mb561series_hi2

Hands-On: Icy Dock MB561US-4S-1 4-Bay SATA DAS Enclosure

By on March 4, 2010 in Hard Drives and Storage Reviews, Hardware, Reviews, Storage

Costs and Conclusion

This device is compact.  It is very quiet in operation.  It looks down-right gorgeous and the component fit is perfect.  If you must have black, petition Icy Dock for a black version.
It is an Icy Dock unit which has an excellent reputation for producing quality product.
 
Pros
  • Easy setup.  “Even a caveman could do it.”
  • Direct Attached Storage is a perfect solution to increase storage capacity on a WHS
  • Very reasonable price for the base unit
  • High capacity four drive enclosure
  • hotswap capability
  • Port replication requires just one eSATA connector 
  • Very quiet
  • Fan speed adjustment
  • Quality construction
  • Very small footprint
  • USB and eSATA connectors for increased flexibility

Cons

  • Port replication degrades Burst Speed performance (this is general characteristic for port-multiplier devices)
  • Not trayless construction.  This is not really a con as much as it is simply my personal preference
  • No RAID support.  I personally do not see this as a con for use in a WHS system, but others might
  • Not tool-less construction since it requires to use of screws to attach the drives to the caddies

Overall, I was very impressed with the Icy Dock MB561US-4S-1 DAS device.  Strong Pros and very minor Cons in my opinion.  The question is whether I recommend it.  The answer is: of course!  If you are out of SATA ports on your motherboard or out of storage bays in your case, this device should be on your list of devices to consider to increase your storage capacity.

Company: Icy Dock

Model Reviewed: MB561US-4S-1 4-Bay DAS Enclosure

Cost: Newegg price: $249.99

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5

Enjoyed this post? Share it.

If you enjoyed reading this post, then why not share it with your friends and followers?

About Jim Clark

Hello. I’m from the heartland of the U.S. Lots of corn and beans, although Iowa is a lot more than just farmland. It also has a few computer enthusiasts (no, not me!). I’ve been around PCs since I got my 1st PC XT aloooong time ago. WGS is one of the first sites I found centered around WHS. And the best. Every once in awhile, I do get away from the KB and enjoy time with and my wife and our 4 kids. And I do have a day job.
View all posts by Jim Clark →

Sign Up for WGS Daily News

If you don't want to miss out on the latest news from We Got Served, why not subscribe to our daily digest? You'll get the day's headlines and a short summary of each news item delivered straight to your inbox each morning.

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

  • diehard

    Super job Jim.

  • s4mb4

    So, which one do you recommend? the Sans Digital or IcyDock device? Is the IcyDock worth the additional $120 it will cost over the Sans Digital? SANS DIGITAL TowerRAID TR4M-B is $149 @ newegg while the Icydock is $269…. I really am leaning towards the Sans Digital device because of the $120.

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/Jim_Clark Jim_Clark

      I did not realize that the San Digital's were down to that price currently. Basically, look at the feature differences between the 2 to make a decision. For example, if caddy/no caddy USB/no USB etc. are not a deal breaker either way, than I would say you have a winner due to cost.

      Looks, obviously, is subjective also.

      Quality-wise, I would feel comfortable with either box.

      • s4mb4

        thanks. I bought the SANS DIGITAL TR5M-B. Since it was cheaper and offered 5 bays, it seemed like the logical choice. Thanks for all the info.

  • Oil Can Boyd

    With this work with 475 With E-Sata or only USB ?

    • diehard

      yes, it will work with the EX470 and EX475 since those 2 units support the port multiplier with 4 drives. Also eSATA is faster and if you use the WHS SMART addin. you will get some technical data from the drives that you would not from a USB connection.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/pterhaar Peter

    The drive caddies also seem interchangable with the ones of the SQA-5H.
    I have 5TB in the SQA-5H and 3TB waiting for a "home", so this may be interesting.

  • Randy

    It would be nice to see a review of the Mediasonic HF2 enclosure as compared to the Icy Dock:
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N…

  • Paul Knight

    Great review. I know it’s been a long time but I have a ex490 and have run out of space. Having recently set it up to hibernate when not in use do you know if I connect via esata the icy dock will also go to ‘sleep’?

    Thanks again and keep up the good work

    Pk