Inateck USB 3.0 to SATA Converter Adapter for 2.5 inch/3.5 inch HDD and SSD
As the menagerie of computers in my office evolved over the years, I needed to manage, upgrade and backup all of them at some point. It’s an ongoing task, which can sometimes be really frustrating. Hard drives are easily the most valuable elements of all of my computers, since a faulty memory card can easily be replaced, while the stored data is oftentimes irreplaceable. This is why I have come to really value an easy access to my hard drives, especially for troubleshooting and repair. And this is why I am such a big fan of hot-swappable external hard drive enclosures – they allow you to access your internal hard drives almost as easily as you can access the external ones.
This USB to SATA converter adapter is perhaps the most compact way of connecting an internal SATA drive to your computer via USB 3. I’ve used several HD docking stations before, and they tend to be much more bulky and somewhat awkward to use.
I’ve tested this adapter with three different computers – Mac Mini running Yosemite, a Windows 8.1 laptop and a Windows 7 desktop. The converter was recognized immediately with all of these machines. I was able to use it with both the USB 3 and USB 2 ports, and the difference in transfer speeds was obvious. The adapter comes with an external power supply, so it should in principle work with any standard USB port. I’ve tested it with two different Western Digital HDDs – one was 1 TB and the other was 500 GB. I did not try to benchmark the file transfer rates, but they seem to be comparable to the other USB 3 external storage systems that I’ve used.
The adapter seems well made and durable. It was physically extremely easy to insert and take out the HDDs. It is also much more compact and convenient to use than the docking stations that I have previously used.
I have been very happy with this adapter so far. It has helped me backup and restore several of my old HDDs. If you do a lot of fiddling with your computers then this is an essential accessory to have. Highly recommended.
**** Product provided for review purposes. ****
About the Author
Bojan Tunguz
Bojan Tunguz was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he and his family fled during the civil war for the neighboring Croatia. Over the past two decades he has studied, lived and worked in the United States. He is a theoretical physicist with degrees from Stanford and University of Illinois. Tunguz has taught physics at several prominent liberal arts colleges and has been writing about physics, science and technology for more than a decade. He also has a wide spectrum of interests, and reads and writes about current events, society, culture, religion and politics. Over the years he has reviewed many of the books that he has read, and posted his reviews on various online outlets. In 2011 he had become a top 10 reviewer on Amazon.com, where he continues to be very active. Aside from reading and writing, Tunguz enjoys traveling, digital photography, hiking, and fitness. He resides with his wife in Indiana. You can follow my review updates on the following pages as well: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tunguzreview Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tunguzreviews Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104312842297641697463/posts
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