Performance Testing

Read Bandwidth

For this benchmark, HDTach was used. It shows the potential read speed that you are likely to experience with these enclosures.



While it may not be quite as fast as the Mediasonic enlcousers that we reviewed earlier these numbers are still very good, and are certainly nothing to be ashamed of.


Random Access Time

Once again, HDTach was used for this benchmark. This benchmark tests how quickly different areas of the drive’s memory can be accessed. A low number means that the drive space can be accessed quickly while a high number means that more time is taken trying to access different parts of the drive.



While it may not be as fast when it comes to read speeds, the BlacX’s random access numbers are excellent and are just as good as the more expensive USB Mediasonic enclosure and much better than the Firewire model.


ATTO Disk Benchmark

The ATTO disk benchmark tests the drives read and write speeds using gradually larger size files. For these tests, the ATTO program was set to run from its smallest to largest value (.5KB to 8192KB) and the total length was set to 256MB. The test program then spits out an extrapolated performance figure in megabytes per second.

Please Note: USB results were exactly the same for both MediaSonic enclosures. For ease of viewing only one set has been included.


Both the MediaSonic and the BlacX enclosures posted some very impressive results. One thing that does stand out is that both enclosures' speed is being limited by the USB interface and the BlacX will never achieve its true potential while limited by a USB connection. Please don’t get us wrong 34MB a second is not bad performance at all and the minor differences between the MediasSonic USB enclosure and the BlacX are negligible, it is just that it would be very interesting to see what it could do if it was eSata and not USB.


Sandra Removable Storage Benchmark

This test was run with the removable storage benchmark in Sandra XII Standard. All of the scores are calculated in operations per second and have been averaged out from the scores of 4 test runs.

Please note that both enclosures USB results were the same with the biggest deviation being 2ops/min. For ease of use only 2 sets of USB results have been included, the NAS and a USB only model.



Unfortunately, 6000 ops/minute is a significant difference and one has to wonder if the Intito controller chip is simply being outclassed by the Oxford controller chip being used in the MediaSonic enclosures. 18000 is not bad per say but it is on the lower end of what one would like to see.


Extended Runtime Testing

Where these units are marketed towards the home environment, it is reasonable to expect them to be able to handle moderate usage, with random insertion and removal and random requests for data. To test how robust this unit is, and how well the lack of cooling would effect the performance, the BlacX was subjected to a 48 hour torture session. During this time the hard drive was inserted and removed 40 times (and yes we did count the number), the hard drive was instructed to do a hard format and was filled and emptied numerous times.

After 24hrs of nonstop use the Seagate 7200.10 got so hot that we feared for its safety, needless to say testing was stopped. To be completely fair, this model of hard drive is known to run hot so we gave the unit a second chance and swapped in a new single platter 320GB hard drive from Western Digital. The new SE16 3200AAKS single platter is extremely cool running hard drive and it is with this hard drive firmly ensconced in the BlacX dock that we restarted the testing. This time the hard drive, while getting warm, was not any where close to being in danger of overheating; thus allowing the BlacX to pass with flying colors. Its removal and insertion was just as easy the last time as the first and the lockup of the hard drive felt just as tight at the end as it did in the beginning. While we would be hesitant to recommend a Raptor X (regardless of the picture Thermaltake use on the box cover) or any other hot running hard drive, a cool running one should have no trouble being used with the BlacX.