WiebeTech's Silver SATA 1-, 2- and 5-drive SATA enclosures are durable and elegantly designed. I was impressed with the solid 'feel' of this enclosure. The silver metallic case with the patch of teal blue bearing the WiebeTech name adds a touch of class to the external design. This review covers the single-drive SATA 1 External Enclosure with an empty tray, the SIS-Tray-250. A 250-GB Hitachi Deskstar, 7200-rpm, SATA hard drive is old separately, for $163.00. eSATA connections are faster than FW 400 and 800 so there's almost no waiting. SATA transfer rates are up to 1.5 Gb/s compared to 40 MB/s for FW 400 and USB 2, and 60 MB/s for FW 800. Of course if you want faster, SATA II may reach 3.0 Gb/s. Whether these speeds are fact or myth is beyond the scope of this review.

To release the tray from the case, they provide a key. That can be a problem because where on earth does one keep that key? Fortunately, any pointed object like a paper clip will also work. It is wonderful not to have to use any force to release the tray, but a button would have been better. The removable case is perfect for taking the drive with you and/or storing off site for protection. Hard drives are hot swappable and can be removed and replaced by another in seconds.

Included with the Silver SATA I External Enclosure are a removable tray, an eSATA cable, a USB cable, an AC adapter and wall cord, a stand, drive screws, a key, and an information CD.

In order to use the external enclosure with my PCI and PCI-X G5 PowerMac, I needed a SATA host adapter to connect and use the WiebeTech SilverSATA I. I wanted to use only products developed, recommended or sold by WiebeTech for this review, so I got the WiebeTech Tera Card TCS1-1 PCI-X SATA host adapter, which they sell for $59.95. It provides one external and one internal SATA port for a PC or a Macintosh. I installed it in my #2 PCI card slot on my dual PowerPC G5 (see specs above). WiebeTech's Tera Card uses the Silicon Image SiI 3512 chip, which supports up to two SATA hard drives when using both the external and internal SATA ports. The enclosed CD ROM came with a FLASHROM command tool that allows users to setup the host adapter to work on a Macintosh or a PC. I was unable to set it up and had to call to WiebeTech Support. They promptly diagnosed the problem and sent me new drivers. You have to update the firmware first and then install the drivers. All this is done through Terminal. If you are timid about using Terminal, you'll need tech support. Otherwise, there are very clear step-by-step, illustrated instructions which make the process very easy.

For some reason using Command-E to eject the hard drive does not work. You have to drag the disk icon to the trash to dismount it.

WiebeTech's drive trays are pricey. For example, a SIS-Tray-250 GB is $163. You can buy a bare 250 GB SATA hard drive from Other World Computing for $92.99.

Users who back up their precious photos or work with video know you can never have enough hard drive space. Using external enclosures can be an efficient, inexpensive and safe way to backup data. The WiebeTech hot-swappable hard drive enclosure is a great mobile solution for adding hard drive space and simplifying your workflow.