Icy-Box IB-250StU3-B query

Gunslinger · 26 Apr 2011 at 21:33

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-059-BT

Can anyone tell me if this has a full aluminium body, including the black sections?
Most descriptions of it i've seen tend to lead you to beleive that, however i've seen one review where it is said to be plastic, however that is not to say they haven't been updated.
If it is plastic however i'm likely to go for the IB-230StU3-G model instead, so would like to know before i take the plunge

I would go for the IB-231StU3-G model, which would allow me to use an external power source should i wish, but it seems they might only have a SATA I controller chip in them, making USB3 completely pointless !

AbsenceJam · 27 Apr 2011 at 00:59

SATA 'I' is 1.5Gbit. More than quick enough..

Gunslinger · 27 Apr 2011 at 10:48

and with a mushkin SSD in it ??, seems to be somewhat pointless having a USB 3 connection, linked to a SATA I controller when using an SSD in the case, Plus the SATA I controller chipset give a limited hard drive size, the sATA II or III ones don't

Anyway, my concern is the case material, as i do not want a plastic bodied one

Discoboy · 27 Apr 2011 at 11:15

I have one.

The outer 2 black covers are aluminium but because they are thin in thickness and with a black anodised finish if you tap/touch the covers they can mistakenly sound/feel like plastic. But they are cold to touch compared to the plastic parts from this you can easily tell its aluminium.

The centre silver coloured chassis around around the middle of the case is plastic.

Also the USB3 cable is a very high quality one and also has the needed Y splitter 2nd USB plug so as to supply more power to the Icy Box.

I tried the Akasa Integral S before but due to no addition USB power plug my MB would at times drop the connection or complained about only USB2 spec being available.

The Icy Box version just works!

Hope this helps you.

Gunslinger · 27 Apr 2011 at 11:33

It does, thank you, very much appreciated.

From what you've said, it sounds like the complete opposite to what i understood, in that the silver part i assumed was metal, and because of the description for the review i was lead to believe the top and bottom (black covers) were plastic and bowed easily !

If the side chassis is plastic then i may well go for the other one as i know it's all ally, i sort of preferred the build style of that one, and the 2 led's rather than just one, always good to have separate LEDs if you ask me.

The power issue is something that is important to me, because i would like to also plug into my DVD player and play avi files through that from time to time, and that is i think only USB 1.0 :eek:

so every little bit of speed is important, but, it can not power an external drive, so that additional power source option is handy (it's why i considered the 231 model) i'm also not a huge fan of powering stuff off the USB line anyway, USB 3.0 does take into account that every man and his dog is making stuff that is drawing huge amounts of power off that line, hence the reason they now come with additional power pins and most add-in cards have a molex connector on them !

Using an SSD in it however should reduce it's power requirement quite considerably, and keep me out of trouble !