Which HD enclosure for Mac Studio (6 HDDs and SSDs)

[danqi]

My 2010 Mac Pro is on it's last legs and I'm finally planning to upgrade to a Mac Studio and Studio Display.

Problem is, I am currently using 3 internal HDDs and 3 internal SSDs inside my Mac Pro and will need a new place to move them to. Replacing them all with new individual external drives seems wasteful and like it will result in a lot of clutter.

I am not interested in a RAID setup as I don't see a point in it for my workflow and it would increase cost and complexity. Uniterrupted uptime is not really a priority and I will have to keep doing off-site backups anyway, as a RAID is no replacement for that. (Maybe I'm missing something?)

So basically I am just looking for a simple Thunderbolt enclosure for HDDs and SDDs without RAID, that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

(If 4bay solutions are much better value I could maybe buy a few new drives and consolidate some.)

Really appreciate any tips!

EDIT: I do photo and video editing, compositing, color grading and am starting to learn Blender.

 

[danqi]

Also, would you think that my ca. 5 or 6 year old SSD that I use as a scratch disk for caches and such is still fast enough for that purpose and could be used in a new enclosure? I haven't really kept up with connection standards and such. I guess it's a SATA SSD.

 

[MRxROBOT]

To save yourself a bit of money and space I would recommend a 4 bay usb c 3.2 enclosure. Your HDDs and 1 SSD will not saturate the 10GB bandwidth unless you have high performance drives that deliver over 180ish mb/s,Plus a 2 bay usb c enclosure which will give you enough bandwidth for the last 2. This will save you on the Thunderbolt tax. I’ll link the 4 bay I use. Words of wisdom if you buy it. Use the usb c cable, not the usb c to a cable. The latter is what causes most peoples issues with this enclosure.

SABRENT USB 3.2 4 Bay 3.5" SATA Hard Drive Tray Less Docking Station (DS-SC4B)

The Sabrent USB 3.2 4-Bay 3.5" SATA Hard Drive Tray-less Docking Station (DS-SC4B) is the PERFECT solution for all you docking needs! FEATURES • USB 3.2 Type-C port with up to 10Gbps transfer speed. • 4 x SATA 6Gbit/s 3.5” hard-drive bays. • High-quality aluminum for optimal heat dissipation and ...

www.amazon.com

 

[MRxROBOT]

This next enclosure is probably exactly what you want. Price isn’t too bad and it’s Thunderbolt 3. I hesitate recommending OWC to anybody because my 4 separate device failures and the horrible experience I had with their support. I personally will never shop with them again.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1635298-REG

Then there’s this guy. I’ve seen a lot of favorable reviews for it but it’s quite a bit more expensive.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1501782-REG

 

[chikorita157]

This next enclosure is probably exactly what you want. Price isn’t too bad and it’s Thunderbolt 3. I hesitate recommending OWC to anybody because my 4 separate device failures and the horrible experience I had with their support. I personally will never shop with them again.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1635298-REG

Then there’s this guy. I’ve seen a lot of favorable reviews for it but it’s quite a bit more expensive.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1501782-REG

I use a Thunderbay 4 (Thunderbolt 2) version for almost 7 years with the Mac mini for server storage and I never had any issues and it still works. I suggest replacing the fan inside with a Noctua since the OEM fan is loud.

 

[MRxROBOT]

I use a Thunderbay 4 (Thunderbolt 2) version for almost 7 years with the Mac mini for server storage and I never had any issues and it still works. I suggest replacing the fan inside with a Noctua since the OEM fan is loud.

That’s great that your having a great experience with your device, I had anything but. What was really funny is that they literally refused to post any of my reviews (which to me sends up a lot of red flags).

 

[danqi]

To save yourself a bit of money and space I would recommend a 4 bay usb c 3.2 enclosure. Your HDDs and 1 SSD will not saturate the 10GB bandwidth unless you have high performance drives that deliver over 180ish mb/s,Plus a 2 bay usb c enclosure which will give you enough bandwidth for the last 2. This will save you on the Thunderbolt tax. I’ll link the 4 bay I use. Words of wisdom if you buy it. Use the usb c cable, not the usb c to a cable. The latter is what causes most peoples issues with this enclosure.

