Windows 10: Looking for a 4-bay USB 3.0 external HDD enclosure

USB drive are ok but what about this item I sourced on Amazon.com :

Amazon.com: ICY DOCK #MB996SP-6SB MB996SP-6SB DAS Array 6 x Total Bays - SATA/600 Internal: Computers Accessories

I use a 4 tray version internally much more reliable than external devices but you might not want to go this way you can get 2/4/6/8 bay versions of this if you need loads of them but then you need lots of sata ports on your mobo.

 

I use the Mediasonic you posted in the OP ...no issues on X99 and now none on my X58 MB after Mediasonic pointed me to a newer firmware for my Renesas USB3 Chip so it Sleeps properly. ( there is a RAID version of it too extra $50 ? )

Another I looked at was SansDigital Products Enclosures Sans Digital - Your One-Stop Storage Solution

I have an older Synology NAS but found I don't use the "NAS Services" so I went back to Enclosures due to lower Cost for plain Storage and backup.

Depending on the Age of the WD Green Drive you may need to use WDIDLE on it , I did on the 1st ones I had in the Syno Nas. it does not work on their newer Green Drives though.

 

That is only for 2.5" drives. Mine are standard 3.5" mechanical drives. And since my current problem involves Icy Dock enclosures corrupting my drives, there's no way I'd buy anything else from them.

 

Thanks for the feedback on the Mediasonic. I'm leaning that way for lack of better alternatives. I do hate the cooling system it uses, based on my experience with their esata version.. I don't feel at all comfortable leaving the front panel on with no airflow. And the rear fan is very loud, and ineffective thanks to the placement of the internal board.

I have an older esata sansdigital and it had worked well for me but the 4bay I own gets horrific reviews out there. There seems to be a lot of people with the power supply dying out on the sansdigital. So far I've been lucky but I don't use it much either simply because the drives in there I don't need to access too often. Their website isn't working either and the unit I own is no longer available on Newegg, so I think they are no longer an option anyways.

Icy Dock feels the green drive is the issue, but I have used those same green drives in the Icy Dock on my old Windows 7 PC without issue. So I'm not convinced it's the green drive at fault here.

 

I wonder if a multi-bay mobile rack might be worth looking at? Are those intended to leave on the desktop like the enclosures? I'm unfamiliar with those. Do they include cooling fans? They connect via sata cables, correct? So I would need to run several sata cables from my motherboard outside the case to the mobile rack? Are they powered from my PC power supply like standard internal drives (needing additional power cables)? Do I need one sata cable for each drive? Just trying to look at all my options.

I guess that's a bad idea anyways. I have lots of drives and that's why I've been using these USB 3 enclosures. I wouldn't have nearly enough free sata ports and I'd be constantly plugging and unplugging cables. 1 USB 3 port gives me 4 bays in the USB 3 enclosures.

 

I don't find the rear fan that loud ,but you do need to tighten the screws on the rear once a year? as it can get a bit rattley sounding, I also have a BlackX dual Dock but I am not sure the Drive are any cooler in it vs the 4 bay Probox , but I try not to run either for long periods ,certainly not 24/7.

KB