There are numerous ways to transport data around, portable hard drives, USB flash drives, DVDs etc but if you’re like me and have a couple systems in your house that just gets to be a real pain. I do back-ups all the time, and I transfer data back and forth between systems and using a portable device works but it’s not the easiest solution there is. I’ve found that using a mobile rack like the one I have for review today from iStarUSA, the T-7M1-SA Removable SATA Hard Drive Rack is one of the easiest ways to transport large amounts of data to and from several computers. Of course you’ll need to have two of these types of racks to do the swapping job, but the iStar mobile rack does feature active cooling so it can be used also as a way to keep your hard drive cool and easily accessible if need be.
Review: iStar T-7M1-SA Removable SATA Hard Drive Rack
Reviewed by: Kristofer Brozio AkA Dracos
Sponsor: iStarUSA
Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
iStar T-7M1-SA Removable Hard Drive Rack
1×5.25" Bay Audio Series of SATA2.0 Removable Hard Drive Rack
Features:
-SATA Interface
-Cableless Connection, Support Plug & Play, Hot-Swappable
-All Aluminum for Best Heat Sink
-Best Air Ventilation with 1x60mm Blower Fan
-Point to Point, Free from Master/Slave Setting
Introduction:
Audio type aluminum hot-swappable iStarUSA T-7M1-SA mobile rack. Unique compact in size, high performance SATA interface. T-7M1-SA is tough in strength, but flexible in functionality. Additional blower cooling fan provides extra cooling in worst operating condition. LED indicator enables monitor power and hard drive activities. T-7M1-SA audio mobile rack construct with quality and versatility
Specifications:
Model Number: T-7M1-SA (T-7M1-SATA-B-H)
RoHS Compliance Version: Yes
Standard Drive Bays: 5.25" Drive:1
Cooling Fan: 1x60mm Blower
Interface: SATA 2.0 Hot-Swap Capable
Materials: All Aluminum Design
Color: Black / Red / Blue / Silver
Cables: Yes
Weight: 3.0 lbs
Color of Handle: Silver / Black / Blue / Red
Dimensions (W x H x D): 146 x 42 x 186 mm
A Better Look at Things
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The packaging for the iStar Mobile rack is simple yet well done, there’s not much information on the package but there really doesn’t need to be does there?
Opening the box we find the mobile rack itself and a brief instruction sheet. Originally the entire rack was sealed in plastic but it wasn’t very photographic that way…
If you paid attention to the specs on the last page you’d know that the iStar T-7M1-SA Mobile Rack is primarily made from aluminum. The sides, top and bottom all have what resemble cooling fins and both sides have pre-drilled holes for mounting the rack in your case.
The back of the enclosure is where you’ll find the SATA data and power connections along with vents to be used in conjunction with the cooling fan that you’ll see shortly.
The front of the rack is sort of plain, as you can see I received the blue handled version for review. Along the bottom on the left side are two LEDs, one for power and one to indicate HDD activity, there are also ventilation holes running across over to the right where you’ll find a main power button.
A Better Look at Things
Continued:
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On the bottom is where you’ll get a glimpse of the 60mm blower cooling fan.
To remove the mobile part of the mobile rack you need to pull the locking lever out and the tray will slide out of the rack. One thing I was very glad to see is that the lever is actually made of metal, unlike others that are plastic and you sort of have to be gentle with them when opening the rack.
Sliding the tray out of the rack I found that’s where they were hiding the SATA cables and installation screws. Included are flat headed screws for installing the hard drive and standard screws for mounting the rack in your case. The SATA cables are heavy duty and have metal clips on the ends that snap securely into the SATA connections on your motherboard and the mobile rack itself.
The hard drive tray itself is very lightweight and actually a bit smaller than a hard drive. The large holes you see are to allow the blower to keep your hard drive nice and cool, while the smaller tabbed holes are to mount your hard drive.
Well I tried to get a couple pictures of the inside of the iStar Mobile Rack itself and found it a bit difficult to do actually, but I did it sort of. In the first picture you can see the SATA power and data connections and in the second picture you can get a better look at the actual blower cooling fan.
Installation, Testing and Comparison
Installation is very easy, you just need to line you hard drive up with the holes in the tray and put the screws in…
Simple and very easy to do. You need to use the flat headed screws as they won’t interfere with the fan or the removal or insertion of the tray.
Here it is installed above my Vizo Ares Mobile Rack in my Antec P182 case:
The speeds of my drive were the same while using the rack and not using it so it’s interface doesn’t interfere at all.
The blower is quiet, but then again everything in the Antec P182 is made quieter and it did seem to actually keep my drive a couple degrees cooler than just having it in the case.
Summary:
The iStar T-7M1-SA Removable SATA Hard Drive Rack is one of the best quality mobile racks I have seen yet, this thing is extremely well made and designed, it should last forever with normal usage.
If you’re looking for an easy way to transport large amounts of data then this is it, I know I’m very happy with it, it truly is a quality piece of hardware.
iStarUSA also makes a military grade version as well and I can’t imagine how that thing is made, this version seems very durable and top quality as it is. iStar also sent me a PC Case and another type of mobile rack, but you’ll have to wait till next week for that review, it’s very cool and just as well made…
DragonSteelMods gives the iStar T-7M1-SA Removable SATA Hard Drive Rack a 5 out of 5 score.
Pros:
-Very easy installation
-Lightweight
-Active cooling
-Quiet
-Easy to use
Cons:
-No lock
I would like to thank iStarUSA for the chance to review the T-7M1-SA Removable SATA Hard Drive Rack and for their support of DSM.
review# 277