VIZO Ares II Dual 2.5in SATA Drive Rack

Product: VIZO Ares II Dual 2.5in SATA Drive Rack
Provided By: VIZO
Price:

Introduction:

VIZO has a lot of interesting storage solutions and they continue to provide consumers with quality products at very competitive prices.  A while back we looked at the original Ares rack that fit a single 3.5in drive in a 5.25in bay.  Today we have the Ares II and this little unit fits a pair of 2.5in drives into a single 3.5in bay.  It provides Hot-Swap SATA connectivity for those of you who need quick portable storage.  With that being said, let's jump right in.

Ares II Box 

The VIZO Ares II comes is a pretty decent box that contains all the relevant information a buyer will need before he drops his cash on this product.  While the box isn't too fancy, it does include details regarding the product inside.  It shows that the 2.5in drives do not need rails and they should install very simply and quickly.

As we open up the box, we find a good assortment of goodies that will allow you to install this device in your system with no extra expense.  VIZO includes all the required power cables, SATA data cables and screws needed for this unit.  The power cables are Molex-to-SATA cables that also contain a "Y" adapter for the HDD LED indicators.  I'm not sure why VIZO couldn't wire this directly into the unit so you could just use standard SATA cables.  This isn't a big deal though - unless you lose the cables that come with the Ares II.  If you do, you'll lose HDD indication.  The drives themselves will continue to function properly.

 
Ares II Bundle

Before we take a look at installation and performance of this unit, we'll grab the specifications from VIZO.

VIZO Ares II Specifications:

Description:

• For Dual 2.5” SATA HDD / SSD
• Compact & Space Saving
• One touch to Open
• Tool Free for Drive Installation
• Strong Stainless Body with Ventilation Holes for Excellent Heat Dissipation
• Mini Size / Double Storage Capacity
• Easy to open / Easy to install / Easy to use

 
Ares II Front & Back

 

Features:

• Compatible with dual 2.5" SATA HDD / SSD
• Compact size can fit external 3.5" drive bay
• Space saving design permits huge quantity storage
• Great for storage expansion of mini PC / PC
• Easy to open with one touch
• Patented tool-free design for rapid drive installation
• Support hot swappable
• Reliable EMI shielding
• Strong stainless body with ventilation holes for excellent heat dissipation
• Unique scratch-proof SATA connector , more than 50,000 times plug / ejection

 

Specs:

• Data Transfer Rate : 3 Gb / Sec
• Drive Type :
  2.5 " SATA I / II Hard Disk Drive
  2.5 " SATA Solid State Drive
• Housing Material : Stainless & Plastic
• Interface Host : SATA ( 7 pin )
• Indicators : Power on, Drive activity
• Weight : 282.5 g ( without Drive )
• Dimensions : 134 (L) x 102 (W) x 24 (H) mm 

Continue on to the next page for installation and testing.