Manufacturer and Sponsor: Icy Dock
RRP: £35inc. VAT

Since 1994, ICY DOCK have been supplying the market with storage enclosure products. They have established a good name in this sector and continue to push the boundaries, delivering some of the most useful products that you could ever imagine.

Storage solutions are fundamental to any company and they have become a necessity to the household because data is something we cannot afford to lose. Though there is no direct foreseeable advantage to backing up data and it may not even ultimately benefit the individual – when something catastrophic does occur we are so relieved that we had a procedure in place that meant our important data was securely kept from harms reach. Data loss can happen at any time and it usually happens when you least expect it – I’m talking from personal experience here.

So with this in mind, today we will be taking a look at one of ICY DOCK’s latest addition, the MB981U3-1SA. The letters and numbers won’t mean much to you but the MB981U3-1SA is a USB 3.0 SATA Docking Station for 2.5 and 3.5” drives and with the ability to support legacy IDE devices via a special adapter. With most motherboards now supporting USB 3.0 and similarly most cases featuring USB 3.0 front panel connectivity the MB981U3-1SA will be desirable because of the faster transfer rates.

With the introduction over, let’s begin our observation of the new MB981U3-1SA.


Icy Dock’s take on MB981U3-1SA

Features & Specifications

• Completely screw-less / tool-less design for any type of drive.
• Allows docking of 2.5”/3.5” SATA HDD & SSD connected via USB 3.0
• Connects 2.5”/3.5” IDE HDD connected via USB 3.0 using the removable adapter.
• Able to run 2.5″/3.5″ IDE & SATA hard drive simultaneously.
• 2 part anti-dust cover protects internals even when small 2.5” SATA drive is used.
• 2 locking switches hold the detachable adapter in place when used as a dock.
• Easy access On/off button allows hard drive life expendability and energy conservation.
• Plug & Play USB 3.0 with backwards capabilities to USB 2.0 for quick connection for
any computer system.
• Exposed working HDD stands in the air vertically for fast heat radiation.
• USB 3.0 connectivity with up to 5 Gb/sec transfer rates.
• Large eject button for hassle free drive removal.
• Included 4-pin power jumper cabled provided for use with 3.5” IDE drive.
• Built in compartment to hold 4-pin jumper.
• Low profile power adapter for 3.5” drives.
• USB bus power for 2.5” drives.
• Great for DIY users and IT Professionals.
• Designed for PC & Mac systems.

Technical Details

Model Number : MB981U3-1SA
Color : Black
Drive Fit :2.5″ / 3.5″ SATA 1.5 / 3 / 6 Gbps hard drive or SSD
2.5″ / 3.5″ IDE hard drive
Connection Interface: SuperSpeed USB 3.0
Transfer Rate: Up to 5 Gbps (depending on hard drive speed)
Structure: Plastic
LED Indication: Device Power & Drive Activity
LED Display Color: Power: Amber; Drive Activity: Amber flashing
Power ON / Off: Power Button
Dimension (L x W x H): 150 x 79.7 x 92mm
Weight: 412g

Packaging & Bundle

The MB981U3-1SA is presented in a well-designed box. Its packaging has a depiction of the docking station itself with some of the key features briefly mentioned. The back and sides of the packaging have even more details to clarify what this product is all about.



Within the box, everything is packaged up very well. The power pack and cables within one compartment and the docking station in another – covered in a clear sheet to protect it from scratches.



Inside the packaging we have a collection of items that result in the bundle. This bundle consists of:

• Documentation – Short user guide
• AC Power Pack
• USB 3.0 cable
• Molex adapter
• Docking station

The docking station itself has a glossy topside so Icy Dock have wrapped the product in a plastic film to ensure that this surface does not succumb to any scratching during transit.



The USB 3.0 cable is slightly different to what you would expect. One end is A – Male and the other is Micro – B. The Micro B end will plug directly into the docking station whilst the A – Male will slot into a USB 3.0 port on your computer.

Closer Look

For a simple device like a HDD docking station the MB981U3-1SA is an attractive looking unit. Its entire structure is plastic – matt on the sides and bottom and glossy on the top. The ICY DOCK logo can be seen at the very front of the MB981U3-1SA – discreet but highly visible.



