Asaka AK-EN-02CB-SL Enclosure Review - Page 2 of 2
By Paul Zimmerman - July 26, 2005
OPERATION
The lack of a 40mm fan to cool the enclosed drive may seem like a shortfall, but is a blessing in disguise. Not having
a fan ensures that the device will be completely silent. It is refreshing to see a manufacturer shy away from adding
more noise to a PC setup, as most will unnecessarily add fans to ensure no heat build up. During my testing, which
included several 10 GB file copies and several defrags, the case never got hot to the touch.
Installing a drive
I was impressed by the quality of this enclosure. It takes a fair amount of force to snap the enclosure closed, leaving
no gaps around the edges. This is fortunate since the device was knocked off my test bench. Much to my surprise, the
case did not loosen its grip on the IDE drive within, and everything functioned normally after the fall. Some people
will use very large drives and knowing it is well protected soothes anyone worried about loosing data due to an accident.
The most striking feature of the Integral is the LED power/activity rows. The row on the right always stays on while
the enclosure is powered on. The left row only lights up when there is hard disk activity. This creates a stunning
light show; as the video will show. It adds atmosphere having a randomly flashing light fill the room. In addition
to the main LEDs is a clear USB cable that has blue LEDs on each end which glow when the power is on. People who do
not enjoy LEDs may be turned off by so many lights, but most everyone will enjoy the soft blue light it produces.
Front View
CONCLUSION
Akasa has added another winner to its impressive lineup of products. The AK-EN-02CB-SL is a well built hard drive
enclosure that combines solid build quality with innovative features. For any PC user that needs a safe external
backup solution, or just a place to store large and numerous files, there is no need to look farther than the
AK-EN-02CB-SL. Special thanks to Akasa for making this outstanding
product available and to 3DCool for supplying the review sample.
This product hits a 500 foot home run.
