A Closer Look

Getting up close with the Vantec NexStar TX: its first impression is one of simplicity. The enclosure is not much larger than the 2.5" hard disk that goes in it and in this case having more is nothing gained, so it is an ideal size. The TX is made out of aluminum and its surface is flat black with a light texture to it. The topside has the NexStar TX designation printed on it and has ribbed indentations along the surface for a design element as well as structural firmness. The aluminum is rather thick and extremely sturdy, so much that it can easily handle the weight of a 180 lb. man. From every other angle you look at the enclosure, it is simple with nothing flashy or unneeded. Both ends of the NexStar TX are capped off by plastic caps and on one end there is a HDD activity light and the USB port.


Disassembling the NexStar TX is as simple as removing two screws with the provided screwdriver. All of the internal components are connected to the USB and HDD activity light end cap and that is the cap that needs to be removed. It unscrews simply and easily, then the plastic end cap is removed. As you can see, on the other side of the cap the PCB is mounted with the storage processor and SATA ports mounted to it.


Zooming in on the storage processor itself we find that the NexStar TX utilizes the JMicron 20329 SATA bridge chip. JMicron doesn’t list this particular chip on their website, however they do list the JM20330 SATA bridge chip that has similar if not identical specifications. The PDF datasheet for the JM20330 chip can be found here: JM20330 Overview and Datasheet.

Read further to the Performance section to see how well this enclosure stacks up to the competition.