Highpoint Technologies

From Highpoint Technologies we have an external SATA solution. Highpoint manufactures the Rocket 1511 controller, a card that features only an external SATA connector. It has no internal connectors, so that this controller can be used only to move the HDD between systems or to keep the information out of the box. With SATA, there is no difference if you have the HDD inside the computer or outside it. The controller is packed in a regular box, together with a drivers floppy disk and a small installation guide. The card uses the HighPoint HPT302N controller and the Marvell 88i8030 SATA bridge. The amount of information available about HPT302N on the Internet is quite limited, but it’s pretty obvious that the controller is a parallel ATA capable chip that is used with the Marvell bridge to deliver a SATA product. There is nothing wrong about this anyway.
This controller has a limited applicability today because the native SATA hard disks are expensive and it’s not very clever to use a HDD designed for internal use outside the computer with a proper enclosure.

Highpoint Technologies Rocket 1511 product picture

Having this in mind, Highpoint manufactured the RocketMate 1000 HDD enclosure which is fully compatible with the old parallel ATA drives.

RocketMate 1000 is shipped in a box pretty similar with the Rocket 1511 box. Inside you can find the enclosure, the user’s manual, one external SATA cable, one external power adapter and four screws. The enclosure is made of aluminum and looks pretty good. It’s a little smaller and lighter (without the HDD inside) than a regular CD-ROM drive. The enclosure can be placed in a vertical or horizontal position.

Highpoint Technologies RocketMate 1000 top view

Highpoint Technologies RocketMate 1000 side view

Highpoint Technologies RocketMate 1000 inside view

As you can see Highpoint has a complete solution that addresses the external storage problem. Although its range of applicability seems impressing at a first look, it’s obvious that in order to transfer data between two PCs you need a Rocket 1511 adapter (or something similar) in every computer. Most users don’t like to have their sensitive files stored in a box that can be removed in two seconds, but I guess there are also maniacs that want to lock the data in the safe at the end of the day. The external storage idea is great, considering that you will be able to use the old HDD drives to fill the Rocket 1000 box. Unfortunately I don’t know how many people will go for it.