Is This Hard Drive Converter Any Good?

[APCNewbie209]

So I found out there's these things you can plug and internal hard drive unit into like a 3.5-Inch drive and it converts it to a USB input rather than an sata that's within the PC itself.  

 

I was looking at picking up a Toshiba 20tb internal hard drive unit for my PC.  When I saw this item on Amazon.  

 

It's a Sabrent USB C lay flat docking station for 3.5" drives.  I wanna know if this is just a simple plug and play and if it's good or not?  I plan on traveling so I was thinking of getting this and a 20tb 3.5" drive to carry around and bring with me for my laptop.  

 

Are these any actual good and is it as simple as a USB input no PC required?  I don't really know how these work.

[APCNewbie209]

Also how good is it compared to something like an 8tb NVMe?  Speed and capacity wise?  SATA HDD vs NVMe SSD.

[Needfuldoer]

Those kind of drive adapters are all pretty much the same.

 

9 minutes ago, APCNewbie209 said:

Also how good is it compared to something like an 8tb NVMe?

When filled with an 8 TB hard drive, it's much less expensive but orders of magnitude slower.

[jaslion]

It'll work as well as any other generic one.

 

And well a hard drive isnt even in the same solar system as a decent nvme drive speed wise.

 

However they are WAY cheaper cost per GB.

 

It all depends on what you'll use it for if a hdd is fine or if you will benefit from something faster

[Paddo]

3.5" Drives need an additional 12V power source to work because USB alone isn't enough. Could be an issue when you are traveling and don't have a power outlet nearby. The hard drive wouldn't fully utilize the 10Gbit connection either. I think it would be best to go for pure NVMe storage. They are lighter, not as easily damaged by drops and faster than HDDs. The only thing that makes HDDs better is price per GB. If you NEED 20TB of storage go for the HDD, if 4-8TB are enough go nvme or at least 2.5" SSD.

 

Also yes, it should be plug 'n play and show up as removable storage not matter the drive you put in there.

[tkitch]

16 minutes ago, APCNewbie209 said:

Also how good is it compared to something like an 8tb NVMe?  Speed and capacity wise?  SATA HDD vs NVMe SSD.

uhhhh

 

HDD?  100-150 MB/s speed

 

Decent NVME?  3000-6000 MB/s

 

so...  nothing alike.  (Mind you that speed doesn't entirely translate to faster, but SSDs are WAAAY faster than HDDs)

[OddOod]

16 minutes ago, APCNewbie209 said:

Are these any actual good

For what they're useful for, yes. But that does depend on your usecase. I have a similar one for testing harddrives and sometimes recovering data for friends.
What are you going to use it for?
 

18 minutes ago, APCNewbie209 said:

is it as simple as a USB input no PC required?

No, there are two cables. One is USB C for data, the other is an included 12V power connection. 

 

[APCNewbie209]

56 minutes ago, Needfuldoer said:

Those kind of drive adapters are all pretty much the same.

 

When filled with an 8 TB hard drive, it's much less expensive but orders of magnitude slower.

Well speed isn't really a concern for me.  I just need a place for my steam library of nearly 300 games and a place for my 4k videos.  So would be a good use case for it?  Saving files and game data on mass?  

[APCNewbie209]

48 minutes ago, OddOod said:

For what they're useful for, yes. But that does depend on your usecase. I have a similar one for testing harddrives and sometimes recovering data for friends.
What are you going to use it for?
 

No, there are two cables. One is USB C for data, the other is an included 12V power connection. 

 

Oh outlets won't be an issue.  I always stay strapped with a 10ft electrical outlet extension cable!  I'm a content creator who needs more storage for their steam library, and 4k footage.  I want to edit on the go.  Speed isn't a concern for me but I don't want to spend thousands of dollars on 8tb drives when I could just have one or two massive drives for on the go portable storage.  

 

I'm going to use it mostly for media and game files not much else.  

[APCNewbie209]

51 minutes ago, tkitch said:

uhhhh

 

HDD?  100-150 MB/s speed

 

Decent NVME?  3000-6000 MB/s

 

so...  nothing alike.  (Mind you that speed doesn't entirely translate to faster, but SSDs are WAAAY faster than HDDs)

Ahh I see.  I'm new to Sata drives and whatnot.  Its new territory for me as a first time PC owner.  However I need storage on mass.  I'm a content creator who plans on recoding things in 4K. So I want a place where I can have everything on one unit for mobile travel too.  Like this 20tb HDD.  That would be perfect for both 4k footage and my game library.  

