In the weekly deal e-mails from places like Buy.com and TigerDirect.com the items that seem to always be on the page are some type of digital storage. From USB flash drives to multi-drive raid devices, it seems like just about everyone has some type of portable storage to offer. Most of the portable storage devices that people use for backing up their data use either 2.5" or 3.5" hard drives with a nice enclosure to conceal and protect the hardware. If you happen to already have a capable hard drive, you can save some money by adding it to an empty enclosure, like one of the new offerings from Cooler Master.


Cooler Master sent us two portable drive enclosures for review, the X Craft 250 and 350. The X Craft 350 series is available to support a 3.5" IDE or SATA drive with the options of USB, Firewire, or an eSATA external interface, while the X Craft 250 supports a 2.5" IDE drive with a USB interface.

Before looking at the actual enclosures, here are the published features and specifications from the Cooler Master website for each X Craft enclosure.

Features & Specifications:

X Craft 350 Features:

» Tool-free & Easy Installation
» Unique Fan-less Silent Heat Dissipation Design
» Two USB 2.0 Hi-speed Ports
» HDD Shock-proof Mechanism
» Supports All 3.5" PATA or sATA Hard Disk Drives up to 500G
» MultiTRAK™ Technology provides transaction translator per USB port to ensure that hard disk and the other USB devices have best performance
» Attractive Blue LED for power and red LED for HDD Activity
» Stylish Anodized Aluminum Cover and Stand
» Plug & Play and Hot-swappable
» Compatible with both Windows and Mac OS

X Craft 250 Features:

» Supports 2.5" HDD up to 160G/7200RPM
» Compatible with both PC and Mac Platforms.
» Mirror finished aluminum casing
» Superior Cooling Solution: Aluminum casing with high quality mesh design provides excellent heat dissipation and ensures your HDD stability
» One-touch backup system: P&G (Press & Go) built-in
» Plug & Play and Hot-swap capability
» Smart indicator: Attractive blue LED indicates power/HDD activity
» Best Protection: HDD shockproof mounting mechanism protects your HDD and important data
» High Transfer Rates: up to 480Mbps
» User Friendly : Easy installation and portable
» USB Bus-power support

X Craft 350 Specifications:

» Case material: Aluminum
» Power Adapter: 5V/2A, 12V/2A
» Input Voltage: 100Vac-240Vac
» Dimensions: 8.86"H x 4.72"L x 1.5"W (225mmL x 120mmW x 38mmH)
» Weight: 15.45 Oz/ 438g (without HDD)
» OS: Window 98SE/ME/2000/XP; Mac 9.1 higher/10.2higher
» RX-3SB: Supports SATA to eSATA & USB 2.0

X Craft 250 Specifications:

» HDD Support: 2.5
» Interface: USB 2.0/1.1
» Transfer Rate: 480 Mbps high speed, 12 Mbps full speed USB operation
» LED Indicator: Power-Blue LED, HDD Activity-Red LED
» Case Material: Aluminum/Plastic/Metal
» Dimensions: 5.35in (L) x 3.19in (W) x 0.75in (H)
» Weight: 0.31 lbs/140g
» OS: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP, Mac 9.1 & 10.2 higher
» P&G Backup System: Windows XP/ 2000/ 98/ ME