Thermaltake continues to bring new and innovative products to the PC enthusiast market, and the recent release of the Max 5G 3.5 Hard Drive Enclosure keeps Thermaltake at the forefront of timely new product releases.  We will have an in depth look at the Max5G’s performance and functionality so you can see for yourself if this product is right for you.

First a little about Thermaltake, as taken from their website:
“While still a relatively young company, established in 1999, Thermaltake is built on unwavering will and dedication to address issues and innovate at the same time for computer enthusiasts and corporate users worldwide . With strong support of Research & Development team standing behind the brand, Thermaltake is committed to never-follow but always-lead. In past decades, the industrial and technological advancements in different fields have shaped the world we live in today and have also made a big impact on the environment. Thermaltake takes great measures to ensure the product that we produce relieve these impacts by being first to act on 80 PLUS® specification for computer power supply that greatly reduces the amount of electricity that a computer consumes.

Always striving to be the best, we continuously benchmark our performance against the very best internally and externally. Customers are our greatest asset and Thermaltake does not take that for granted. That is why Thermaltake is the industry leading in customer service and customer support with around-the-clock automated product return service.”

Follow along as we next explore the packaging and box contents!

The box that houses the Thermaltake Max5G is a continuation of just about anything from Thermaltake, black and red is the usual theme.  The front of the box gives you a good view of the product, including what Thermaltake claims to be the world’s first 3.5″ enclosure with dual 80mm silent fans.  You will also notice the USB Super Speed and SATA 3.0 compatible logos.  As you can also see there is a 3 year warranty on the Max 5G as is duly noted on the package.  The back of the box gives a run down of the specifications and a multi language list of the features.

The box sides go in to a little more detail on the available connection points as well as pictures of the outside of the chassis.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s open this bad boy up and see what is inside shall we?  When first lifting the box top you are greeted with the warranty card and a multi language set of instructions.  There are two small white boxes enclosed in the package, one of which simply has the AC power adapter.  The other small white box has the tool needed to open the chassis for installing a drive, a blue USB 3.0 cable, and a set of foam pads that are to be used for filling the gap when you install a 3.5″ hard drive that is less than 25mm thick.  The pads will keep the slimmer drives from moving around inside the chassis as you transport the Max 5G from place to place.

The Max 5G unit itself come wrapped in plastic and is protected by two foam blocks when packed in the box.  As is the case with most Thermaltake products we have reviewed, the packaging is well thought out and ensures the product will arrive to the consumer in excellent condition.

Lets have a look at the long list of specifications and features the Thermaltake Max5G Hard Drive Enclosure has to offer, first the specifications:

Next is a list of the features as provided by Thermaltake:

As you can see by the lists above, the Thermaltake Max 5G is about as feature rich as a hard drive enclosure can get.  Lets continue on with a closer look at the Max 5G,  both inside and out, beginning with the back side of the unit.  Here is where the main power rocker switch is located and just below that is the switch that controls the blue LED’s on the fans, you can have the lights on or off at your discretion.  Also on the back side is the DC-IN connection where your power adapter gets plugged in to.  Lastly, the USB 3.0 cable connection is located on the back side as well.  Moving around to the front face of the Max 5G you will only find a hard drive activity light and the standard hard drive icon just below it.  Much like any computer chassis hard drive activity light it blinks as the drive is being used.

Moving to the bottom area you will see three rubber pads affixed to the unit which greatly aids in keeping the unit from sliding around your surface.  The rubber pads also provide excellent anti-vibration qualities.  Take note that the rear two rubber pads are mounted to an adjustable leg stand.  The leg can be rotated to a perpendicular position if desired, providing even more stability.  The right side of the Max 5G is where you find the the two screws for opening the unit (more on this later), and some imprinted graphics.  The left side is comprised entirely of metal mesh except for the very bottom area.  This is where the two 80mm blue LED fans draw cool air in to the unit and thus over the back side of your enclosed hard drive.  The warm air exhausts through a finned area at the bottom of the enclosure.

Ok, lets have a look inside the Max 5G and go over how a hard drive is installed.  The included tool for removing the side panel is a nice touch and makes the job of removing the screws painless.  If you happen to lose the tool, fear not as the screws are nothing more than a standard allen wrench design.  Using the included tool, we removed the two side panel screws to have a look inside.  Once opened you get a good look at the two fans, the printed circuit board and the connection points.

To install a hard drive you simply move the plastic hard drive locking clip, lay the hard drive in the unit making sure the data and power connections are lined up, and simply slide the hard drive back to engage the connection points.  Once that is done you snap the locking clip against the side of the hard drive.  Really, that’s it!  It takes no time at all to install a hard drive in to the Max 5G, and best of all there is plenty of room to work with.  Unlike a lot of enclosures that can be frustratingly tight areas to work with, the Max 5G was a pleasure to install a hard drive to.

If your a regular reader of OverclockersTech then you probably know we have done other reviews on Thermaltake’s BlacX series docking stations.  Docking stations are pretty much the same as hard drive enclosures except that they are an “open air” design.  Luckily they make prefect comparison models for us to use.  We’ll compare the BlackX Duet (Usb 2.0), the BlacX 5g (USB 3.0 and SATA 3.0), and our review sample of the Max 5G.  We used an eVGA x58 SLI 3 based system for the testing along with a Western Digital Sata 3.0 7200 rpm hard drive.

The first test is HD Tach Random Access Benchmark.

Pretty much a draw here across all fronts.  As expected no difference between the BlacX 5G and the Max 5G.  Next up we ran the HD Tach Average Read Benchmark.

Other than the expected big increase between USB 2.0 and USB 3.0, the Max 5G just barely beat out the BlacX 5g.  The difference was so small that we’ll call this one a draw as well.

The performance increase over aging USB 2.0 Hard Drive enclosures makes this product something you need to consider if your looking to upgrade your external storage solution.  The build quality and appearance of the Max 5G is outstanding.  All the connections are secure, it stays where you put it without sliding around, and the blue LED fans are just plain cool!

We could bore you with a list of pros and cons at this point, but there really is no cons to speak of.  The Thermaltake Max 5G is by far the best Hard drive enclosure we have used.  It works as advertised, is built like a tank, the cooling is awesome, and is very appealing to the eye.  If you have been looking for a Sata 3.0/USB 3.0 hard drive enclosure, your search should begin and end with the Thermaltake Max 5G, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better solution.

The Thermaltake Max 5G easily warrants an OverclockersTech Gold Award!

Dino DeCesari (Lvcoyote)