Testing and Conclusion
The IB168SK has been in use for over a month in a test machine and it has been swapped in and out plenty of times during this period. First of all, it can be noted that there is no difference in speed or performance of the drive when using the enclosure. If poor quality connections were used for the SATA data pass-through then this could have resulted in slower transfer rates, but fortunately this is not the case.
The lock and HDD activity LED work as intended and the drive ejection mechanism remained smooth each time. However, most users aren’t going to use the LED at all as it requires a connection to the HDD activity header on the motherboard. It’s a shame there isn’t an easy way to detect activity via the SATA data connection without adding to the cost or complexity of the device. There is no 40mm fan included on the device, however there is ventilation space in the caddy which should be suffice (on a Thermaltake Soprano case the temperature has remained comparable to the internal 3.5” drive bays).
The IB168SK is a simply product that does exactly as was intended, without any unnecessary fuss or complexity. The manufacture quality is good and the mechanical components (such as hinges and lock) look like they can be expected to last a long time. It is refreshing to see a product that is simple, efficient and does the job well. Not many people will have a need for a trayless drive bay like this, but those that often swap drives around will find this invaluable.
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