Usage
If you are using an SSD as a boot drive, this may or may not be the type of enclosure you would want. Under what specific conditions would you want to make use of this enclosure? If you:
- have a spare 3.5” bay you want to make use of.
- want to have a portable high-capacity data drive.
I think the first bullet is self-explanatory. The second one may require a bit of an explanation. On the back of the carrier are 3 connector plugs. The SATA connection, the power connection, and a USB port.
Copy or move a bunch of data over to the drive installed in the caddy, pull the drive, and take it with you. It even comes with it’s own carrying case! The following picture shows it connected to a USB port on my workstation
and the following shows you one of those double-USB cables; one for data/power and one for power.
The following screen shot shows the drive in Windows Explorer, which, if you look closely, I took after I installed WHS on the SSD.
I also took that shot with only 1 USB connector plugged in. I would suspect that if I were doing intensive I/O, the second USB connector might be required.
Costs and Conclusion
The Icy Dock MB663USR-1S 2.5″ SSD & SATA Hard Drive Enclosure is a fairly unique product with unique features. While the external transportability of the caddy is rather nice and increases versatility, one must wonder who would want to be carrying around a very expensive SSD as a portable data drive. Perhaps in a few years, SSD’s will be as common place as mechanical drives and this type of enclosure will be common place.
But it is great to make use of that otherwise worthless 3.5” bay on that computer!
There are also a few quirks with this enclosure. When a drive is not in the caddy, the latch on the carrier seems rather fragile and one wants to question how properly aligned the carrier is after it is placed back in the caddy. Once a drive is installed, this feeling goes away, however.
The enclosure has some sort of sliding ejection mechanism for the caddy. When you push the eject button, the carrier pops out about 1”; then you have to grip the carrier and pull on it somewhat hard to actually disengage the connectors; before sliding it out the rest of way.
Pros
- Versatile: USB and SATA connectivity
- Due to the above, this is a transportable device
- Uses a 3.5” bay
- A niche product (in the short term)?
- Could be a bit shorter?
In the end, I classify it as one of those “cool” things to have on a computer. Perhaps not necessary, but it has some very unique features. Today, at least.
Model Reviewed: MB663USR-1S 2.5″ SSD & SATA Hard Drive Enclosure
Cost: Newegg price: $47.99
