by Andrey Kuznetcov
06/05/2006 | 08:54 PM
We have already got used to the fact that if we need to connect a hard disk drive or an optical drive to the PC and there is no empty bay inside the case or we simply cannot open the system, there is always a possibility to do it with the help of an external chassis. However, there is an alternative even to that. You can use a special adapter-cable that will allow you to connect the HDD or optical drive with even less trouble. I believe that you have hardly seen any devices like that around, so I figured I may as well tell you a bit more about it.
Today I would like to introduce to you an adapter-cable from Brando that allows connecting SATA and IDE devices to your system via the USB 2.0 interface.
As you can see from the pictures below, the device consists of a set of cables and a power supply unit. Let’s try to find out what it is actually designed for. The first concern that comes to mind is: hm, if there are external chassis solutions that can perform the same function, why should I go with this cable set? It is true, there are a lot of external chassis solutions for 3.5-inch HDDs and optical devices out there, and we have even reviewed quite a few of them on our site. However, they are pretty large and will never fit into your jacket pocket, that’s for sure. Of course, if you know for sure that you will need a chassis, you can put in a bag and take with you, but there are situations when you think you might probably need to connect an external HDD or optical drive, but you don’t feel like taking extra stuff with you. In this case, a more compact device such as a special cable and a PSU seems to be a much more reasonable and convenient solution. It is much easier to carry around. Of course, if you are working with 2.5-inch HDDs, the situation is not so complex, as the external chassis solutions for them are considerably smaller, but still.
Now let’s take a closer look at the device we are talking about that allows connecting hard disk drives or optical drives with SATA and ATA interface to any PCs featuring standard USB ports:
The power supply unit has a cable with a standard 12V connector. According to the manufacturer’s website, the power supply cable is available in four different modifications for different world standards, but it comes equipped only with one, so you have to make sure you are getting the correct one. Anyway, you can always replace the power supply cable with any other cable, because the unit itself supports voltages from 100V to 240V and 50/60Hz frequency, i.e. is universal.
When working with SATA drives, you have to install a special converter to the default power supply cable connector, to make sure that the power interface is appropriate for solutions of this type.
The main interface cable has a USB connector on one end and a special adapter with three connectors at the same time on the other end. These three connectors support ATA devices of 3.5” and 2.5” form-factor as well as SATA devices. Besides, there was also a SATA interface cable included with the bundle.
Winding up the discussion of supplied accessories I would like to mention a brief user’s manual and a CD disk with the drivers that are also included.
The device sells for around $35.
In order to evaluate the advantages of the Brando device, we decided to stick to the same testing methodology as for the tests of external chassis designed for ATA HDDs. We used the adapter cable to connect a Hitachi HDS722525VLAT80 hard disk drive to the computer. This HDD features high enough performance and uses the entire USB 2.0 interface potential. We made our conclusions about the efficiency of the Brando solution basing on the performance results of the test hard disk drive.
The following testing utilities were used:
The testbed was configured as follows:
Brando cable was connected to the USB 2.0 port integrated onto the mainboard. In order to ensure objective analysis of the obtained results, we will compare the results of our hero with those obtained for ViPowER VPA-3528T external chassis supporting identical interface and tested in the same conditions.
First let’s take a look at the read speed graph taken for the first 32GB of the HDD storage space.
The data transfer line on the graph reflects the actual interface bandwidth implemented via the Brando cable. In this case it almost reaches 33MB/s.
Let’s see what performance our HDD showed in FAT32 file system first. From now on all the results discussed use the 32GB logical partition of the HDD.
The obtained results that you can see on this diagram indicate that with the Brando cable both WinMark parameters, especially the High-End Disk WinMark that is of primary interest to us, appeared lower than those of a hard disk drive working through the external chassis. Nevertheless, this performance difference is not dramatic, although it is quite noticeable.
What does the situation look like in NTFS file system? The results on the diagram once again show the advantage of the HDD working from the external chassis in the High-End Disk Winmark test. However, the results of the Business Disk Winmark are in favor of our hero, the Brando cable adapter.
As usual, the results of FC-Test are the most important ones for adequate evaluation of the Brando cable operational efficiency. As you remember from our previous articles, the credibility of the results is based on the working principles of this program. The main idea of FC-Test is to measure the time it takes to create (write), read and copy file sets, which differ from one another by the type, size and number of files. Then we calculate the practical performance of the drives basing on the time measurements.
Windows and Programs patterns include a large number of smaller files, and the remaining three patterns – ISO, MP3 and Install – work with a limited number of larger files. For copy operations each drive is formatted into two 32GB equal logical partitions. The patterns are copied either within the same partition or from one partition to another.
Let’s start with FAT32 file system.
The first diagram shows the HDD performance during writing (creation) of files. In all five patterns the gap between the external chassis and Brando cable is minimal.
When we measure file read speed, we see practically the same situation as in the previous case. Once again the external chassis is just a tiny bit faster than the Brando cable set. The difference is hardly that serious.
During file copying we see that Brando cable becomes faster in one pattern out of five. It is juts a little bit ahead, while in the remaining four patterns the external chassis is just a little bit ahead of the Brando device.
The last diagram once again proves the fact that the performance difference between the Brando cable and the external chassis is insignificant and will hardly be noticed by the users in real life. Just like in the previous cases, the HDD working through the chassis is just a little bit faster.
Now let’s see what results we have in NTFS file system.
The first diagram shows file writing (creating) speed. Nothing unexpected happened. The HDD working through the external chassis once again managed to get slightly ahead of the one connected via the Brando cable, but the results difference is once again almost negligible.
During file reading the results are almost identical. In three patterns out of five the chassis was ahead, and in the remaining two patterns the cable took the lead.
During file copying within the same partition we once again see the cable lagging a little bit behind the external chassis. In real working conditions the performance difference will hardly be noticeable.
The last diagram shows the results obtained during file copying from one partition to another. In all five patterns the HDD connected via the Brando cable falls a little bit behind the hard drive connected through the external chassis. The latter manages to show slightly better results, although in reality the difference will hardly be detectable.
Well, it’s high time we drew some conclusions about the efficiency and impressions from the Brando cable adapter that serves to connect storage and optical drives to the computer system.
Let’s start with the positive side. The indisputable advantage of the Brando cable set is its universality. It can be used with 3.5” as well as 2.5” hard disk drives supporting ATA and SATA interfaces. Of course it also supports optical drives with the same interfaces. The USB 2.0 support ensures that it will communicate efficiently with any contemporary PC.
Another advantage of the Brando cable adapter set is its compact size compared with the chassis solutions for 3.5” and 5.25” devices. The largest part of the device is the power supply unit, so the entire set fits easily into the jacket or coat pocket. The device we tested today proved almost as efficient as any other external chassis with USB 2.0 interface, so performance shouldn’t be a concern here.
Of course, there are a few things that you may find not very appealing about the Brando adapter cable. One thing is that you have to be careful when connecting the HDDs to your computer with the Brando cable, as you need to make sure that the PCB chips do not get damaged and that the drive doesn’t get overheated during work (these problems are usually solved in the chassis solutions). Another issue is the price of the Brando device, which is close to that of a 3.5” chassis for hard disk drives.
Therefore, taking into account all the above listed advantages, Brando cable may be a handy tool in quite a few situations.