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The performance of the ICY Dock Blizzard MB080U3S-1SB is reasonably good however the speeds are not close to class leading. With the Kingston HyperX drive plugged in the device was limited to around 160 MB/s. We know this particular drive is capable of nearly500 MB/s via a direct SATA-III connection.
In terms of design the ICY Dock Blizzard is simple but effective, we like the ingenuity in terms of the shape and cooling configuration. While it is not essential to actively cool a HDD enclosure mechanical drives can (with intensive use) get pretty hot, and certainly this will improve their life span.
ICY Dock have added a blue LED which gives the enclosure a nice appearance and if the device does ever get too hot (above 50 degrees C) a red fan illuminates to let you know.
As this enclosure uses a large 80mm fan to cool the hard drive we expected it to be quiet but there is a fair bit of noise emitted. The ICY Dock Blizzard isn't a sealed enclosure so there is no effective sound proofing. That said, on the ‘low' setting it is barely audible in a normal office, or bedroom environment.
As the ICY Dock Blizzard enclosure features both USB 3.0 and eSATA connectivity it caters to a wide audience, although we were disappointed to see that without buying the additional converter that it won't natively support 2.5 inch drives.
The ICY Dock Blizzard retails at just under £55 which is reasonable, although cheaper alternatives are available.
Pros
- Features both USB 3.0 and eSATA connectivity.
- well designed.
- 3 Fan speeds.
- Looks good with blue/red LED.
Cons
- Only fits 3.5″ drives (without buying an adapter)
- Not the fastest read/write speeds.
- Fan isn't particularly quiet.
- Not the cheapest.
Kitguru says: Another solid bit of kit from ICY DOCK, but there are many alternatives available on the market today.
