External drive enclosures — Description

An external drive enclosure turns an old or new SSD into a fast portable drive – cheaper than a ready-made external SSD and with free choice of capacity. The category includes M.2 NVMe enclosures at various speeds: UNITEK USB4 40 Gbps with active cooling and standard, UNITEK USB-C 10 Gbps NVMe/SATA with RGB or a find-my function, Natec Rhino M.2 NVMe Lite USB-C 3.2 in black, blue and red, ICY BOX IB-1816M-C31, Satechi Mini NVMe, Asus TUF Gaming A2, the Orico AM2C3-2SN dual SATA and NVMe enclosure, plus magnetic Unitek SolidForce Reefer and AP30-G2 with MagSafe for iPhone and laptop. For 2.5 inch SATA drives there are the transparent Orico 2139C3, 25PW1C and 2520C3 USB-C 5 Gbps, I-BOX HD-02 and HD-05, and for 3.5 inch HDDs the Digitus USB 3.0 aluminium enclosure up to 16 TB and the Rebel docking station. Speed is set by the interface: USB-C 5 Gbps is enough for a 2.5 inch SATA SSD at around 450 MB/s, 10 Gbps unlocks NVMe up to about 1000 MB/s, USB4 40 Gbps delivers up to 3000 MB/s and suits video editing straight from the drive. For an NVMe enclosure, check that it supports your drive – NVMe only or SATA M.2 too – and the 2230–2280 length. An aluminium body and thermal pad prevent overheating during long copies. When choosing, look at the included cables – USB-C to USB-C and to USB-A – and whether tools are needed for assembly. A magnetic enclosure suits those who shoot ProRes on an iPhone. Fast delivery across Latvia.