Very good box, incredible speed
583676
Very good box, incredible speed. Google play store is a plus, you can download any app. Way better than a Roku, Chromecast, or firestick.
4512522
You can't ask for more from such small and powerfull box. Easy to work with it, very intuitive setup and excellent technical support provided by Randy - badge # AR004611.
I strongly recommend it and so far very happy with it.
4544075
The principal reason to buy this enclosure is because its support 12,5mm hard drive thickness, and i needed that for my WD 1TB HD.
Speed is great thanks to the USB 3.0, and the enclosure materials are good and solid.
Mounting the drive wass very fast and easy, and the package comes with all the needed implements.
It uses a non-standard mini USB3 cable for the enclosure connection (at least it was new for me). ot a real problem, but i would prefer a standard cable.
Anyway, i definitely recommend this product.
209522
This is fantastic.  It's tiny and powerful.

Before diving into MikroTik anything, read other reviews.  This is excellent hardware, but it's basically a glorified Linux box.  If you would seriously consider building a router from scratch, this is a great option.  You get 5 routable ports and a shipload of RAM.

But don't expect to find a simple GUI.  Relatively common tasks (like "forward a port") require relatively deep knowledge of NAT and networking, and the ability to type in commands.  There's a lot of existing knowledge and docs, but this is no linksys.
3687321
Just purchased this item and I'm impressed with the Speed of this box. With the AMD Phenon II 925 Processor at 2.8GHz is way faster than my old Intel Hyper-threaded (hyperthread was garbage.. freezes up a lot) box. Video/processing power makes it the Multi-media heaven box.

The same machine costs so much $$$ more if you customize it online at HP.com. I didn't get a monitor for my price.

Pros: Awesome CPU, lots of freebies for the price, tuner, extra memory, SD/CF reader, extra memory for video (1GB memory ATI not Nvidia),

Neutral: Green (drive to save energy) Western Digital 1TB drive at 5400rpm but with a 32MB cache. Speed tests on Tom's hardware is awesome and faster than many other ones out there including Hitachi. However past experience with WD indicate reliability issues. I guess I'll see.
This one uses 3 platters instead of 4 which is less moving parts and saves energy. Maybe with less moving parts and at a slower rpm, this one will last longer. My Hitachi/IBM drive still is going strong with 4+ years.

Cons: HP doesn't include a recovery disk. Even the low end Lenovo desktop includes it for FREE. That's is awful for a HP to skim on that since we are buy a [..]+ computer here. I had to pony up around [..] for them.

Overall, I like the HP Media Drive Bays for backups are great for backups. Everything is very easy to access and use.

*************************************************
Update 1: Found Personal Media Drive slot has bad cable or something. It would not recognize the HP PMD thru the PMD drive bay. Need to send in for repairs under warranty.

HP support is avg to bad. Bounced around 5 times in 1 night. Better to call in the US daytime.
*************************************************
Update 2: Received desktop fixed by HP back in a few days from HP. Faster than I though. Media Drive works now.
But HP has stolen my right rubber feet on the front side. So another call to HP on another issue.
*************************************************
Update 3: Rubber feet never came on the week as promised even though calling them to confirm it would arrive.
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Update 4: Called HP again and a night HP tech works are totally clueless and said they will escalate case. Found out 2 days after, they didn't escalate the case when call back the morning HP tech crew. I guess the HP night support crew is an answering service only.
*************************************************
Update 5: Took 2 weeks and did receive the missing part.

Expected Quality of product after fix: Probably a 5 out of 5.
HP Support (US morning crew) 4 out of 5.
HP Support (US night crew) 1 out of 5.
HP QA of Product: 2 out of 5. (you wonder why so many returns on HPs). They have no QA (Quality Assurance). The issue that I encountered could have been avoided if they did their QA.

Recommendation:

You get what you pay for in price and quality. I do recommend AMD processors (the little guy).
2801573
This easy to set-up USB3 card provides high throughput, works without a problem with self-powered USB devices, and is fully compatible with FreeBSD.

Sustained throughput is impressive.  Using the same hardware that topped out at 30MiB/sec on USB2 (various drives inserted into a&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/USB3-Plugable-SATA-dock/dp/B003UI62AG/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">USB3 Plugable SATA dock</a>), I was able to get sustained write speeds that were constrained by the HDD hardware rather than by the USB connection, ranging from twice as fast (60MiB/sec on a years-old Seagate 7200.11) to as much as 120MiB/sec on a new&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Seagate-3TB-ST3000DM001/dp/B005T3GRLY/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Seagate 3TB ST3000DM001</a>.  Actual write speeds fluctuated depending on the source, and where on the drive I was writing (platter-based drives are "faster" on the outside of the platter than the inner part, as one would expect for a spinning disc). On the slower drive, speeds averaged 70-80Mib/sec versus 95-110Mib/sec on the faster drive.  It's refreshing to be limited by the disk rather than the bus.