SABRENT USB 3.2 4 Bay 3.5" SATA Hard Drive Tray Less Docking Station (DS-SC4B)

The Sabrent USB 3.2 4-Bay 3.5" SATA Hard Drive Tray-less Docking Station (DS-SC4B) is the PERFECT solution for all you docking needs! FEATURES • USB 3.2 Type-C port with up to 10Gbps transfer speed. • 4 x SATA 6Gbit/s 3.5” hard-drive bays. • High-quality aluminum for optimal heat dissipation and ...

www.amazon.com

Thank you, this looks great! The way I understand it this does exactly the same thing as the OWC Thunderbay 4 with comparable speeds, it's just called USB 3.2 instead of Thunderbolt, right?

At less than half the price of the Thunderbay (coupled with your bad experience) I see no reason not to go for this, unless I'm missing something.

I have also decided that 4 bays is enough for me and I will at some later point add separate individual or 2 bay enclosures for some high speed (nvme?) SSDs for more demanding work.

The only thing the Sabrent seems to be missing that the OWC Thunderbay has is a Display Port. That would come in handy because I have an old 2011 Cinema Display with Mini DisplayPort which I would like to continue using as a secondary display. But I'm sure there are cheap adapters/hubs out there for that.

Do you know if an extra tray/adapter is needed to install SSDs in the Sabrent enclosure?

 

[danqi]

One more question, which might be silly: When I'm leaving my workplace I always turn my computer off completely and then cut the power using the switch on a power strip. This is not a problem with normal external hard drives as they power down with the computer. I assume it's the same with these enclosures, right?

 

[Fishrrman]

Is it absolutely necessary to have all 8 drives online all the time?

My suggestion:

For the 3 SSDs, you might be able to find a 4-bay enclosure (for 2.5" form factor drives) that can hold them. Either thunderbolt or USB3.

For the HDD's, I'd consider one (or perhaps two) USB3/SATA docking stations. Cheap and plentiful.
Then swap drives around as needed.

Probably FAR cheaper than finding one enclosure to "hold them all".

 

[danqi]

Is it absolutely necessary to have all 8 drives online all the time?

It's only 6 drives in total, but I've managed to consolidate it down into 4. I will think about the need of having them all online at the same time some more, but for now that is my approach, yes.

My suggestion:

For the 3 SSDs, you might be able to find a 4-bay enclosure (for 2.5" form factor drives) that can hold them. Either thunderbolt or USB3.

For the HDD's, I'd consider one (or perhaps two) USB3/SATA docking stations. Cheap and plentiful.
Then swap drives around as needed.

Probably FAR cheaper than finding one enclosure to "hold them all".

That makes sense. Right now I am playing with the idea of getting one 4 bay enclosure for my existing drives (HDDs and SSDs) and later on adding individual new high speed (nvme) SSDs as needed for demanding tasks.

But maybe 2 2-bay enclosures are better than 1 4-bay? I haven't really looked into that yet.

 

[MRxROBOT]

Thank you, this looks great! The way I understand it this does exactly the same thing as the OWC Thunderbay 4 with comparable speeds, it's just called USB 3.2 instead of Thunderbolt, right?

At less than half the price of the Thunderbay (coupled with your bad experience) I see no reason not to go for this, unless I'm missing something.

I have also decided that 4 bays is enough for me and I will at some later point add separate individual or 2 bay enclosures for some high speed (nvme?) SSDs for more demanding work.

The only thing the Sabrent seems to be missing that the OWC Thunderbay has is a Display Port. That would come in handy because I have an old 2011 Cinema Display with Mini DisplayPort which I would like to continue using as a secondary display. But I'm sure there are cheap adapters/hubs out there for that.

Do you know if an extra tray/adapter is needed to install SSDs in the Sabrent enclosure?

The OWC does get higher throughput through the Thunderbolt connection (up to 2,500 Mb/s claimed), where as the Sabrent is USB C 3.2 (up to 1,000 Mb/s). The Thunderbolt connection is the reason for the price premium. If all you’re throwing in there is the 3 HDDs and 1 SSD you should be fine accessing all of them at or near full throttle at the same time. If you want to load it full of SSDs, you’ll be limited to the total throughput 1,000 MB/s. Depending on the SSDs you’re putting in there, it could slow you down if your trying to access them all at full speed. Personally I’ve never needed to run more than 2 SSDs at full bandwidth ( moving large files between the two ) other than with my striped array and from what you’ve written above you won’t be using this in RAID anyways.

