Not that long ago we took a look at Silicon Power’s Stream S06 series and walked away fairly impressed with its unique take on what it means to be a good portable external storage solution. While not perfect its integrated carry handle, good price, decent internal component section, and overall value did make it a viable choice for those looking for moderately large ‘sneaker net’ storage device. Today we will be placing the Stream S07 series under the microscope to see what changes Silicon Power has made to their Stream series’ formula. To be specific we will be placing the exact same capacity variant of the Stream S07 (6TB) as the Stream S06 series we looked at previously.
On paper not that much has seemingly changed in the proprieties department. Like the Stream S06 before it, the product literature places an emphasis on passive heat dissipation abilities, both vertical and horizontal usage orientations, and similar middle of the road performance; while at the same time placing a lower priority on Ingress Protection and general shock resistance (non-existent and low respectively). Also like the Stream S06, the S07 places greater emphasis on asking price vs raw performance – the Stream S07 6TB capacity version has an asking price of about $120 (USD) vs the S06’s $110 (USD) and both are rated for basically the same (hard disk drive) levels of performance.
However, even with just a quick look at the exterior of both models it is obvious the Stream S07 designers did have a slightly different customer in mind when they made the S07. Where the Stream S06 was intended to be moved from location to location on a fairly routine basis, the S07 is obviously intended to live most of its life in one and only one location. We say ‘obviously’ as the as the Stream S07 lacks the integrated carry handle we loved so much in the S06 series. In its stead the S07 has an extremely rough and unique looking texture applied to the exterior plastic chassis.
This surface, in conjunction with a different ventilation configuration, gives the Stream S07 the illusion of being sculpted from a solid block of stone. While it would be hard to imagine an external drive coming from the ancient Greek masters (or even later Italian masters) it is pretty obvious the Hellenistic and High Renaissance periods heavily influenced the Stream S07’s design. Make no mistake, this change from Utilitarian to darn near Hedonic aesthetics does not mean function as been (overly) sacrificed for form. Yes, this change dramatically improves the overall look and feel, but the extreme texture should provide a much more secure grip while being transported from one computer to another… not as optimal as an actual handle, but not entirely without merit either.
In either case, this change does beg the question(s) on who precisely this model is meant for… and what other ‘hidden’ changes has Silicon Power made when creating their new Stream S07 series? Question such as these is what we intend to answer.
