External hard drive enclosures are great products that allow us to take our stuff with us, but they also allow us to quickly hook up a drive to our computer without opening the case. Depending on the enclosure and how many drives you’ve got the task of getting the drive in and out of the enclosure can be one that might frustrate some. The other option to access our drive outside of the computer would be to get an adapter of some kind, there are many kinds out there, but the one I have for review today is that is truly universal letting you attach most any drive and access numerous types of memory cards as well.

Today for review I’ve got the Vantec NexStar Universal Storage Adapter, it’s a long name but it can do quite a bit. This product will allow you to access both SATA and IDE 2.5” and 3.5” drives along with 5.25” SATA and IDE Optical drives and even 66 types of memory cards, so it does live up to it’s name of being a universal adapter.

We’ll start off with the video unboxing then some still pictures:

 

Specifications:

NexStar Universal Storage Adapter

SATA/IDE to USB 2.0 Storage Adapter with 66-in-1 Card Reader

The Vantec NexStar Universal Storage Adapter provides the flexibility of connecting almost any type of storage device to your computer. Whether it is a hard drive, optical drive, SSD, IDE/SATA or a memory card, this adapter does it all. Easily backup, transfer, copy files from your new or old storage devices conveniently through a fully hot-swappable USB interface. This makes the Vantec NexStar Universal Storage Adapter an ideal tool for any service technician, IT consultant, or even a home user. No drivers are required which makes it practically a simple plug & play device that enables you to read and write to multiple storage devices with ease. The Vantec NexStar Universal Storage Adapter is the perfect all-in-one solution for any storage access needs!

Features:
-Install and Access Hard Drive in Seconds
-Simple to Use Design; No Need to Add Enclosure or Open Case
-66-in-1 Card Reader
-Supports 2.5″/3.5″ SATA I/II Hard Drive up to 2TB
-Supports 5.25″ SATA Optical Drive
-Supports 2.5″/3.5″ IDE Hard Drive
-Supports 5.25″ IDE Optical Drive
-Add Storage to Any System with USB
-Plug & Play
-Attractive Blue LED Power & HD Activity Light
-Transfer Rates Up to 480Mbps w/USB 2.0

When you plug in the Vantec NexStar Universal Storage Adapter and open My Computer you’ll notice a few things have been added, namely a bunch of Removable Disks.

I used it with memory cards, 2.5” and 3.5” drives.

When using with a 3.5” drive you’ll need to use the included power adapter to power the hard drive, if it’s an IDE then you can just use the connection as is, but if it’s an SATA drive then you’ll need the included adapter.

When using with a 2.5” IDE drive or memory card though you can just use the power from the USB port.

Since the Vantec NexStar Universal Storage Adapter is just essentially a hard drive enclosure, here’s some test results using ATTO Disk Benchmark comparing the Vantec Adapter to a few other enclosures I’ve got on hand:

As you can see the Vantec has comparable performance to other enclosures out there.

As far as being a memory card reader it works just fine for that, I’ve got a 3.5” card reader in my computer and speeds were comparable as well between mine and the Vantec.

Conclusion:
The Vantec NexStar Universal Storage Adapter is something that can be an invaluable tool for anyone who does computer work, I think it’s a must have for your techie toolbox. On the other hand even the novice user can find this product very useful as it will allow access to most every type of drive and memory card out there quickly and easily.

 

Pros:
+Can be used for most everything, hard drives, optical drives and memory cards
+Easy to use
+Decent speeds

Cons:
-None really

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance