ICY TIP: Optimize Storage Space and Access Speeds with 2.5" and 3.5" HDD/SSD Combinations using the MB561U3S-4S with New EZ-Tray System

Optimize Storage Space and Access Speeds with 2.5" and 3.5" HDD/SSD Combinations using the MB561U3S-4S with New EZ-Tray System With the rapidly dropping prices and growing popularity of solid state drives (SSDs), many media professionals, power users, gamers, system builders, and average computer users are picking up SSDs to speed up their systems. However, even with the increases in storage size for SSDs, it is still not a viable solution for most storage capacity demands. And that is why 3.5" hard disk drives (HDD) are still the way to go for main data storage. A single HDD can hold as much as 6 terabytes (TB) of data, such as the Western Digital Green 6TB SATA 3.5" Hard Drives, which is six times more storage capacity compared to the max 1TB storage for SSDs, such as the Crucial M550 1TB 2.5" SSD in the market currently. This means if users opt for faster data access speeds with SSDs, they lose storage capacity. If they choose to use HDDs for greater storage capacity, they do not gain the increased I/O speeds that is important for intensive applications such as file servers, photo and video editing, gaming, and media streaming. However, currently, ICY DOCK's products that utilize the EZ-Trays are currently transitioning to a new and improved EZ-Trays design that will provide the best compatibility for both 2.5” SATA HDD/SSD and 3.5” SATA HDD of all heights, ranging from lightning fast 2.5” SATA III SSD to 3.5” SATA 6TB HDD. This ability provides great flexibility for many users who require large storage capacity while having fast read/write speeds for intense applications.   MB561U3S-4S - Quad Bay USB 3.0 and eSATA Enclosure with New EZ-Tray System External enclosures make great storage solutions for users with fixed type systems, such as the iMac, MacBook, laptop, ALL-IN-ONE PC, NAS, Media player, DVR system and gaming console, or for the users who like the ability to take their data on the go.   The ICYCube MB561U3S-4S 4 Bay USB 3.0 & eSATA External HDD Enclosure is the first ICY DOCK enclosure that employs the new EZ-Tray system. The MB561U3S-4S equipped with USB 3.0 interface, which allows users to easily expand their storage capacity and supports SSD's fast access speed. As stated in our previous ICY TIP article (How to Affordably Maximize Time Efficiency for Media Professionals with USB 3.0 Interface), USB 3.0's excessive benefits -- blazing fast, widely available, and easily affordable -- compared to other types of interface, it is the best option out there for most users (including Mac system users), especially those that perform intense applications such as video editing.   With 4 available hard drive bays, the MB561U3S-4S allows for different combinations of 2.5"/3.5" SATA HDDs/SSDs to be used for the desired result. For example, a media professional that uses a MacBook Pro to edit videos can use one bay with a Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD or SanDisk X210 256GB SSD for processing video edits and can have Seagate Enterprise 6TB SATA 3.5" Hard Drive or HGST Ultrastar 4TB SATA 3.5" Hard Drive in the remaining bays for general video data storage.   Additionally, with multiple hard drives, users have the option of creating RAID for even faster performance speeds and/or added data protection. Apple's Disk Utility provides Mac users the ability to create software RAID. Two SSDs can be placed together in RAID 0 for maximum performance speed and two HDD can be used to create RAID 1 for data security.   MB561U 3S-4S Product Features:   * Plug and play installation, no drivers required * SuperSpeed USB 3.0 with up to 5Gbps transfer speed * Backward compatible with USB 2.0 interface * eSATA connection with up to 6Gbps transfer speed (port-multiplier required) * New EZ-Tray system supporting both 2.5” and 3.5” SATA HDD/SSD of all heights * Adjustable cooling fan with 3 speed settings (low, high, and auto) * Support largest capacity drives available on the market (6TB) * Removable EZ-Tray design allows you to quickly swap out drives * Moderately illuminating white LED for power & drive activities * High grade aluminum alloy frame with detailed matte finish * Include 4x EZ-Trays which features shock absorbing technology to help protect your drives * Detachable 80mm ball bearing rear cooling fan provides easy maintenance * Integrated power supply, so big power bricks aren’t necessary * Rubber padded soles for enhanced stability   MB561U 3S-4S Product Page   Interchangeability ICY DOCK's new EZ-Tray design not only adds configuration options to internal and external storage solution designs, but it also retained the previous interchangeable functionality. Users have the ability to have two or more set ups with different products but use this interchangeable tray to swap the same hard drives between them. A user can easily take a the hard drive from a MB455SPF-B cage at work and take it home to be used in the MB561U3S-4S. This system can allow for cross-platform usage as well. For example, a person who favors a Mac OS platform can use the MB559U3S-1SB at home and be able to take their hard drive to use with a friend's Windows PC system with a MB153SP-B. The New EZ-Tray brings novelty, creativity, and flexibility. The user can be a Mac or PC, media professional or system builder, professional gamer or average computer user; they will be able to use the trays to their needs. The users have the ability to use the hard drive of their choosing in external or internal enclosures and with or without RAID functions. No other products have the interchangeability and adaptability between a range of products as wide as ICY DOCK's EZ-Tray products. And on top of all that, all of ICY DOCK's products are backed by a 3 year warranty and global customer service, so users can rest assured that they will have the best support for quality products!   Other ICY DOCK EZ-Tray enclosures:   External HDD enclosures: ICYBento MB559U3S-1S - Slim USB 3.0 & eSATA External HDD Enclosure - Click to view product page ICYBento MB559U3S-1SB - Slim USB 3.0 & eSATA External HDD Enclosure - Click to view product page   HDD mobile racks or cages: FatCage MB153SP-B - 3 x 3.5” SATA HDD in 2 x 5.25” device bay - Click to view product page FatCage MB154SP-B - 4 x 3.5” SATA HDD in 3 x 5.25” device bay - Click to view product page FatCage MB155SP-B - 5 x 3.5” SATA HDD in 3 x 5.25” device bay - Click to view product page DataCage Classic MB453SPF-B - 3 x 3.5” SATA HDD in 2 x 5.25” device bay - Click to view product page DataCage Classic MB454SPF-B - 4 x 3.5” SATA HDD in 3 x 5.25” device bay - Click to view product page DataCage Classic MB455SPF-B - 5 x 3.5” SATA HDD in 3 x 5.25” device bay - Click to view product page DataCage Basic MB876SK-B - 3.5" SATA Hard Drive Mobile Rack - Click to view product page   Note: Currently, the new EZ-Tray system only available with selected products. Please contact us for more information.

ICY DOCK USA 11740 Clark St. Arcadia, CA 91006 Tel: 626.956.8800 Fax: 626.956.8811

ICY News: Hands On with USB Type C: Reversible USB Connectors

With USB 3.1, we see a few key improvements. Peak throughput goes to 10 Gbps from 5 Gbps, which translates to a peak of 1.25 GB/sec. In a demo of an early controller with two SSDs attached to the system I saw peak throughput of 833 MB/sec. As a side note, I also saw a demo of wireless USB connectivity from smartphone to laptop and laptop to smartphone, which was definitely pretty cool. Getting back to the USB 3.1 spec, USB Power Delivery 2.0 (PD) makes it possible for USB to supply up to 100 watts, and coexists with the BC 1.2 spec that is used in USB power adapters to charge phones so a single port would be able to provide power for both systems...Read More

ICY News: Western Digital HGST Unleashes 8 and 10 Terabyte Helium Hard Drives

"The 8TB drive is being marketed as nearline storage for faster access. The 10TB helium-filled hard drive is being targeted at cloud and archive "cold storage" applications because there are performance hindering implications related to the SMR technology, including file systems and software drivers, according to Dave Tang, general manager of HGST's Elastic Storage Platforms Group...Read more: ComputerWorld"

ICYCube MB561U3S-4S review - posted by hitechlegion.com

Icy Dock ICYCube 4-Bay External Enclosure Review

I work on a lot of computers for friends and family that tend to need various means of repair work. Sometimes those machines are badly damaged and not worth repairing because the cost of the parts outweighs the cost of a new machine. In those cases, I often part out the machines to harvest whatever is salvageable. Sometimes they get used to make zombie machines out of all the random pieces, but more often than not I am able to use the parts to fix other people's broken machines. In the end, I sometimes end up with a bunch of random hard drives laying around that are perfectly good and some are even of a decent size. So how do you use the random hard drives? You can take them apart and remove the magnets to make some really cool art project. Maybe you can just smash them to bits when you need to get rid of some stress. Then, of course, there is always the option of sticking them in a drive enclosure and using them. Most techies with a bunch of hard drives will then have to purchase numerous enclosures and will have a mess of cables to deal with. Why not find an enclosure that can handle multiple drives? The Icy Dock ICYCube is a 4-bay enclosure that has support for both 2.5” and 3.5” drives, so you can mix different drive sizes. The ICYCube uses high quality aluminum for housing the drive and has a variable speed 80mm fan on the rear of the casing. The fan can be removed and has three modes, auto, low, and high, so you can adjust your cooling needs and balance noise. The power supply for the ICYCube is built into the casing so you don’t need to have a giant power brick taking up space around your desk area and it uses a standard plug. For connecting the enclosure to your computer, you have the flexibility of using USB 3.0 or eSATA. The USB 3.0 offers maximum speeds up to 5Gbps while the eSATA offers speeds of up to 6Gbps.........Read More ICYCube MB561U3S-4S Product Page: http://www.icydock.com/goods.php?id=172

Black Vortex MB074SP-B review - posted by tweaktown.com

ICY DOCK Black Vortex 3.5" Drive Cage Review

ICY DOCK drops off the Black Vortex drive cage for testing. Read on as Tyler gives us the details on this device and how it works and looks in your system. In addition to the EZConvert Air we recently had the chance to review, ICY DOCK has launched the Black Vortex drive cage. The Black Vortex is a bay solution allowing you to mount four 3.5" hard drives into three 5.25" chassis bays. Features of this solution include all metal construction with front panel access to your drives for easy access. Additionally, the Black Vortex features a large front mounted fan to aid in cooling your drives, along with being design to accept the EZConvert Air and EZConvert Fit solutions for mounting 2.5" drives.........Read More Black Vortex MB074SP-B Product Page: http://www.icydock.com/goods.php?id=166