I just saw that you consolidated down to 4 drives. What are the drives, SSDs or HDDs? Are you going to be using these as separate drives? Will you be needing to access all drives at the same time at full bandwidth. The answers to the above questions will help us guide you into the best solution.

 

[MRxROBOT]

One more question, which might be silly: When I'm leaving my workplace I always turn my computer off completely and then cut the power using the switch on a power strip. This is not a problem with normal external hard drives as they power down with the computer. I assume it's the same with these enclosures, right?

Once you power your computer down, the drives will have been safely ejected. At this point there is no problem powering down any of the above enclosures.

 

[MRxROBOT]

Thank you, this looks great! The way I understand it this does exactly the same thing as the OWC Thunderbay 4 with comparable speeds, it's just called USB 3.2 instead of Thunderbolt, right?

At less than half the price of the Thunderbay (coupled with your bad experience) I see no reason not to go for this, unless I'm missing something.

I have also decided that 4 bays is enough for me and I will at some later point add separate individual or 2 bay enclosures for some high speed (nvme?) SSDs for more demanding work.

The only thing the Sabrent seems to be missing that the OWC Thunderbay has is a Display Port. That would come in handy because I have an old 2011 Cinema Display with Mini DisplayPort which I would like to continue using as a secondary display. But I'm sure there are cheap adapters/hubs out there for that.

Do you know if an extra tray/adapter is needed to install SSDs in the Sabrent enclosure?

If you don’t need the the extra bandwidth of the Thunderbolt enclosure then picking up a usb c to display port adapter is far more cost effective or even a hub/dock to go alongside it. I have one of my displays connected via usb c to hdmi and it works perfectly. You can get these cables pretty cheap. The one I’ll link below is only $18. That’ll save you around $500 over going with the OWC, if the DisplayPort was the selling point for you.

You do not need adapters for 2.5” drives. It’s designed in a matter to accommodate either.

Cable Matters USB C to DisplayPort 1.4 Cable (USB-C to DisplayPort Cable, USB C to DP Cable) Supporting 8K 60Hz in Black 6 ft - Thunderbolt 4 /USB4 /Thunderbolt 3 Compatible with MacBook Pro Dell XPS

Experience Vivid 4K Video over DisplayPort The Cable Matters USB Type-C to DisplayPort Cable supports the newest release computers and smartphones with USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 up to 4K 60Hz UHD display monitors with DisplayPort. Experience the vibrant video and authentic audio supported by monitor...

www.amazon.com

 

[MarkC426]

With either a Thunderbolt or USB external enclosure, what sort of speeds would you get from Sata3 SSD's....?
Would you get the same 500MB/s as on a PCIe card in my cMP?

 

[MRxROBOT]

With either a Thunderbolt or USB external enclosure, what sort of speeds would you get from Sata3 SSD's....?
Would you get the same 500MB/s as on a PCIe card in my cMP?

Pretty close, negligible loss. I have HDDs in mine so I cannot give you a definitive answer on SSDs

 

[danqi]

The OWC does get higher throughput through the Thunderbolt connection (up to 2,500 Mb/s claimed), where as the Sabrent is USB C 3.2 (up to 1,000 Mb/s). The Thunderbolt connection is the reason for the price premium. If all you’re throwing in there is the 3 HDDs and 1 SSD you should be fine accessing all of them at or near full throttle at the same time. If you want to load it full of SSDs, you’ll be limited to the total throughput 1,000 MB/s. Depending on the SSDs you’re putting in there, it could slow you down if your trying to access them all at full speed. Personally I’ve never needed to run more than 2 SSDs at full bandwidth ( moving large files between the two ) other than with my striped array and from what you’ve written above you won’t be using this in RAID anyways.

I just saw that you consolidated down to 4 drives. What are the drives, SSDs or HDDs? Are you going to be using these as separate drives? Will you be needing to access all drives at the same time at full bandwidth. The answers to the above questions will help us guide you into the best solution.

It would be 2 HDDs and 2 SSDs. I would use them as separate drives and probably won't need to access them at the same time too much. My idea is to dump all my old HDDs and SSDs into this enclosure to get me started and later add a dedicated NVME SSD as my main work drive for video and photo editing as well as another dedicated NVME SSD as a scratch disk.
Since my current SSDs are all SATA that seems like a sensible approach to me right now.

Once you power your computer down, the drives will have been safely ejected. At this point there is no problem powering down any of the above enclosures.

Perfect, that's what I thought.