[APCNewbie209]

1 hour ago, Paddo said:

3.5" Drives need an additional 12V power source to work because USB alone isn't enough. Could be an issue when you are traveling and don't have a power outlet nearby. The hard drive wouldn't fully utilize the 10Gbit connection either. I think it would be best to go for pure NVMe storage. They are lighter, not as easily damaged by drops and faster than HDDs. The only thing that makes HDDs better is price per GB. If you NEED 20TB of storage go for the HDD, if 4-8TB are enough go nvme or at least 2.5" SSD.

 

Also yes, it should be plug 'n play and show up as removable storage not matter the drive you put in there.

Bingo!  Sold!  Thank you.  I do actually need the whole 20tb.  I spent a lot of money on a 4090 rig, but 6TB just ain't cutting it.  Especially for on the go travel.  I need 20tb because I'll be recording things in 4K from a laptop and using my desktop as the main power source via capture card.  So even if the speed isn't as good.  I think it's fine to have more capcity than speed.  I don't play games where load time is an issue like fps anyway.  

 

I'd rather spend $500 to bring my storage on the go than $4K on several 8tb NVMes and being limited to only my PC.  I'd rather bring my storage with me so this device would be perfect!

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 hour ago, APCNewbie209 said:

t's a Sabrent USB C lay flat docking station for 3.5" drives.  I wanna know if this is just a simple plug and play and if it's good or not?  I plan on traveling so I was thinking of getting this and a 20tb 3.5" drive to carry around and bring with me for my laptop.  

That seems to be for cloning drives. You can get much cheaper models if you just want a USB drive. Here is an example. https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-External-Lay-Flat-Docking-EC-DFLT/dp/B00LS5NFQ2/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1S93DF4I2VH66&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.eqB-fMBrOiWAOS7pq3hkEooaHDFUrRzDEw_s1dxWoY-MsAFAUw4lpEWn2Pomsi2GkqhmY3z-6Yog4ERnn1KXuuXZoj30shJenr6kqg0LIUZUmjadaeHAXR38c1L2EgRG9AVJGbyaTUdKV0W3SLUjzvJccdKEvvoKbKRkzTO3vT1cwATIM9xf1k-1Z3nySQLuMffSVntUHS9nBp2jSPGvXr_NeFjqFhBk5bUnaQvSfsyavljCDNjVJkbG2rJBxnODd4jQcHciHk5N0JlfvdBzSZo4Wt9pTeOAFQncXkghlCo.j8olNjfitY4mcmMZ03z9bqkJJ8EeoYSrdR7Yc0mUhvo&dib_tag=se&keywords=usb+3.5in+enclosure&qid=1712244890&s=electronics&sprefix=usb+3.5in+enclosu%2Celectronics%2C162&sr=1-4

 

Also often external HDDS are cheaper than a internal hdd + enclosure so I'd probably just get a external hdd here.

[APCNewbie209]

1 hour ago, tkitch said:

uhhhh

 

HDD?  100-150 MB/s speed

 

Decent NVME?  3000-6000 MB/s

 

so...  nothing alike.  (Mind you that speed doesn't entirely translate to faster, but SSDs are WAAAY faster than HDDs)

Actually the Toshiba drive I'm looking says it's 6GB/s.  It's an enterprise drive going for like $500 USD.  7200rpm.  Let me get a link to it.

 

Here.  Toshiba X300 Pro HDD

 

Unless I'm reading the specs wrong.  This is an internal HDD that's meant to be powered by sata and it's as fast as some nvmes out there.  At 6gb/s.  Unless I'm misunderstanding that speed.

 

Like I said.  I'm looking at doing storage on mass.  So I need a fast HDD.

