The majority of you will know Scythe for cooling products, namely fans; over in Japan though they are known for much more. Our editor in Japan got a hold of Scythe’s newest hard drive enclosure, which supports the latest USB 3.0 technology. This is our first review of the most recent revision of the universal serial bus, which is set to perform 3X or greater in comparison to USB 2.0. This makes the hard drive itself the bottleneck and not as much the transfer hardware.

Specifications

Scythe Kamazo

Dimensions 5.3 x 3.23 x 0.63 Inches (LWH)
Weight: N/A
Material: Aluminum and Plastic
External Interface: USB 3.0
Color: Black / Silver

Form Factor: 2.5”
Supported HDD Height: 9.5mm
Supported OS: Windows ME/2000/XP/Vista or Mac 10.2 above

Price: Around $30 (USD)

Rather than going simple, Scythe has loaded the box with information and descriptions. Graphs and images depict the new aspects of USB 3.0 while all else is described in words. Inside the box, packed in an organized matter, was the enclosure: a USB 3.0 to USB 3.0 cable, a USB to DC cable, eight screws and screw driver, Japanese “manual” and a carrying case.

For us it was pretty straight forward, though the manual was not really a manual. It was generally text about the product and included a warranty card as well. Otherwise it mentioned very little about set up and if so only in text format without any supporting images which makes set up harder for the average consumer.

The other accessories bundled with the enclosure are similar to those provided by competitors’ enclosures. Though one little bonus is the fact that they included a spare of both screw types in case you lose one. It was also great to see the plastic parts of the enclosure had been protected with stickers in order to prevent any possible scratching within the box.

The name of the enclosure “Kamazo” consists of two Chinese characters or “Kanji” 鎌 and 蔵. 鎌 (Kama) refers to a sickle or a scythe, just like the brand, while the 蔵 stands for collection. Therefore 鎌蔵 means sickle collection.

The design of the enclosure is not that unique though its subtle design is appealing. The majority of it is fabricated of metal, aiding its heat transfer and dissipation, while the ends are built out of glossy plastic. The long edges of the enclosure differentiate as one side is curved and the other is flat. The flat side is engraved spiked lines spread along the surface. The flat side allows the hard drive to sit propped up on the side to cut back on clutter around your notebook.

On the base of each plastic end there are tiny feet to prop the hard drive off the desk, nonetheless, they are too small to be useful. On one end is a circular blue power indicator light and on the other are two screw holes, a USB 3.0 port and a DC input port. The enclosure can be powered by either using both the USB 3.0 and DC connection or the USB 3.0 connection on its own.

To distinguish itself from any similar USB 2.0 enclosures the enclosure and cable uses blue plastic inside the metal connector. The main USB cable is also thick; in fact it is as thick as a three prong power cable. Even though there are eight wires opposed to the four used by USB 2.0, it makes the cable heavy and less flexible thus less portable.

A positive note about the cable is although there is no standard that manufacturers must use for port and cable options, Scythe’s enclosure uses a simple USB to USB cable which should be available for years to come.

Installation

When the enclosure is opened up a green board the size of the enclosure pops out with controllers soldered to the end. On the opposite end there is the led light. Generally installing the hard drive is pretty simple except for the fact that the light is in the way. We were forced to bend it in order to get the hard drive into the SATA adapter.

Once it was in, however, screwing the hard disk on to the board and screwing the enclosure shut was a breeze.

Benchmarks

Since USB 3.0 is backwards compatible we decided to do two benchmarks. One while connected through USB 2.0 and the other while connected to an express card USB 3.0 adapter.

Since most users would not carry around a 5v power adapter we decided to run the tests using only the USB 3.0 cable. (Click to enlarge graphs)

USB 2.0	USB 3.0
Crystal Disk Mark	Crystal Disk Mark
Read: 25.38 MB/s Write: 24.30 MB/s	Read: 69.19 MB/s Write: 48.72 MB/s
ATTO Bench	ATTO Bench
Read Peak: 23 MB/s Write Peak: 22.5 MB/s	Read Peak: 71 MB/s Write Peak: 52 MB/s
HD Tune	HD Tune
Average Transfer Rate: 22.7 MB/s	Average Transfer Rate: 57.9 MB/s
HD Tach	HD Tach
Average Transfer Rate: 23.9 MB/s	Average Transfer Rate: 65.6 MB/s

As you can see in the benchmarks above, USB 3.0 boasts an average of two to three times the speed. This is a huge boost as it makes the hard drive the bottleneck rather than the transfer method.

Conclusion

The Scythe 2.5” Kamazo USB 3.0 external hard drive enclosure is part of the first generation of USB 3.0 peripherals. Although the enclosure is on the bulky and heavy side, its design makes up for it. Its bullet black appearance and ability to stand up on its side sans stand help make it an attractive enclosure for prospective buyers.