Thread: Thermaltake BlacX Duet FiveG Universal Serial Bus 3.0 dock

Widespread CPU board adoption of Universal Serial Bus 3.0 paves the way for a multitude of outer docks and caddies touting the super-speedy interface. With a theoretical output of 5Gbps tempered through a real-world transfer speed of a still-excellent 400MB/s, USB 3.0's intrinsic bandwidth should enable outer storage to function much similar to a SATA-connected drive.


Grab a caddy, throw in a mechanical or solid-state disc, and the innate output of the drive should be the bottleneck, not the interface. That is the theory, anyway. Thermaltake has an array of Universal Serial Bus 3.0-armed caddies and may be the simplest to utilize is the open-top BlacX 5G.


Just, though, Thermaltake offers the usefulness of that dock through incorporating an example with a second drive-bay. Prosaically titled the BlacX Duet 5G, the caddy enables Universal Serial Bus 3.0-attached access to 2 drives at the similar time.


Aside from the apparent inclusion of a second bay there is not much altered here. The plastic dock now has a revised power/activity key that lights up blue when there is power and access. The subtle lighting is contained over to the



excellent speed name. Underneath the 2 covers - where you easily push the drive into - are standard SATA power and information connectors, and the cover cutout is planned for 2.5in drives. Inner, a SATA-to-USB 3.0 bridge-chip does the necessary conversion duties, though Thermaltake would not divulge the ASIC manufacturer.


Supporting entire regular SATA-equipped drives - SATA I/II/III, 2.5in and 3.5in - in complete capacities, the unit experiences well-construct despite the over-reliance of plastic. Heavier 3.5in mechanical drives set in snugly and Thermaltake adds 2 eject keys on the right-hand side - picking up the unit with a 3.5in drive in situ lifts it clear off the desk, hence the require for an eject button.


Added in the package is an uprated power adapter, just capable of sending 36W, and a metre-long Universal Serial Bus 3.0 cable, which is backward-compatible with USB 2.0 slots for former computers.


The BlacX Duet 5G characteristics drive hot-swapping, meaning you can chop and alter drives while even attached to the host computer - on Mac and Windows - and having 2 in one enclosure is tidier than running two sets of power and USB cables.