Installation:

The first step to installation of the Z1 enclosure is to use the included screwdriver to remove the two screws holding the back end-cap in place. 

Once the end-cap has been removed, we can start to see the tray in which the hard drive will be installed.

After the removal of the end-cap, push the tray through the other side of the enclosure.   The tray is attached to the front end-cap, so it really should only come out one way.

This is the full tray once it has been removed from the enclosure.   We can easily identify the SATA data and power cables attached to the PCB on the left side of the tray. 

To install the hard drive, set it in the tray, and lift up the rear so that you have access to the power and data plugs.  If you look closely, you can see that the data cable is a tight fit, and some of the cable is scrunched up.   In trying to install the data cable, a bad slip of the finger meant that I actually broke the cable.  Anyone who has worked extensively with SATA cables know that they cannot be flexed too much without breaking the delicate wiring inside.  I urge anyone installing this unit to exercise extra care at this part of the install. 

Once the cables are attached to the hard drive, lay it flat into the tray, and use the included screws to hold it into place. 

Now that the hard drive has been safely tucked into place, slide the tray back into the enclosure, and re-attach the rear end-cap with the same two screws that we removed at the beginning. 

Testing:

To test the performance of the Z1 enclosure, I used the setup illustrated in the chart below.  The drive used in the enclosure is the Seagate 500GB Barracuda 7200.10.  At first, I tested the drive internally using HD Tach on the integrated ICH9R southbridge that is included on the DFI P35-T2R motherboard.  Once that was completed, I installed the drive into the enclosure, and tested USB performance on the onboard USB controller, and the eSATA performance on the Promise eSATA300 TX2 eSATA controller.  

First, off the internal SATA baseline test:

Connected to the ICH9R, the Barracuda hits around 80MB/s sequential read, and burst of about 130MB/s.  Latency is around 13.2ms. 

Here are the results of the external enclosure using the eSATA interface on the Promise controller card.  Aside from a slightly lower Burst speed, the performance of the eSATA interface is nearly identical to the internal SATA speeds.

Finally, we have the results of the USB 2.0 interface.  While we all know that USB 2.0 is rated for 480Mb/s (or 60MB/s), we also know that it is rare for actual speeds to match theoretical throughputs.  It appears the enclosure rails against the top limit of the USB 2.0 spec, which is still faster than many of the USB flash drives out there.  In other words, until the USB 3.0 spec appears, eSATA is the way to go.

While the performance of the drive is great, the lack of active cooling has me a little concerned.  After doing some testing, I disassembled the enclosure with the intent of removing the drive, only to find it was too hot to touch.  The lack of any active cooling meant that the drive's outer temperature was near 50C.  While this should be fine for occasional use, I would be hesitant to recommend it for any long lengths of time. 

Conclusion:

The Kingwin Z1 enclosure effectively combines sweet aesthetics with great performance, with only a couple of drawbacks.  The main component of the Z1 is aluminum, which means that the build quality feels very solid.  That is a lot more than we can say about many of the plastic enclosures in this price range.  It also uses the high performance eSATA connector, as well as the universally available USB 2.0 connection, which leverages the best of both worlds.  The look of the Z1 is also much more appealing than what we have seen in the past, and has a bit of a retro-futuristic feel to it. 

So, what are the drawbacks?   There are only two, really.   The first is the lack of any active cooling.  Because the tight fit between the hard drive and the enclosure, the hard drive heats up rather quickly, and thus I am concerned about what repercussions may exist with prolonged use.  The other drawback is how easy it was for me to break the internal SATA data cable the connects the drive to the PCB.   It would seem the the cable is just a tad too long, causing it to get kinked up between the drive, the enclosure and the PCB.  As long as the end user is aware of this, and is careful enough, this problem can be bypassed. 

Given those two caveats, the Kingwin Z1 is a good enclosure for the money, and will look great on anyone's desk. 

Note: Club Overclocker is now using a new rating system based on a score of 1 to 5.
Please go to our rating system page for more information.

Performance:	5 out of 5
Innovation:	3 out of 5
Quality:	3 out of 5
Stability:	5 out of 5
Aesthetics:	5 out of 5
Software/Drivers Pack:	N/A
Overclocking:	N/A
Value:	3 out of 5
Project Skill Level (5 being most difficult)	1 out of 5