Thanks to Geek Stuff 4 U, we were able to get our hands on four USB and e-SATA racks at 2.5″ and 3.5″ HDD. Make sure you don’t miss the video at the end of the news!

The plug & play system makes these devices extremely easy to use, almost like inserting a cartridge in those good old video consoles back in the day! HDD racks are an excellent tool for those who need to store a lot of data in a tiny and robust device.

Two companies are battling for the market: Black Box and Logitec, not to be mistaken with Swiss company Logitech.

The Black Box is more of a business tool while the Logitec version is aiming at the usual geeks like you and me.

The Black Box range are the: USB and USB/e-Sata versions.

Logitec proposes a USB, hub USB and e-Sata model.

We did a quick speedtest to check the performances in both reading and writing from a USB 2.0 memory stick, and a Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB Caviar Sata 7200 Rpm 16MB Cache SATA hard disk drive.

Pros for the black box range:
-robust
-connectics
-long lasting
-heavy base, more stability

Cons for the black box range:
-design
-no protection at the rear (Watch your fingers!)
-missing a USB hub + e-SATA version

Pros for the Logitech:
-Nice design
-e-SATA and USB Hub
-HDD protection cover

Cons for the Logitech:
-Weak SATA connector inside the cradle
-Too light, requires both hands in order to remove the HDD from its cradle
-Cheap, weak HDD protection cover
-USB hub automatically disconnects when e-SATA mode is on

Conclusion:
When it comes to raw data performances, all four of our products are similar in both USB or e-SATA mode. In terms of usability the less fancy “Black Box” model is by far the winner due to its simplicity and sturdiness