Home > Consumer Reviews > Vantec NexStar NST-D100SU 2.5-Inch/3.5-Inch SATA to USB 2.0 and eSATA Hard Drive Dock (White)

I have been buying Vantec external hard drive enclosures for several years nows, and they have allowed me to add terabytes of storage to my computers for video and audio files. When I saw this thing, I said to myself, Cool!

Vantec has designed the NST-D100SU in white plastic to make a toaster analogy, you know, the thing you put bread in and it pops up when it's done. Perhaps a better comparison is to an old 8-track tape player. Hard drives are about the size of old 8-track cartridges, and there were players that looked like this (but usually with a 1970's-looking wood grain).

In any event, you can now store a terabyte of information on an external hard drive and swap them out like 8-tracks. For people doing back-ups, testing or cloning hard drives, or who have massive data collections, this is great.

You stick a SATA hard drive down into the device until you feel it make contact and push down. You can't really do it wrong unless you try to.

Then you connect the device to a USB port on your PC or laptop, push on the big power button, and in a few seconds, your PC will see the hard drive. The only thing you have to do is the first time you use a new hard drive, you have to format it. I stay with one brand of hard drives, Western Digital, and I have its Data Lifeguard Tools already installed on my PCs. I start up the software, and it usually recognizes the new hard drive instantly, asks me if I want to format it, and the software sets it up in about 30 seconds. Once the hard drive is formatted, your PC will recognize it and assign it a drive letter. You can then copy to the new hard drive as much as you want. When you finish, remember to use the USB Safely Remove Hardware icon to remove the device. Then power it off by pressing the big power button and lift out the hard drive, and you're ready to slap in another one.

This will save you the cost of having to buy external hard drive enclosures at $35 a pop, especially if you are simply archiving data. I would suggest that you put your bare hard drives in the static-free bags they originally came in, or in Ziploc bags to keep out the dust. And then you will want to store the hard drives someplace where they won't be falling off a shelf or getting zapped by static electricity.

Even though I think this device is great, I only give it four stars for two reasons. The first reason is that it doesn't really replace a hard drive enclosure. An enclosure will protect your hard drive a lot more than this rather open device. The second reason is that you need to be careful to turn the power off before you remove the hard drive. I know I've been tempted to just yank it out first, but if you do that, you could be risking hard drive damage.

Otherwise, this is a great device if you have a need to swap out hard drive like 8-track tapes. With one terabyte hard drives now going for less than $200, I know I'm rethinking my storage strategy to copying all my CDs and DVDs to a hard drive. You could store 1400 uncompressed CDs or 250 DVDs (or a mix of the two) on a terabyte hard drive, virtually eliminating entire bookshelves of disks. For another $100, you could buy an INOI media player 3.5" INOi MH720 USB2.0 Digital A/V Ext SATA Media HD Case, which would then elminate the need for CD and DVD players, and you could have your collection all in the palm of your hand. It blows your mind!!!

I bought this drive dock along with the Thermaltake BlacX model with USB hub. The Thermaltake went back (huge, drive kept dropping off) and this one stayed.

I've gone through many drive enclosures over the years as they tend to have fans that fail (and can't be easily replaced), or they're just too bulky or awkward to fit in available space. This is intended to be an easy way to easily use some of the extra drives I have around for a quick backup, video project, etc.

Technology wise, it's the same as any other USB-SATA bridge; it works, it's not as good as Firewire, but it's as fast as I've come to expect, etc. Based upon the design with the drive being above the rest of the electronics and open to the air, I don't expect to have any heating issues so maybe it'll last longer than some of the others.

I think the biggest issue I have with this is its size. It's significantly larger than seems necessary, though that's probably just to provide a stable base. It seems like Vantec could make this about 5% thicker and have a dual drive version. I don't currently have an eSata port so I couldn't test that, but I may try it out on the HD Tivo as it would make a quiet, fanless drive "enclosure". Not sure how well it

The dock *looks* extremely attractive but it feels cheap and does not make it a pleasant experience to actually put a drive into the dock.
Had I been able to hold it in my hands, I would not have bought it. It feels extremely cheap and flimsy. The power button sticks. I haven't tried 2.5" drives, but my 3.5" Seagate Barracuda wobbles in the slot. It's also extremely difficult to know when the drive is all the way in without plugging in the USB cable to see if it mounts.
On the bright side, it comes with all the cables you would need, and even has an internal-to-external SATA cable in case you have a desktop machine.

I already had one standard 3.5 enclosure (where you screw the drive in) and decided to get a second for a second, newer SATA drive (that worked fine as an internal desktop drive). Unfortunately, this Vantec dock is severely flawed. Here's my assessment:

Pros
- relatively inexpensive
- On/off switch large, lit and convenient
- ESATA option (though it has few practical applications)

Cons
- Randomly disconnects drive at the worst possible times
- Cables (power and data) don't plug securely into the back. The plugs are cheap and flimsy
- Very light and poorly balanced
- drive never sits securely - slightest movement of device or desk can cause a disconnect

I contacted Vantec for support. Their surly, unpleasant support tech suggested I send it back for the same model only. They would not even entertain the thought of exchanging for another (even cheaper unit). So, I'm stuck with it until I get something new.

I'd stay away from this product, as well as others using this style of dock. I'd go for one that has a standard, secure enclosure.

I purchased this SATA drive dock to make backups/archives quick, easy and inexpensive. Certainly this product accomplishes that goal. With 1TB 7200 rpm drives now for around [...] bucks, this device enables those drives to basically function as the "zip disk" of the new millennium.

The Vantec Nexstar SATA dock worked right out of the box with my MacBook Pro via USB (I didn't test eSATA since the MacBook doesn't come with it built in). Granted, I am throttled a bit by the slow speed of USB 2.0, but for general archiving and backups, its not a big deal.

I would have given this device five stars if it weren't for two minor disadvantages:

1. It would be nice if this device had FireWire 800. However, I knew USB 2.0 was my only option before the purchase, so its no shocker for me.

2. I wish the case was a bit more solid. Perhaps an aluminum construction would have added a bit more weight and sturdiness to it. Instead, the dock is made out of relatively thin and cheap-feeling white plastic. While a bulletproof construction isn't necessary (or expected) for something that's just going to sit on your desk, it would be nice. Overall construction is a bit on the chintzy side, but time will tell how well it holds up.