External HDD Question

[S0ULphIRE]

Hey, has anyone tried those HDD Docks? I'm thinking about getting one, so I can have a pile of hdd's and quickly swap between them without having to bother with any screws/extra cases/etc.
Iuno, would a normal external enclosure be a better choice?

 

[Baez]

If you want to have the ability to quick swap then an HDD dock would be the better choice. A normal enclosure is only for simple storage without the ability to access several drives quickly.

 

[Luke]

i was going to get one a while back also...because i have like 10 hdd's sitting around. My problem was that some are ide, som sata, and some scis. So it was not really a good idea.

But i would go for it, but only if you are taking them in and out a lot. But you can get some enclosures for really cheap, so maybe you might want to go that way.

 

[carnageX]

But you can get some enclosures for really cheap, so maybe you might want to go that way.

Never cheap out on an enclosure. I bought an Icydock for $60 and it works perfectly fine, even with continuous use. I also bought a $30 OKGear enclosure...piece of crap. Crapped out on me after a few months; refused to recognize a drive I had been using. Put it in my Icydock enclosure and it worked fine.

 

[Luke]

^i never said get a crap one. Look around, read some reviews and find a decent one for a decent price. You can get good cheap enclosures, you just have to avoid the bad ones.

 

[carnageX]

You have more of a chance of getting a bad one when getting a cheap one though . The cheaper ones usually don't have as good of cooling function for the drives either, hence why its better to get a better quality one as it will be designed better vs another one. Yes I know there can be/are good enclosures that aren't spendy; but from personal experience, I'd rather spend a little bit more and have it work all the time than spend money on a cheap one, only to have it get replaced.

 

[Baez]

I stick with Vantec and have never had a problem.

 

[S0ULphIRE]

lol, so before this turned into a discussion on cheap/bad cheap/good, the general consensus was that the hdd docks were a better choice for fast swapping?
sweet.
I just wasn't sure how well they'd work, whether they were just another piece of plastic **** the industry was trying to pawn. But if they work, then it's genius!

 

[Luke]

I would go with this: NCIX.com - Buy Vantec Nexstar SATA 2.5IN/3.5IN Hard Drive Docking Station USB2.0 eSATA - NST-D100SU In Canada.

Vantec is a very solid company when it comes to enclosures, so i would consider it a good brand for this application as well.

 

[S0ULphIRE]

If I lived in Canada I'd go for it, hmmm. I'll check if they sell down in my corner of the earth.