For testing, I’m going to use SiSoftware Sandra Lite XIb. I will run tests on each enclosure a total of three times, and then average the score. After testing the drive inside of both enclosures, I will run it inside of my computer directly from an IDE channel. This will help see what kind of speed the enclosure is taking away from the drive’s ability.

I am using a brand new hard drive for these tests. The hard drive that I will be using for all tests is a Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB|Go IDE 7200RPM drive. I chose to purchase this hard drive especially for these tests because I believe that its size and speed are similar to what many people will be using a hard drive enclosure for. I tested the Western Digital drive in 3 ways: 1) inside the computer directly connected to the IDE channel, 2) inside the SilverStone MS04 Hard Drive Enclosure, and 3) inside the Dynex Hard Drive Enclosure. Just because I was curious, I tested out a Samsung 7200RPM Serial ATA hard drive, to give the IDE hard drive attached directly to the computer something to compare to.

And for the people who love visuals…

I think we’re ready to draw some conclusions.

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