Test 1: HD Tune 2.55
Read performance

The UBS 2.0 (via the USB port of the Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H motherboard) average read speed, the maximum read speed, and the minimum read speed of the StarTech 2.5in HDD enclosure were similar to the performance of other HDD enclosures/docks, such as the the Thermaltake BlacX and the InWin AMMO.

The USB 3.0 performance of the StarTech HDD enclosure was extraordinary better than that of USB 2.0. Average read speeds of USB 3.0 were more than 2 times higher than that of USB 2.0, and the transfer speed rivalled both eSATA (with the Thermaltake BlacX) and internal SATA connectors. To my understanding, USB 3.0 allowed the hard drive to run at its full potential. The burst rate on USB 3.0 was also abnormally higher than that of internal SATA. I do not know how to explain this.



Test 2: HD Tach 3.0.4.0
Read performance (Long Bench with 32mb zones)

HD Tach came to same conclusions as HD Tune: USB 3.0 average read performance of the StarTech.com HDD enclosure matched the performance of eSATA (with the Thermaltake BlacX) and internal SATA. Without a doubt, USB 3.0, or also called SuperSpeed USB, is living up to its promise of delivering high bandwidth potential.

The burst rate was the best via the internal SATA port, however, unlike what it was found in HD Tune. Knowing that the StarTech.com HDD enclosure can deliver up-to 5 Gbps of bandwidth through USB 3.0 and it is compatible with SATA hard drives at up-to 6 Gbps, the burst rate should have matched the internal SATA port’s performance.



All-in-all, StarTech.com has provided a 2.5in SATA hard drive enclosure that performs very well under USB 2.0 and USB 3.0. The USB 3.0 connectivity allowed the installed hard drive to perform at its full potential. The USB 3.0 performance rivalled both eSATA and internal SATA performance in terms of average read speed.