Question 3.5" HDD Enclosure - are they much the same?

[elsmandino]

Hi there.

I am after a 3.5" enclosure for my 14TB hard drive that I shucked from a WD Elements Workbook.

There are loads of enclosures on Amazon, with the usual variation in price. What should be looking for?

A few things I have noted:

1. Does orientation matter - i.e. do hard drives that mount vertically have better cooling than those that lie flat?
2. Does material matter - is it worth going for an aluminum case, rather than plastic, for better cooling?

 

[Ralston18]

Cooling is important. However for enclosures I consider stability and ruggedness.

Enclosures tend to get moved and bumped around a bit.....

Orientation = flat
Material = aluminum to facilitate cooling.

Vertical may save space but almost a perfect target for getting knocked over. Especially if the manufacturer has skimped on the base to the point where the base is not much wider than the enclosure and hosted drive.

Do take a look at the design. If, for example, the enclosure (aluminum or otherwise) simply sits flush on the surface then no "cooling air" could circulate underneath. Should be some "feet" to raise the enclosure some.

Consider where the enclosure is to be placed. Do not box the enclosure into some small space where airflow is limited or restricted. Especially if the drive is heavily used and constantly becomes warm or even hot.

Also look at where the power and data cables connect to the enclosure. The locations may not be conducive to placement or orientation.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

 

[elsmandino]

Thanks ever so much for that, Ralston18, really helpful.

Really great point about stability - the WD Elements Workbook enclosure is very unstable and I really do not trust it to stay up.

I was doing a bit more research and Tom's Hardware (https://www.tomshardware.com/best-picks/best-ssd-and-hard-drive-enclosures) seems to be recommending this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/UGREEN-Ext...3.5+inch+hdd+enclosure&qid=1683634979&sr=8-17

Looks pretty good and is an Amazon best buy.

However, I also came across this with an aluminum shell:

Amazon.co.uk

Also a best buy.

The first uses a ASM225CM chip, whereas the second uses ASM1153E - is there any real difference between these and should I factor it into my decision?

 

[Ralston18]

I (bias conceded) would very much favor the Tom's recommendation.

The RSHTECH enclosure is a vertical unit and I would second it to a "flat unit".

However, to be fair, actually seeing and holding the unit would be the applicable assessment to how stable the unit is. Would a tug or pull on a cable cause tipping....?

And ''hands-on" provides an overall more sense of the materials, design, and quality of the enclosure, power brick, cables.

Video makes it all look easy. But do watch out for those small screws. Be sure that a properly sized screwdriver is used and that the screws are not overtightened. If the screw metal is soft, the slots can easily be rounded out.

As for the chips I do not know (full disclosure) about any specific differences between them.

My overall sense being probably not.

That said, I therefore must defer to those who are familar with the chips and any possible real differences.

 

[BraveTiger55]

Thanks ever so much for that, Ralston18, really helpful.

Really great point about stability - the WD Elements Workbook enclosure is very unstable and I really do not trust it to stay up.

I was doing a bit more research and Tom's Hardware (https://www.tomshardware.com/best-picks/best-ssd-and-hard-drive-enclosures) seems to be recommending this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/UGREEN-Ext...3.5+inch+hdd+enclosure&qid=1683634979&sr=8-17

Looks pretty good and is an Amazon best buy.

However, I also came across this with an aluminum shell:

Amazon.co.uk

Also a best buy.

The first uses a ASM225CM chip, whereas the second uses ASM1153E - is there any real difference between these and should I factor it into my decision?

Did you find an enclosure that works? I don't know if you will run into the same problem as me, but every single enclosure I have tried on amazon. Ranging from $20-$60 has refused to work with all my drives which happen to all be 4tb.

 

[fzabkar]

ASM225CM is the more recent chip:

https://www.asmedia.com.tw/product/d32yq49sx2YR9Jg6/d8cyq6FXzaUH8XJa

• Compliant with USB3.1 Specification Revision 1.0
• Compliant with Type-C Specification Revision 1.1
• Compliant with USB Specification Revision 2.0
• Support USB Super-Speed Plus, USB Super-Speed, High-Speed and Full-Speed Operation
• Support USB Mass Storage Class, Bulk-Only Transport Specification Revision 1.3
• Support USB Attached SCSI Protocol Specification Revision 1.0
• Compliant with Serial ATA Specification Revision 3.2

ASM1053:

https://www.asmedia.com.tw/product/7B6yQ54sX7YiFhGD/d8cyq6FXzaUH8XJa

• Compliant with USB3.0 Specification Revision 1.0
• Compliant with USB Specification Revision 2.0
• Support USB Super-Speed, High-Speed and Full-Speed Operation
• Support Mass Storage Class, Bulk-Only Transport Specification Revision 1.3
• Support USB Attached SCSI Protocol Specification Revision 1.0
• Compliant with Serial ATA Specification Revision 3.0

 

[MWink64]

Thanks ever so much for that, Ralston18, really helpful.

Really great point about stability - the WD Elements Workbook enclosure is very unstable and I really do not trust it to stay up.

I was doing a bit more research and Tom's Hardware (https://www.tomshardware.com/best-picks/best-ssd-and-hard-drive-enclosures) seems to be recommending this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/UGREEN-Ext...3.5+inch+hdd+enclosure&qid=1683634979&sr=8-17

Looks pretty good and is an Amazon best buy.

However, I also came across this with an aluminum shell:

Amazon.co.uk

Also a best buy.

The first uses a ASM225CM chip, whereas the second uses ASM1153E - is there any real difference between these and should I factor it into my decision?

Don't trust Ugreen's claims. I bought one of their enclosures (not that one) claiming to have a particular Asmedia controller and it came with a JMicron chip. It actually worked better than any of my other SATA-USB bridges but it's hard to get past the blatantly false advertising. Also, the SATA connector is really tight and snapped the SATA connector on a drive with a flimsy PCB.