[APCNewbie209]

11 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

That seems to be for cloning drives. You can get much cheaper models if you just want a USB drive. Here is an example. https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-External-Lay-Flat-Docking-EC-DFLT/dp/B00LS5NFQ2/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1S93DF4I2VH66&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.eqB-fMBrOiWAOS7pq3hkEooaHDFUrRzDEw_s1dxWoY-MsAFAUw4lpEWn2Pomsi2GkqhmY3z-6Yog4ERnn1KXuuXZoj30shJenr6kqg0LIUZUmjadaeHAXR38c1L2EgRG9AVJGbyaTUdKV0W3SLUjzvJccdKEvvoKbKRkzTO3vT1cwATIM9xf1k-1Z3nySQLuMffSVntUHS9nBp2jSPGvXr_NeFjqFhBk5bUnaQvSfsyavljCDNjVJkbG2rJBxnODd4jQcHciHk5N0JlfvdBzSZo4Wt9pTeOAFQncXkghlCo.j8olNjfitY4mcmMZ03z9bqkJJ8EeoYSrdR7Yc0mUhvo&dib_tag=se&keywords=usb+3.5in+enclosure&qid=1712244890&s=electronics&sprefix=usb+3.5in+enclosu%2Celectronics%2C162&sr=1-4

 

Also often external HDDS are cheaper than a internal hdd + enclosure so I'd probably just get a external hdd here.

But I've tried external HDDs.  They're not that good for my use cases.  Plus theyre pretty limited connectivity wise from my past uses with them.  I kinda want a place where I can put both an NVMe or two and an internal HDD in one spot.  So I think something like this.  Also my HDD says it can run at 6GB/s at 7200RPM.  No idea what that means but it's an enterprise drive going for $400 USD.  It's a Toshiba 20TB HDD x300 Pro.

[Electronics Wizardy]

4 minutes ago, APCNewbie209 said:

Actually the Toshiba drive I'm looking says it's 6GB/s.  It's an enterprise drive going for like $500 USD.  7200rpm.  Let me get a link to it.

 

Here.  Toshiba X300 Pro HDD

 

Unless I'm reading the specs wrong.  This is an internal HDD that's meant to be powered by sata and it's as fast as some nvmes out there.  At 6gb/s.  Unless I'm misunderstanding that speed.

 

Like I said.  I'm looking at doing storage on mass.  So I need a fast HDD.

I think your getting bytes and bits confused. 6Gbit/s is about 600mBytes/s(with overhead removed too). So thats still much slower than a nvme drive.

 

Thats also the interface speed, not the hdd speed. With most HDDs your getting about 200-250mB/s peak, and probably less once full or fragmented.

 

3 minutes ago, APCNewbie209 said:

But I've tried external HDDs.  They're not that good for my use cases.  Plus theyre pretty limited connectivity wise from my past uses with them.  I kinda want a place where I can put both an NVMe or two and an internal HDD in one spot.  So I think something like this.  Also my HDD says it can run at 6GB/s at 7200RPM.  No idea what that means but it's an enterprise drive going for $400 USD.  It's a Toshiba 20TB HDD x300 Pro.

Those enclosures basically make a external HDD. So your gonna have all the same problems with that converter as you would with a premade external HDD.

 

I'd get 2 enclosures if you want a SSD and HDD here if it was me. Simpler and cheaper.

 

I also see 20TB external drives for a bit over 300, so I'd get that instead here. Server grade drives don't really matter here, and likely just gonna be louder and hotter.

[tkitch]

10 minutes ago, APCNewbie209 said:

Actually the Toshiba drive I'm looking says it's 6GB/s.  It's an enterprise drive going for like $500 USD.  7200rpm.  Let me get a link to it.

 

Here.  Toshiba X300 Pro HDD

 

Unless I'm reading the specs wrong.  This is an internal HDD that's meant to be powered by sata and it's as fast as some nvmes out there.  At 6gb/s.  Unless I'm misunderstanding that speed.

 

Like I said.  I'm looking at doing storage on mass.  So I need a fast HDD.

yes and no:

SATA 3 is 6Gb/s not GB/s

So, that's a theoretical limit of about 500-600MB/s on SATA.  

But Spinning Disks cap out around 100-150MB/s generally due to hardware limitations.

 

[APCNewbie209]

8 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

I think your getting bytes and bits confused. 6Gbit/s is about 600mBytes/s(with overhead removed too). So thats still much slower than a nvme drive.

 

Thats also the interface speed, not the hdd speed. With most HDDs your getting about 200-250mB/s peak, and probably less once full or fragmented.