Taking a better look at the topside of MB981U3-1SA we can see that there is a power button in the very centre – this will illuminate orange when powered up and will flicker during activity. Above this there is the HDD flap. Marked out there is accommodation for 2.5” and 3.5” drives. They simply slot into this section with the top of the drive facing the front. To the left there is a section marked out with 9 circular imprints – this is the ‘eject’ button. More on this below.



At the back of MB981U3-1SA there is an adapter that unclips (and locks). On the back of this little adapter is the USB 3.0 port and DC power slot. Also seen in the picture below are 4x rubberised feet that will prevent the unit from sliding off smooth or shiny surfaces.



Unclipping this adapter we can take a closer look at what functionality it offers. Though by default we can use 2.5” and 3.5” SATA drives the MB981U3-1SA will also cater for older drives like IDE in both 2.5” and 3.5” variants. There is even a Molex slot due to the older IDE drives requiring this for power and next to this we have the power button to get the drive running.



The MB981U3-1SA will not only accommodate SATA 2 (3 Gbps) 2.5” and 3.5” drives but also take full use of SATA 3 (6Gbps). For the purpose of testing we will be using a Seagate Barracuda 12 – SATA 3 (6Gbps) 3.5” drive. Getting this drive in and out of the MB981U3-1SA couldn’t be easier, and thanks to the eject button a simple press results in being able to take the drive out without having to struggle and pull or touch any of the components on the back of the HDD where the PCB is.





Over the page we will take a brief look at the performance that you can expect from the ICY DOCK MB981U3-1SA.

Test Setup & Methodology

CPU Intel Core i5 2500K
Motherboard ASRock Extreme4 Gen3
Graphics MSI NVIDIA GTX 580
Memory 8GB Kingston HyperX 1600MHz CL9
HDD – Samsung 830 256GB SSD
– Kingston SSDNow V+ 128GB
PSU Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 750W

For the purpose of testing the ICY DOCK MB981U3-1SA I will be testing its performance by using a Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB this drive is 3.5” and capable of 6Gbps. To ascertain performance we will observe read operation in a number of benchmark tools. Though the Seagate drive is 6Gbps it will obviously be restrained by the USB 3.0 interface. The MB981U3-1SA will be connected to one of the USB 3.0 ports (Etron) on the ASRock Extreme4 Gen3. The following benchmark tools are well known and highly regarded and are therefore a reliable testing suite.

Benchmark 1: HD Tach 3.0
Benchmark 2: HD Tune 4.60
Benchmark 3: SiSoft SANDRA 2011 – HDD (Physical Disks)

Benchmarks – HD Tach 3.0

Benchmarks – HD Tune 4.60

Benchmarks – SiSoft SANDRA 2011

Conclusion

As mentioned in the introduction storage solutions are an important aspect of our digital lives and though they are inexpensive they are one of the best investments you can make today.

The ICY DOCK MB981U3-1SA is a versatile docking station with the ability to not only take advantage of the SATA interface but also older drives that use IDE, thanks to an easy to use adapter. This adapter is concealed within the unit and so the changes of losing it or it being obstructive is very slim. We even have an eject button which helps to reduce possible damage to the drive – completely removing the need to pull or tug at the drive in question.

As we near the end of 2011 USB 3.0 has slowly but surely gathered momentum and now features on many of the devices we frequently use. The ICY DOCK MB981U3-1SA takes advantage of this faster interface and though we don’t quite get the quoted ‘10 times faster’ transfer speeds we do experience a significant improvement over the older USB 2.0. Even if you don’t have a USB 3.0 port it is backwards compatible – meaning that if you only have USB 2.0 the device will still work, the transfer rate will just take a hit as its constrained to the USB 2.0 interface.



Priced at £35inc. VAT the ICY DOCK MB981U3-1SA is a great value for money buy – if you are looking for an inexpensive portable docking station then the MB981U3-1SA is a great choice.

Though I am very impressed by what I have seen today in the MB981U3-1SA it does have quite a lightweight feel to it and being entirely plastic doesn’t reassure you of amazing build quality – but look at the price, it’s not like you can expect aluminium construction.

The bottom line is The MB981U3-1SA is an inexpensive means to ensuring your data is backed up and thanks to the USB 3.0 functionality we are able to transfer data at an increased rate compared to USB 2.0. I would recommend you buy one!




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