3 days ago
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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways
- The Sabrent USB SSD 4-bay docking presumption is disposable present connected Amazon for $89.
- This docking presumption makes adding outer drives to your strategy a full plug-and-play affair.
- The lawsuit is plastic, truthful it feels a spot inexpensive but that doesn't get successful the mode of performance.
At Amazon, the Sabrent USVB SSD docking station is connected merchantability for $81, a 10% discount.
It seems I'm ever moving retired of country connected my iMac drives. Why? Video files. You see, I movie galore videos successful 4K ProRes, which means the files tin get precise large. Just yesterday, I filmed a video for my YouTube channel, and the record from the camera was implicit 100GB.
Those adhd up fast.
Also: This thumb-sized SSD yet fto maine interruption up with iCloud retention for good
Obviously, problems originate erstwhile you regularly person to woody with files that ample connected constricted space. I ever deleted files to marque country for caller ones, and that carousel ne'er seemed to halt turning.
Until I purchased the Sabrent USB SSD docking station.
This small portion of tech has truly saved maine from having to delete files I'd alternatively keep, conscionable to marque country for caller video clips. And due to the fact that it's a 4-bay dock, I tin support slapping successful drives (it supports up to 16TB hard drives) to guarantee I ever person space. Even better, the docking presumption has a instrumentality to support those drives cooler. This is particularly important erstwhile moving with video, arsenic the read/write speeds volition beryllium pushed to their limits, causing vigor to physique up.
The specs
- Up to 4x 16TB hard drives.
- Supports 2.5-inch SSD SATA drives (up to a maximum thickness of 12.5mm/0.49 Inch (2.75 Inch x 3.93 Inch x 0.49 Inch) with LED indicator for powerfulness and HDD access.
- 5 Gbps Transfer Speeds USB 3.0 ace velocity interface.
- Also compatible with USB 2.0 and USB 1.1.
- Tool-Free Installation.
- Built-in cooling instrumentality that tin beryllium switched connected and disconnected arsenic needed.
My experience
Quite honestly, there's not overmuch to accidental astir this elemental spot of integrative and metal. It comes successful 2 pieces: the bottommost holds the drives, and the apical has the fan. An On/Off fastener and LED indicators besides pass you which bays person drives. You'll find a tiny magnet that keeps the 2 pieces together, which makes it casual to popular disconnected the apical and insert (or remove) a drive. Finally, connected the apical information of the docking station, you'll find a fastener to crook the instrumentality connected oregon off.
The Sabrent instrumentality is soundless capable that I cannot perceive it astatine my desk.
When I received the Sabrent docking station, I ripped it open, connected the bottommost fractional to my iMac with the included USB-A cable, and inserted a drive. The iMac instantly recognized the drive, and I was capable to format it and commencement utilizing it.
Over the past fewer months, I've added 2 much drives to the docking station, and each time, it went disconnected without a hitch.
Speeds
This was a large woody for me. I request to beryllium capable to transcript those ample files to outer drives without waiting hours. I person 1 outer thrust (that isn't successful the docking station), and its constitute times are truthful dilatory that it tin instrumentality implicit an hr to transcript an 80GB file.
That won't do.
The Sabrent docking presumption gives you transportation speeds of up to 5GB/s. You'll beryllium conscionable good if you're utilizing an SSD susceptible of precocious read/write speeds. I precocious purchased yet different SSD (this clip a Crucial BX500) and was capable to transcript a 100GB record successful astir 4 minutes. That volition do.
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The lone mode to amended the velocity of this docking presumption would person been to usage USB-C alternatively of USB-A. USB-C tin execute information transportation speeds of up to 10Gbps with USB 3.1, which is doubly arsenic accelerated arsenic USB-A's maximum velocity of 5Gbps with USB 3.0. So, yeah, USB-C would person been nice, but the 5GB/s works good for astir usage cases. And fixed the $89 terms tag, USB-A is conscionable fine.
Reliability
As I said, I've been utilizing this docking presumption for a fewer months present and person not had a occupation yet. It's arsenic reliable arsenic they come. Even erstwhile we had a powerfulness outage, I rebooted my iMac, pressed the docking station's ON button, and the drives instantly appeared successful Finder.
The instrumentality works and has kept the drives comparatively cool, adjacent erstwhile copying monolithic files. I tin clasp my manus implicit the apical opening and consciousness a flimsy lukewarm breeze lifting toward my palm.
It works.
What much tin I say?
Seriously.
ZDNET's buying advice
Not everyone needs six oregon 7 outer drives attached to their computer. If you do, the Sabrent USB 3.0 4-Bay docking station is simply a large option. It's affordable, casual to use, and allows you to grow your retention capableness by a sizeable amount. If you privation to spell truly crazy, adhd 4 16TB drives to springiness you plentifulness of storage.
This docking bay makes it casual for anyone to plug and play their mode to other storage, truthful if that sounds similar a request you have, don't hesitate to buy.
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