If you don’t need the the extra bandwidth of the Thunderbolt enclosure then picking up a usb c to display port adapter is far more cost effective or even a hub/dock to go alongside it. I have one of my displays connected via usb c to hdmi and it works perfectly. You can get these cables pretty cheap. The one I’ll link below is only $18. That’ll save you around $500 over going with the OWC, if the DisplayPort was the selling point for you.

You do not need adapters for 2.5” drives. It’s designed in a matter to accommodate either.

Cable Matters USB C to DisplayPort 1.4 Cable (USB-C to DisplayPort Cable, USB C to DP Cable) Supporting 8K 60Hz in Black 6 ft - Thunderbolt 4 /USB4 /Thunderbolt 3 Compatible with MacBook Pro Dell XPS

Experience Vivid 4K Video over DisplayPort The Cable Matters USB Type-C to DisplayPort Cable supports the newest release computers and smartphones with USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 up to 4K 60Hz UHD display monitors with DisplayPort. Experience the vibrant video and authentic audio supported by monitor...

www.amazon.com

Sounds great! Thanks for all the info!

 

[danqi]

Btw, I just noticed that my 2010 Mac Pro only supports SATA 2. So even my old existing SSDs should be faster in that cheaper external enclosure than they are right now... Crazy.

 

[MRxROBOT]

Sounds great! Thanks for all the info!

You're welcome and I am happy to have helped. Let me know if you have any further questions.

 

[MRxROBOT]

Btw, I just noticed that my 2010 Mac Pro only supports SATA 2. So even my old existing SSDs should be faster in that cheaper external enclosure than they are right now... Crazy.

Exactly! Which model of SSDs are they?

 

[danqi]

Exactly! Which model of SSDs are they?

1x Samsung 840 EVO and 2x 850 EVO (1 and 2TB).

 

[MRxROBOT]

1x Samsung 840 EVO and 2x 850 EVO (1 and 2TB).

Those are definitely some top of the line SATA SSDs. Love my 860 Pro.

Running two of these will hit the upper limit of your bandwidth. As long as you're not trying to access another drive at the same time as these are working, you shouldn't have much of an issue. However even then, all drives will operate fine, they just have to share the bandwidth.

 

[danqi]

Those are definitely some top of the line SATA SSDs. Love my 860 Pro.

Running two of these will hit the upper limit of your bandwidth. As long as you're not trying to access another drive at the same time as these are working, you shouldn't have much of an issue. However even then, all drives will operate fine, they just have to share the bandwidth.

That sounds fine to me. Even if I use a scratch disk and media disk in the same enclosure that would just be 2 at the same time... Should definitely work as a stop gap till I can upgrade to NVME (which I just learned about, to be honest. But it does seem like the way to go.)

 

[MRxROBOT]

That sounds fine to me. Even if I use a scratch disk and media disk in the same enclosure that would just be 2 at the same time... Should definitely work as a stop gap till I can upgrade to NVME (which I just learned about, to be honest. But it does seem like the way to go.)

I agree, plus you are going to be saving a lot of money. If you find yourself needing more ports, I highly recommend the CalDigit Element Hub. Has 4 USB A ports and 4 USB C ports + each ports has a ton of power compared to the competition. I went this way alongside USB to whatever I need for my displays (ie USB to HDMI). I'd rather have multiple thunderbolt and USB ports that I can choose what to do with instead of what the manufactures cherry pick as options. Keeps it more flexible in the long run. It's also the most reliable of my 3 Hubs/docks.

 

[danqi]

I agree, plus you are going to be saving a lot of money. If you find yourself needing more ports, I highly recommend the CalDigit Element Hub. Has 4 USB A ports and 4 USB C ports + each ports has a ton of power compared to the competition. I went this way alongside USB to whatever I need for my displays (ie USB to HDMI). I'd rather have multiple thunderbolt and USB ports that I can choose what to do with instead of what the manufactures cherry pick as options. Keeps it more flexible in the long run. It's also the most reliable of my 3 Hubs/docks.

Those are some really good points! I haven't even started researching docks but it's definitely something I'll need and I'll check out your recommendation!

 

[MRxROBOT]

Those are some really good points! I haven't even started researching docks but it's definitely something I'll need and I'll check out your recommendation!

Just an FYI, in case you missed it, the Sabrent also comes in a 5 Bay configuration for only an extra $50. I only needed the 4 bays in mine but i'm sure the 5 Bay unit is equally good.