 

Those enclosures basically make a external HDD. So your gonna have all the same problems with that converter as you would with a premade external HDD.

 

I'd get 2 enclosures if you want a SSD and HDD here if it was me. Simpler and cheaper.

 

I also see 20TB external drives for a bit over 300, so I'd get that instead here. Server grade drives don't really matter here, and likely just gonna be louder and hotter.

Ah okay so I was mixing it up.  Still 20tb is enough for me and noise is not a companion when I have a PC with 12 damn fans running at max with a liquid cooler.  Not s huge issue for me noise wise.  Thanks for the info.  I was wrong.  But thanks for clearing it up.

[APCNewbie209]

1 hour ago, tkitch said:

yes and no:

SATA 3 is 6Gb/s not GB/s

So, that's a theoretical limit of about 500-600MB/s on SATA.  

But Spinning Disks cap out around 100-150MB/s generally due to hardware limitations.

 

Ah I understand now.  I thought they meant the same thing.  My fault og.  My fault.  Thanks for clarifying.  These kinda things are so confusing when they use the same abbreviations.  

[tkitch]

40 minutes ago, APCNewbie209 said:

Ah I understand now.  I thought they meant the same thing.  My fault og.  My fault.  Thanks for clarifying.  These kinda things are so confusing when they use the same abbreviations.  

when it comes to speed capital letters are VERY important.

B = Byte(s)
b = Bit(s)

1 B = 8 b

 

[OddOod]

3 hours ago, APCNewbie209 said:

I'm a content creator ... 4k footage ... Speed isn't a concern for me

Uhhhhh, have you edited off a HDD? If not, you really need to try out your workflow before dropping cash on it. 
 

 

2 hours ago, APCNewbie209 said:

Actually the Toshiba drive I'm looking says it's 6GB/s. ... Unless I'm reading the specs wrong. 

You're reading the specs wrong. It's SATA 3.0 compatible which is a connection that has an up to 6Gb/s that's bit not byte) so capable of moving about half a gigabyte a second. But the fact that it's an HDD means that it will top out at ~1Gb/s sequential reads or 100MB/s
 

As for a games library? Yeah, an external HDD is gonna be fine. Might slow down some loading times a bit, but it should be fine. Though I'd maybe recommend not just keeping all your games installed at all times. Unless you're on a brutally slow (<50Mbps) internet connection in which case, sure, but most connections are at least 100Mbps.

I think the important questions here is: Are you a fully professional content creator? Is that your primary source of income? 

[-rascal-]

If you are going to be moving, editing, encoding/decoding, saving 4K video files...you are NOT going to have a good experience with a slow ~150 MB/s spinning HDD. You are going to spend more time WAITING / LOADING, than working.

 

You may want to consider:

• NVMe SSD as a scratch disk / working storage
• xxTB HDD for cheap mass storage

 

[Ryker Robb]

5 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Thats also the interface speed, not the hdd speed. With most HDDs your getting about 200-250mB/s peak, and probably less once full or fragmented.

 

5 hours ago, tkitch said:

But Spinning Disks cap out around 100-150MB/s generally due to hardware limitations.

 

3 hours ago, OddOod said:

But the fact that it's an HDD means that it will top out at ~1Gb/s sequential reads or 100MB/s

 

2 hours ago, -rascal- said:

If you are going to be moving, editing, encoding/decoding, saving 4K video files...you are NOT going to have a good experience with a slow ~150 MB/s spinning HDD.

Actually, this drive gets closer to 300MB/s on the sequential read speed.

Also a similar mg series:

[tkitch]

1 hour ago, Ryker Robb said:

Actually, this drive gets closer to 300MB/s on the sequential read speed.

So it does 300MB/s on a test that's relatively unrealistic after the drive's been in use a while?  

Good to know.  

[Ryker Robb]

20 minutes ago, tkitch said:

So it does 300MB/s on a test that's relatively unrealistic after the drive's been in use a while?  

Good to know.  

Most large file transfers will also happen at this speed. That's not an unrealistic use case for this drive.

[OddOod]

3 hours ago, Ryker Robb said:

Actually, this drive gets closer to 300MB/s on the sequential read speed.

 

For the first 500MB, yes. Once the cache is full it falls back to the standard 100MB/s