temperature of the HDD both installed in the Enclosure and then removed from the unit. Then, using HD TACH’s Long Benchmark, the results were not at all surprising:

HDD Installed in Enclosure: 38 C
HDD Removed from Enclosure: 32 C

These readings were the highest readings generated during the Long Benchmark test. Vantec would do well to consider proper ventilation in their future units. Although 38 C isn’t too high, there’s quite the possibility that long-time use and heavy transfers of data could push this temperature even higher.

Comments & Issues

I’ve had to spend an inordinate amount of time with the Vantec EZ Swap EX due to several problems from the beginning. Initially, attempting to use the Insertion Rack on the Intel system resulted in BSOD due to Hardware Failure until I reformatted and reinstalled Windows. Since then, connection via the Insertion Rack has worked without a hitch.

However, attempting to use the unit in the AMD system’s Insertion Rack causes that system to go into a constant HDD activity and never does recognize that the HDD is installed. Therefore, no testing could be done using the Insertion Rack on the AMD system.

I’ve also attempted to use the two systems’ External SATA connection on the rear panel. The AMD system works without issues. However, the Intel system has yet to recognize that the drive is connected in this manner.

Both systems work flawlessly when using the USB connection.

I’d be hesitant to say that these problems would occur on any and all other systems, but, I can attest to the fact that I’ve spent a great deal of time trying several options to get these problems resolved. I would hope that something as simple as adding an external hot swappable HDD would not require a new format of the system drive.