Product Application:

 Hard Drive Accessories

Product Provided by:

 VIZO

Available at:

 NewEgg.com

Estimated MSRP:

$7.99 - $39.99

Availability:

Now

Review by:

 Joe

Edited by:

 Darren

Review date:

 10/2/2007
 

VIZO Ares Internal SATA II HDD Mobile Rack

     Now that we have the Voyager II out of the way, lets take a look at the Ares Internal SATA II rack:

     The VIZO Ares Internal SATA II Mobile Rack is an interesting concept.  It essentially leverages the advantages of having an internal hard drive and an external enclosure, ideally bringing out the best of both worlds.  Does it?  Read on and see....

     Once we pull the unit out of the package, we can see the rack in all its glory.   Much like the Voyager, the Ares uses significant amounts of aluminum alloy for the casing.   The front, however, is plastic, including the metallic looking lever.  The black round knob on the right is actually the button that releases the drive from the enclosure.  If you look just to the right of the release button, you can see a small hole.  This small hole is actually access for a small lock the holds the hard drive in place.  Above and below the hole are the power and HDD LEDs. 

     Pushing the release button allows the silver lever to pull out, which unlatches the internal enclosure from the drive bay.  The drive is then easy to to slide out of the bay. 

     All the contents needed for drive installation are hidden inside the enclosure, which includes some screws, two keys, and a HDD cable for the activity LED.  On the left is the drive rack, which installs into a standard 5.25" bay.  On the right is the hard drive enclosure.  

     Here is the front of the rack with the enclosure removed.   A spring loaded door comes down to preserve aesthetics. 

     The rear of the rack has connections for for SATA power and data cables, as well as a Molex plug to power the LEDs.   The SATA connectors are essentially a "pass-through" connector, which connects to the hard drive on the inside once plugged in.  There are two connectors on the PCB; one for a power LED, and one for an HDD activity LED.  The "Temp Fail" and "Fan Fail" connectors are missing, and presumably not supported on this model.  A small fan ensures airflow to the hard drive. 

Features:

  • Support all 3.5" SATA HDD
  • Easy Swap & Easy Transportation
  • Friendly ejection handle & security lock design
  • Compact size can fit all chassis
  • Fit all 5.25" Bay
  • Aluminum case for excellent heat dissipation
  • Model: ARS-525

Specifications:

  • Case Material : Aluminum
  • Interface Host : SATA ( 7 pin )
  • Data Transfer Rate : 3 Gb / Sec
  • HDD Type : 3.5 " SATA II Hard Drive
  • Indicators : Green for POWER on / Amber for HDD access 
  • Dimensions : 183.0 (L) x 148 (W) x 42 (H) mm

Installation:

     Installation on the Ares is also very straightforward.  The first step is to place the hard drive in the enclosure, and screw it into place with the provided screws. 

     The next step is to slide the top back on over the enclosure.   The latch on the front should snap into place.

     Once the enclosure is put together, slide it into the rack, and slide the rack into a spare 5.25" bay.  The rack is secured just like you would install any optical drive.  Take note here of the power and HDD LEDs.

Once the drive is secured, attach the power and data cables.  That's it! 

Other Thoughts:

     Possibly the greatest advantage of the Ares mobile rack is its simplicity.  Since the enclosure does not use its own SATA controller, it can leverage the performance of whatever controller you can connect it to, meaning, you get the performance of an internally installed drive, while still having the mobility of an external drive.  The aesthetics of the enclosure are pleasurably muted, not drawing too much attention.  The overall build quality is suspect however, as the front panel feels a little flimsy, and I am unsure how many times you can lock the enclosure into place without problems cropping up. 

     As for the practicality of the Ares, that will vary greatly depending on the situation.  If you want to be able to quickly remove a hard drive and put it in a safe or deposit box for safe storage, or have drive portability in an office environment where an Ares bay is installed on every system, then the Ares will work fine.  If you are looking to take your drive anywhere and use it on any system, then a traditional USB or eSATA enclosure would be a better bet.

     Finally, for the value aspect, a quick trip around the web shows that there are similar devices available for roughly half the price.  Granted, those units are geared for server applications, and thus do not have the aesthetic appeal of the VIZO unit, I do not feel the build quality is worth the price premium. 

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: N/A

Innovation:

 3 out of 5

Quality:

 2 out of 5

Stability:

 N/A
Aesthetics: 4 out of 5

Software/Drivers Pack:

 N/A

Overclocking:

 N/A
Value: 2 out of 5

Project Skill Level
(5 being most difficult)

 2 out of 5