The USB3 ports light up when the system is powered up.  Make sure to use USB3 cables.

Under FreeBSD, this card uses the XHCI driver which I had to load manually but required no configuration (under 8.3-RELEASE).  Presumably Linux compatibility would be just as easy.

The card doesn't require an additional power connector like other models I considered.  That makes for simpler installation (and presumably lower power draw), but also means this card can not power USB-powered devices like portable HDD-- I tried with the<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Seagate-Expansion-500GB-STBX500100/dp/B00834SJSK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Seagate Expansion 500GB STBX500100</a>&nbsp;and it did nothing-- the USB port lights on the back of the card winked out, and the driver did not see the device.

Other thoughts: All PCIe x1 cards (like this one) will fit in any size PCIe slot (x1, x4, x8, x16).  Just two onboard USB ports means it would be difficult (but not theoretically impossible) for attached loads to saturate the card's single PCIe x1 "lane" (as far as PCIe 2.x goes).

Recommended.
3335668
It's hard to overstate the utility found inside this box.  I was just looking for a solid NAS, this has become my home server, hosting small apps on node.js and mysql even.
1143492
Fast little sucker! Transfer speeds are insaneeeeeeee.
2888763
I bought this Access Point to connect a high power desktop to my home wireless network. The desktop is located in a bedroom far from any cable hookups. It would have cost more to have someone come in and install an Ethernet cable, than the cost of this box.

First, its a nice solid looking unit. It has an internal web server that allows the user to make settings using your browser. The options are quite flexible. In my case, for just using it as a link between the desktop and my network, I chose the Client mode. I entered a few parameters and that was it. Came right up after I adjusted one setting. Essentially, this box in client mode, makes my desktop look like a 'Laptop with built in wireless adapter.'

This model runs in AC1200 mode, which describes the top speed of the combined channels. You will not get that speed on one channel. On the 5 GHz channel, It is running at 867 Mbps, pretty fast actually. Faster than my cable service. In order to get that speed, the router in your wireless network has to be capable of running at that speed. In the case of the router mentioned below, It can run at 867 Mbps,

It probably doesn't hurt, that I have a recent model wireless router from the same company (TP-link, Archer C2300, AC2300 rating). Despite some complaints on these Amazon reviews, I had zero problems with the router, and continue to have no problems after about 4 months of operation. I chose this model over faster ones, because it had the best combination of speed, cost, and most important, a reliable signal.

Note in the case of the Access Point and especially the router, it is very important to keep these units running cool. Do not put anything on top of the box as this will block the vent holes. Leave some space around the unit as well. Do not put the unit very close to anything that is metal, as this may affect the operation of the Antennas.

In summary, I would highly recommend this Access Point (AP300) as well as the TP-Link (C2300) router. Both worked flawlessly for me
Bobzt
Engineer.
1840630
No complaints!  Very fast, with nice GUI admin menu.
1962950
good performance, better than a similar big box store version,
34165
Very powerful box. It has been great for gaming and Kodi users will find it is extremely fast and reliable.
4042146
I've been currently using this in my ESXi box for about 2 months now and I have to say this was a very good purchase. I happened to pick it up while it was a gold box special and price to performance ratio is very impressive. If the opportunity ever came up again to purchase one of these for my main desktop to replace out my Samsung 830 Pro, I would definitely be tempted!
802973
Great value in a RAID 1 box for external storage, either directly connected, or as an inexpensive Network Attached Storage (NAS) device.

Setup
Have this configured with two x 3TB WD RED drives -&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/WD-Red-3-TB-NAS-Hard-Drive-3-5-Inch-SATA-III-64-MB-Cache-WD30EFRX/dp/B008JJLW4M/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">WD Red 3 TB NAS Hard Drive: 3.5 Inch, SATA III, 64 MB Cache - WD30EFRX</a>&nbsp;- in RAID one, and attached to my Asus Dark Knight router -&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/ASUS-RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">ASUS RT-N66U Dual-Band Wireless-N900 Gigabit Router</a>&nbsp;- to use as network storage for our home network.  I've also tested this directly connected via USB3.  Works great in both applications!

