[SOLVED] USB Dual Removable SATA RAID Drive Enclosure
August 8th, 2016
StarTech eSATA/USB External Dual SATA Hot-swap enclosure:
http://uk.startech.com/HDD/Enclosures/35in-eSATA-USB-Dual-SATA-Hot-Swap-External-RAID-Hard-Drive-Enclosure~S352U2RER While it is a decent sized enclosure and it does the job, however there are quite a few things i dislike about it:
1) The fan is quite loud
2) The CD software is of poor quality and in Chinese 3) The drive does not have option to auto shut-down when not in use.
Anyone have any recommendation of hard drive enclosure they think will be good for me?
1) The fan is quite loud
You could easily replace it with a quieter one that has lower noise levels!
You just gotta know the size of it first (And whether it’s a 5 or 12 volt fan) If in doubt, Just take it out, Write down the model number, And Google it!
The connector doesn’t even have to be the same, You just need a wire cutter and electric tape!
Cut off the old fan, Cut off the connector from the new one (And maybe shorten it’s wires a bit too) then strip the ends of all 4 wires (Again, With the wire cutter) Connect the wires with their equal color (I.E red to red) and just twist em a bit with your fingers to make the connection, Cover the exposed parts of each wire with electric tape for insulation, And viola!
2) The CD software is of poor quality and in Chinese
Don’t think there’s much you can do about that (Unless the manufacturer offers an English version on their website that is!)
But is this software even necessary? What does it actually do? As far as I know, Such enclosures don’t require special drivers, And have a physical switch to set the RAID level. If the software is just for automatic file~ Folders are not allowed ~ backup, Then there are many alternative ones you could use instead!
3) The drive does not have option to auto shut-down when not in use.
I think you might be asking for too much here!
Anyone have any recommendation of hard drive enclosure they think will be good for me?
This one:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-279-SV
It supports USB3 (Which will give you a major performance boost if your PC is capable of it!)
But if the only thing that really bothers you is the loud fan, Then as said above, You could simply replace it with a little effort (And it’d be cheaper than a new enclosure too!)
Thanks for the suggestions, but i am not looking for a quick fix or DIY. I want to purchase a new enclosure. Looking for something that packs a punch…something in the lines of this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/ORICO-Aluminum-External-Enclosure-support/dp/B006ZWNXCY
It has auto sleep, and supports HDD clone function without PC connection. The downside to this one, is it support 3 TB max, and i need one that is capable of 4 TB.
The downside to this one, is it support 3 TB max, and i need one that is capable of 4 TB.
You previously mentioned that you currently have a 2X2TB setup, So I’m guessing that by 4TB you’re referring to their combined capacity (And not a new 2X4TB setup you wanna create) Correct? If so, You wouldn’t have any problems!
Quote from the product’s page:
Two Slots design: takes two hard disk drives simultaneously;Maximum capacity: upto 3TB * 2
This means it supports 2 HDDs, And each of em can be up to 3TB in capacity – So I’d work perfectly fine with a 2X2TB setup.
You might wanna consider getting a 2-bay nas instead tho.
Having read some of the product review, for that particular model i previously mentioned…. it seems it not of a great build quality.
I have been looking around the interwebs, and i found one that fits my requirments, it has sleep mode in sycn with pc power to conserve engery, hopefully should be good:
http://www.hotway.com.tw/products/hur1-su3s2.htm
EDIT: This product company name was changed to mediasonic and has since become discontinued.
My FINAL choice, after reading reviews has been this product: http://icydockuk.com/goods.php?id=160
It has sleep mode, but also clean modern design and easy to use functions