Hardware Review
Vizo Luxon Advanced ED
With the demand of storage increasing, many users now have opted to external enclosures for data storage needs. Not only are they easier to install to a PC, they are also easier to transport from PC to PC. They're also available in different interfaces, from USB, Firewire to even the newer eSATA interface. Tonight, we'll be taking a look at Vizo's Luxon USB/eSATA enclosure. We would like to thank the Vizo team for making this review possible.
Vizo Technology Corporation specializes in computer peripherals, ranging from notebook coolers to external enclosures. Let's get right to the review and take a look at Vizo's enclosure offering. Our sample came well packaged on a Vizo retail box. The sample we received was the blue version and with both USB 2.0 and eSATA interfaces. The Luxon's outer shell is made of alluminum for effective heat dissipation. Internally, the Luxon takes a standard 3.5" SATA hard drive for storage. Installing our test 400 GB WD hard drive was very straight forward, we just slid the hard drive in to the connectors and mount the drive brarcket with the screws provided in the package. Vizo also supplys the unit with a USB cable as well as an eSATA cable. Our test system didn't have an eSATA port; it would've been a good addition if an eSATA bracket was also included in the package. Here are a few specs for Vizo's Luxon enclosure:
| Case Material : Aluminum |
| Host Interface: 480Mbps USB 2.0 (USB 1.1 Compatible) 3.0Gbps High Speed external Serial-ATA ( eSATA ) |
| Power Supply : AC/DC Power Adapter ( AC input: 100~ 240Vac , DC output: +12V, 2A ) |
| Indicators : Blue for Power on / Purple for file access |
| Available colors : Black, Blue, Silver |
| Weight : 400 g (without HDD) |
| Dimensions : 210(L) x 125 (W) x 34 (H) mm |
We also compared how well the Luxon's eSATA interface performs compared to a traditional USB 2.0. Here is our test system’s specifications:
| EVGA 680i SLI |
| Intel Core 2 Duo E6750(2.6GHz) |
| Mushkin HP2-6400 2 x 1GB DC Kit PC2-6400 |
| XFX GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB |
| 2 x WD 80GB SATA RAID 0 Configuration |
| 2 x WD 250GB SATA HD |
| LG 16x DVD-RW |
| SilverStone DA750 750w PSU |
Click the images to see the enlarge version
For testing we used HD Tune to determine the performance. We took benchmark scores from both the USB 2.0 interface and eSATA. Here are the results:
Our eSATA connection gave us about 25.5MB/sec more in our average transfer rate. We also saw a huge jump on the burst rate, from 26.7 MB/s on USB to 110.5MB/s on the eSATA. The eSATA connection also used less of the CPU compared to the USB connection.
As you can see from the charts above, there really is a big benifit with going to an eSATA connection. The Luxon also kept our hard drive relatively cool at just about 40 degrees. We were really please with the Luxon's performance with its eSATA connector. Overall, we give the Luxon a score of 9 out of 10. If you want to get more information on this product, please kindly visit Vizo's website. You can also discuss this review in our forum with our other members.
