If you have recently upgraded your PC, you may now be in possession of discarded hard drives. However, especially from a sustainable point of view, you don’t have to dispose of them – in fact, external mass storage cases can help you turn your old hard drives into mobile storage devices. In this guide, we explain what you need to look out for when choosing the right case. You will find a wide range of products in the reichelt online store.
What are external mass storage cases?
External mass storage cases allow you to operate hard drives or SSD storage outside of the actual computer. In doing so, they provide both the necessary power supply for the storage medium and the data connection to transfer the data to the computer. Thus, external mass storage cases make your existing storage medium mobile and also facilitate the fast exchange of larger amounts of data.
Caution: When working on hard drives, there is a risk of electrostatic discharge. Therefore, work with the correct ESD equipment under all circumstances. An antistatic mat and a grounding strap are the minimum equipment here.
The configuration makes the difference
The existing storage medium determines which type of case you need. Two things are crucial here: the format and the interfaces of the mass storage device. We have listed the most common case formats below:
- Cases in 3.5″ format offer space for 3.5″ SATA hard drives, but require their own power supply. Some 3.5″ cases also allow several hard drives to be accommodated in one large case. This makes them less mobile and more suitable for a fixed installation. Since 3.5″ hard drives usually have more capacity than 2.5″ hard drives, such a case is very suitable as external mass storage device for the home. Your advantage: The installation is easier, because the hard disks only have to be inserted and not screwed in with most cases.
- Enclosures in 2.5″ format usually offer space for a hard drive and are therefore more compact and lighter than 3.5″ cases. The hard drive or SSD only has to be installed and the storage medium can be used again. Due to their compact form combined with the high capacity of the medium used, these are the ideal solution for transporting larger amounts of data.
- Mass storage cases for M.2 SSD storage have the smallest size. Depending on the design, they also offer space for several M.2 memories. The commissioning is the same as for 2.5″ cases. These cases are specifically designed for SSDs and therefore usually have faster USB interfaces than the 2.5″ and 3.5″ cases, so that the speed advantage of the SSD can be used.
Interface selection
External storage cases offer a wide selection of different interfaces. These differ mainly in the data transfer speed. USB 1.0 can transfer up to 10 MBit/s, USB 3.2 up to 20,000 MBit/s. Therefore, the case should match the existing storage medium.
Hard disks with IDE interface have the slowest data transfer, which is even slower than USB 1.0. For this reason, a high-quality case with USB2.0 or faster can be discouraged. Modern hard drives mostly have a SATA interface. These disks have such high data transfer rates that they can sufficiently supply a USB 3.0 interface (up to 5 Gbit/s) with data. Even a 2.5″ SATA SSD (usually 500-560 MBit/s – equivalent to 4.0 to 4.5 Gbit/s) does not completely exhaust the USB 3.0 interface, so upgrading to USB 3.1 does not provide any speed gain.
M.2 SSDs on the other hand have either a SATA or NVMe interface. That is why it is recommended that you choose a case that has the same interface as your SSD, or supports both SATA and NVMe. NVMe M.2 work in the computer via the PCI bus, which keeps the conversion to USB simple when used externally. With a SATA, the same is true as with 2.5″ SATA SSDs: USB 3.0 will do. With NVMe SSDs, the data rate varies greatly from SSD to SSD, but it is still fast enough that you can quietly reach for USB 3.2 or higher to take advantage of the SSD’s high speed.
The agony of choice: How to choose the right mass storage case
Once you have clarified these two factors, there is still a large selection of external cases, so you can individually choose the right mass storage case for your storage medium. In addition to the disk size and the necessary connection point, other components like the number of storage media and possibilities for individualization influence the choice of the case.
ICY IB-3680SU3: the RAID tower for your 3.5″ hard disks
With space for a total of eight SATA hard disks, the ICY IB-3680SU3 is the optimal case for backing up your data with 3.5″ hard disks using the RAID method. You can read more about this in this guide. The hard drives can be swapped in no time and thanks to the internal SATA interface, you can exchange data between your hard drives at top speed. Also, the external eSATA and USB 3.0 ports provide high data throughput with the computer.The aluminum casing already enables passive heat exchange with the environment without the built-in cooling. In addition, the temperature-controlled fan provides active air circulation.
Equipped for all special cases: Mass storage cases for 2.5″ disks
Sie haben kürzlich Ihren Computer aufgerüstet und suchen nach einem geeigneten Gehäuse für Ihre alte Festplatte? Dann ist dieses externe SATA-Aluminium-Gehäuse genau die richtige Wahl: Die USB 3.1-Schnittstelle ermöglicht Ihnen theoretische Datenraten von bis zu 10 GB/s, sodass Sie auch bei zukünftig schnelleren SATA-SSDs keinen Geschwindigkeitsverlust fürchten müssen. Durch die CNC-gefräste Aussparung im Aluminium stellt der Austausch von Festplatten und SSDs nun keine Nerven-Zerreißprobe mehr dar.Soll das Speichermedium auf Baustellen oder in Fabriken zum Einsatz kommen, benötigt Ihre externe Festplatte zusätzlichen Schutz vor Stürzen oder Staub und Wasser. Das Rugged-Gehäuse Spritzwassergeschütztes GRAUGEAR USB-C Festplattengehäuse G2502-C-10G bringt diese Eigenschaften mit. Damit liegt das Gehäuse nicht nur rutschfest in der Hand, sondern schützt auch die installierte Festplatte vor möglichen Schäden im Falle eines Sturzes. Mit einer USB 3.1-Schnittstelle ist zudem eine schnelle Datenübertragung gewährleistet.
The M.2 NVMe enclosure of the future
What is true for modern motherboards is far from being a standard: Only very few computers have a USB 3.2 interface so far. With the GG 18113 you can transfer your data with up to 20,000 Mbps. In no time at all, M.2 SSDs of lengths 30, 42, 60 or 80 mm are installed, and you can back up to two terabytes of data on your new external mass storage device. Thanks to an integrated active fan, you avoid unnecessary performance losses even with high-performance M.2 NVMes.A built-in PCIe controller also makes for a more efficient and durable M.2 SSD. In addition, you can protect your data from changes and release it again in seconds via a switch.
External mass storage case: A sustainable choice
External cases for mass storage are as diverse as your storage requirements. Therefore, you can assemble your external mass storage individually. The cases are not only cheaper than ready-made products. They also offer a much higher sustainability factor because you can reuse discarded SSDs or hard drives. This way, electronic waste can be avoided and at the same time you benefit from an additional external storage medium. You can find a wide selection of external mass storage cases in the reichelt online store.Image: Adobe Stock, reichelt