Features that matter to me...
+RAID 1 for enhanced data safety, i.e., a single drive failure will not cost you any data (I don't put ANYTHING important on a single drive any more unless it is an SSD, and even then, have pretty robust backup schemes in place)
+Quiet, Active Cooling for drive life
+Fast USB3.0 and eSATA connections (USB 2 just does NOT cut it as an interface for modern hard drives, especially when directly connected to PC)
+Automatic RAID builds and rebuilds
+Easy to assemble
+Small footprint for placing near my Router.
+Looks good (like a toaster with a couple LEDs, and that is what I named the volume on my network, the Toaster!).
+Fast reads and writes direct connected, usable speeds as a NAS connected to router.
+Able to stream video over network when connected as NAS.

Cons (minus 1 star)
-Setup is simple, but it took me a couple tries to do the sequence of power on and reset so that the device picked up both my drives and kicked into RAID1.  But once I got both drive lights on flashing (which indicates a RAID build), worked great.  Let the RAID build finish (flashing LEDs turn to solid color).  Then formatted the drive as GUID in Windows 7.
-Status is communicated via the blue drive LED's, and is not all that easy to interpret.  Would love to have both a small LCD panel on the NexStar MX reporting status, and a software utility that reported RAID status and allowed configuration.  As is, you have to pay attention to the LEDs, and trust the firmware.

Speed
+ Getting 80-90 MBps on large file reads/writes when direct connected via USB3.0, which is about what the RED drives do natively.  Get 4-5MBps writes over 802.11n 2.4 GHz and 5GHz, with the NexStar MX connected to my router via USB2.0, which is clearly not driven by the device, but rather the overhead of wireless protocols, the router's USB2.0 connections, and perhaps the Unix NTFS software utility that runs on the router so that the router recognizes the attached drive.  While I'd like to get much higher speeds in the NAS setup, I know it's not the NexStar MX that is preventing this, and the 4-5MB/s speeds over wireless(32-40Mbps) is quite useful, and even supports HD video streaming to my home PCs as well as to my AV receiver and HD TV.

Net, highly recommended as an inexpensive external drive or NAS RAID 1 device with good performance and aesthetics, with a critical level of data safety due to the RAID1 feature.
3671804
Short Answer:
Pros: This device works out of the box with Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Linux, it absolutely works at USB3 rates, and it's actually incredibly fast.  This enclosure is top of the line for speed and compatibility.  I benchmarked USB3 sequential write to an SSD in this enclosure with throughput of about 550 MB/s.  (Yes, this is at or near the USB3 theoretical max -- I had LZ4 enabled)
Cons:  Perhaps a little larger than some other mSATA enclosures;  The design is a bit minimal, and the aluminum case is a bit thin.

I have confirmed this dirve will operate at USB3 rates  (~200-500MB/s) if you plug it into a dedicated USB3 port and use a quality mSATA SSD.

 I bought this  enclosure so I could use an mSATA drive for Virtual Machines, Video, And Music .  I wanted to velcro  this enclosure to the back of my laptop and plug it into the laptop's USB3 port.  I run Linux as my sole OS.

I spent alot of time researching the mSATA enclosures availables on Amazon.  Many seemed cheap or crappy, and I could find very little info about whether they would actually work at USB3 rates, let alone if they'd work at USB3 speed under linux.  I purchased this product from Oyen Digital  because it seemed to be the most conservative decision -- the least bad of the available options -- and my goal was something compact that was likely to work at actual USB3 speeds in Linux.

The device is stylish in a minimal sort of way. It doesn't feel expensive, but it looks reasonable, and it's perfectly functional. The case is aluminum which I found surprising. The engineering is not perfect, but everything fits and it all works just fine.  This device even came with screws and a screwdriver to mount your mSATA SSD inside of it.

What you may really want to know is this:  how is the performance and compatibility?  Performance = Incredible.  Compatibility = Great.

Far surpasses my modest expectations.  The speed of this enclosure with a Crucial m550 over USB actually exceeds the transfer speed of a 2.5" Toshiba Q Series over SATA  (in the same laptop). So while this might not be the most fashionable mSATA enclosure,  I have no doubt that it's one of the fastest available.

Furthermore, it works fine under Linux.  It began working 'out-of-the-box' on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.  In terms of performance with my drive, the results are as follows....

