3. Thermaltake Silver River Duo

There are plenty of external hard disks available on today's market, both in complete, ready-to-plug-in form and as empty enclosures that do-it-yourselfers can stuff with their own hard disks. What sets the Thermaltake Silver River Duo apart from both groups is its flexibility and the connections it supports. The unit also includes a small stand, so you can carry it in compact form in a computer bag or knapsack, but stand it on its side for better ventilation while it's running. It comes in black or silver, as your back-to-schooler may prefer.

The compact Thermaltake Silver River Duo HD enclosure comes in silver or basic black.

What makes the Silver River Duo attractive and interesting is its flexibility. For one thing, unlike most do-it-yourself enclosures that either accommodate only PATA or only SATA drives, the Silver River Duo handles both. For another, the Silver River Duo offers both USB 2.0 and eSATA ports - interestingly, eSATA works only when the eSATA switch is thrown on this device if an IDE drive is installed; with a SATA drive installed, throwing that switch is not required. There's no fan inside this all-aluminum enclosure, which gets its cooling from radiation through the case (and explains why standing it on its side while in use is probably a good idea).

The Silver River Duo accommodates any 3.5" hard disk, be it either IDE or SATA. It also ships with both USB and eSATA cables, internal IDE and SATA adapters to link drive to enclosure, and an external power supply and power cable. Thermaltake even throws in a small Philips head screwdriver to help you put the whole thing together.

This drive enclosure is both small and light. With dimensions of 8.54" x 4.88" x 1.30" (217 mm x 124 mm x 33 mm) and a weight of only 14.1 oz (400 g), it's pretty easy to find room for this item in a bookbag or knapsack. Drive installation is very easy, and the drive is a snap to use. It also offers pretty good performance, depending, of course, on the drive installed: a Samsung Spinpoint 200 GB SATA II drive posted respectable average read performance of around 32 MB/s for USB, and around 54 MB/s for eSATA on a middle-of-the-road test system.

At a price of around $35, the Thermaltake Silver River Duo offers nice connections and great flexibility at a nice price.