Inateck FE2008X USB Type C 5Gbps Storage Enclosure Review

Inateck's FE2008X USB Type C 5Gbps storage enclosure has a few rattles, but the performance is quite solid for the asking price.

Published
Updated
Manufacturer: Inateck
2 minutes & 56 seconds read time
TweakTown's Rating: 81%

The Bottom Line

You really can't go too wrong with the FE2008C. It's a basic Type C enclosure that carries performance standard with USB 3.0, along with a very comforting price point.
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Inateck is a relatively new brand that has entered the market delivering storage solutions among others to budget-minded consumers. While these solutions don't have all the glitz and glamor of some higher priced solutions, I have found, with my admittedly limited experience with their products, solid functionality.

The latest solution from Inateck comes in the form of a new 2.5" drive enclosure. Carrying the model number FE2008C, this solution offers an aluminum enclosure with internal SATA connection. On the outside, they have kept things simple with a blue LED and Type C connection. Now this Type C connection still aligns to the SuperSpeed 5Gbps spec and not the latest 10Gbps we have been waiting for. This enclosure is capable of housing both 7mm and 9mm drives, either SSD or HDD and for those using 7mm drives they have included a foam pad.

As this solution is a Type C device, you will need a Type C port on your PC or Mac. Outside of that it is compatible with modern Windows and OS X 10.6+. MSRP of the Inateck FE2008C comes in at $34.99 with a one-year warranty.

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Starting off the images we have for this solution, the Inateck FE2008C arrived to me in a somewhat plain brown box. The front has a white label that contains features about the enclosure.

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Scope of delivery is quite slim but includes everything needed to get you setup. On the left we have the user manual then the enclosure and Type C cable.

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On the edge of the enclosure, you can see the Type C port and LED to the far right.

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Above, we have installed our Intel 730 Series SSD.

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After opening up the unit to expose the PCB, we found Inateck was using the ASMedia 1153e USB 3.0 to SATA bridge along with the ASM1542 10Gbps signal switch.

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Testing the FE2008C, I installed our 480GB Intel 730 SSD. Running this solution through Anvils, I was able to reach 413 MB/s read and 404 MB/s write, while random performance touched 30K IOPS read and write.

The Inateck FE2008C isn't a high dollar storage enclosure with all the bells and whistles. In fact, it's the complete opposite as the FE2008C was built to a hit a price point and it appears they have been rather successful at it. While this solution isn't of the highest quality, it does give you an aluminum enclosure for durability with plastics to surround the drive. Internally, we have top end components from ASMedia, and while they did cut corners with the USB 3.0 to SATA bridge chip, it's not a major factor.

On the flip side, there was only a single issue I did have with this enclosure, and that was with a 7mm drive installed using the included foam pad. I still received a bit of a rattle when moving the enclosure around. To me, that can be easily fixed with a thicker rubber or closed cell foam pad, and I certainly hope they do fix it.

As far as performance was concerned, we didn't quite peak the performance of our Intel 730 SSD in testing but I was able to reach 413 MB/s read and 404 MB/s write. I found this to be quite acceptable for this enclosure as it's not far behind many high dollar solutions. Overall, I am quite happy with the build quality minus the rattles along with the performance, and with an MSRP sitting around $34.99, you really can't go wrong for a Type C storage enclosure.

Tyler's Test System Specifications

Performance 82%
Quality including Design and Build 78%
General Features 80%
Bundle and Packaging 75%
Value for Money 90%
Overall 81%

The Bottom Line: You really can't go too wrong with the FE2008C. It's a basic Type C enclosure that carries performance standard with USB 3.0, along with a very comforting price point.

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Tyler joined the TweakTown team in 2013 and has since reviewed 100s of new techy items. Growing up in a small farm town, tech wasn't around, unless it was in a tractor. At an early age, Tyler's parents brought home their first PC. Tyler was hooked and learned what it meant to format a HDD, spending many nights reinstalling Windows 95. Tyler's love and enthusiast nature always kept his PC nearby. Eager to get deeper into tech, he started reviewing.

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