// Reference non-USB Speed:  Amount of time to copy a 16GB Virtual Machine from one directory to another on my internal SSD
root@computer:~# time zfs send tank/vm@win7_clean | zfs receive tank/vm/test

real 1m15.150s 218 MB/s  (speed of internal Toshiba SSD, no USB involved here)
user 0m0.000s
sys 0m12.614s

# Test: Amount of time to copy a 16GB Virtual Machine over --> USB2 <-- to a SSD in the Oyen Digital Enclosure
root@computer:~# time zfs send tank/vm@win7_clean > /lake/backup/laptop-tank-vm__win7_clean.img

real 3m10.473s 86 MB/s  (speed to copy data out to Oyen Digital enclosure over USB2.1 port)
user 0m0.000s
sys 0m1.817s

# Test: Amount of time to copy a 16GB Virtual Machine over  --> USB3 <-- to the Oyen Digital Enclosure
root@computer:~#  time zfs send tank/vm@win7_clean > /lake/backup/laptop-tank-vm__win7_clean2.img

real 0m29.763s 550 MB/s  ***  Wow!!
user 0m0.000s
sys 0m1.599s

I highly recommend this drive as an external SSD enclosure if USB3 speed is on your list of must-haves.  It works great in Linux and it's really fast.
3360751
This is a great box and I would rate it higher than my Intel branded NUC celeron box (DCCP847DYE) and with this box, you don't need to buy RAM and storage as separate items like you do with the Intel branded NUC boxes.  The box comes with a legit copy of Windows 10 and runs well.  It's silent and has shown no issues coming in and out of sleep.  For the price, this is a great deal and I highly recommend the Beelink brand "W8" wifi keyboard/touchsreen mouse/remote as if works really well.
1277797
This is a seriously fast hard drive.  Color me impressed.  Western Digital is really moving up in my book.

OK, so on it's face, this seems like your basic 1TB external hard drive.  It has its own power supply, which many will find to be cumbersome, but for this level of performance I think it's worth it.  However, this is not your basic 1TB external.  For one, it has a superfast USB 3.0 interface, and it comes with its own USB 3.0 expansion card if your motherboard doesn't already have one (and at the time of this writing, there are less than a handful of new motherboards that do).  The expansion card requires a free PCI-E slot.

Setup:
I tested this on Windows 7 Ultimate x64.  Windows did not automatically find drivers for the USB 3.0 expansion card, but the WD package includes a driver disc.  The drivers aren't just sitting on the disc, you have to run an installer on the disc.  The installation requires no restart, which is great, because that's always a little scary when installing strange new hardware.  After the card is installed, you can just plug the drive in and go.  What's nice is that Windows views the drive as an actual hard drive and not just removable media -- a minor point.

Performance:
Using TeraCopy (which is fantastic file copy alternative), I was able to get between 94 and 101 MB / sec write speeds!  That's super fast.  By comparison, my WD Caviar Black RE3 1TB drive only does around 63 MB/sec write speeds, and I thought that was nice!  I haven't tested read speeds, but I expect them to be pretty high.  USB 3.0 has a 4.8 GB/sec limit so the bottleneck here is certainly not the bus.

Sound:
The drive is dead silent, and the white LED on the front is not blinding in any way.  It resembles the light on a Mac Mini.

Convenience:
Since USB 3.0 is new, you're not likely to find it around too much just yet.  But you can still plug this guy into regular old USB 2.0.  You'll get around 25 MB/sec write speeds with that.  But just the fact that you can do it is convenient.  Having to carry around the power supply, however, is not.  And you have to be careful with your USB 3.0 cable because there's only one.

Price:
I think the price is pretty good for this level of performance and also considering they give you a USB 3.0 expansion card.  You'd pay about the same for an enterprise-level, internal WD RE3 drive of this size.

Negatives:
I wish there was eSATA because then I wouldn't need a free PCI-E slot or have to open up my computer to install it.  But the deed is done, and now I have an extra USB 3.0 port for some other device.  Still, eSATA would be nice.  Maybe there are USB3 to eSATA adapters...
Only a 2 year warranty?!  That's rough for a 1TB drive.  WD internal drives run between 3 and 5 year warranties.  But I suppose they're not willing to put that kind of warranty on an external drive that gets moved around a lot.  Still, a longer warranty would instill more confidence that my data is safer.  Backing up 1TB worth of data is not easy or cheap.

Conclusion:
I would absolutely recommend this thing.  I was a little skeptical at first, but the numbers don't lie.  This thing is fast.