Vantec Hard Drive Dock (NST-D100SU)

If you're a storage junkie or do media editing (or game dev, in my case) this thing is a lifesaver. Might sound paranoid, but any time you are running electricity through a computer part (however little it may be), you're still "putting miles" on something. With many iterations of my game's source files, videos I edit, or other projects I need a safe place to do local backup in addition to cloud backup...as cloud retrieval can be slow.You can leave a drive docked, or do your backup/transfer and then stow it in an anti-static bag or elsewhere. This is particularly great for SSDs since it has proper guide slots for both 2.5" and 3.5" drives. It's pretty smooth and has a power button on the back so the drive can be disengaged before you swap it out.Another use option that is a *Your Mileage May Vary* scenario, is using this for swapping in and out SSDs with installed game files on them. I have limited space inside my PC case and also like playing games on various PCs I have (HTPC or a laptop) and storing Steam or other game client installer files on here means you can simply take it over to the other computer using this dock to play the games. I will add, it need to be a USB 3.0 or faster port to utilize it properly, but the games load and run perfectly fine for me with this method. Saves you from excessive writes or installs on multiple drives and is a great quality of life hack.So far it's worked very well for me and the price is definitely fair for what you're getting. If any of the above sounds good, give this dock a try.

My old computer died months ago. Thanks to this device I was able to recover the data on that computer's OS drive. I like that I can turn the drive on and off (something that seems to be lacking on most regular USB external drives). The only qualm I had with it was a product of my own ignorance - for those who aren't familiar with eSATA, it's a high-speed data cable similar but not identical to USB. This "toaster" apparently requires that all three cables - power, USB, and eSATA - be connected in order to allow access to the drive. If you don't have a newer model of computer, you may not be able to make use of this (then again, I doubt you'll be purchasing something like this if you aren't having a problem with one or replacing one).All in all, I think it was worth it for the money (though if I were planning to still use the drive as an OS drive for some hairbrained reason, I would've bought a permanent case instead of this).

Purchased the Vantec NST-D100SU "Hard Drive Toaster" about a month ago and have used it frequently since. Primary use is to backup my 3 computers. The device has worked flawlessly connected both via USB and ESATA. There is really very little to say about its operation. You plug it in, turn it on, your computer detects it, you have a drive. I've experienced no problems whatsoever during the time I've used it.You do need to follow the rules about not inserting or ejecting your hard disks when the device is powered. Just RTFM (its short) and you will be fine.The only things I would change is to make the device a little heavier for stability and it would be nice if a cover of some kind was provided for when it is not in use.At any rate, I would recommend this to anyone who is thinking about this kind of device.

I bought this drive dock along with the Thermaltake BlacX model with USB hub. The Thermaltake went back (huge, drive kept dropping off) and this one stayed.I've gone through many drive enclosures over the years as they tend to have fans that fail (and can't be easily replaced), or they're just too bulky or awkward to fit in available space. This is intended to be an easy way to easily use some of the extra drives I have around for a quick backup, video project, etc.Technology wise, it's the same as any other USB-SATA bridge; it works, it's not as good as Firewire, but it's as fast as I've come to expect, etc. Based upon the design with the drive being above the rest of the electronics and open to the air, I don't expect to have any heating issues so maybe it'll last longer than some of the others.I think the biggest issue I have with this is its size. It's significantly larger than seems necessary, though that's probably just to provide a stable base. It seems like Vantec could make this about 5% thicker and have a dual drive version. I don't currently have an eSata port so I couldn't test that, but I may try it out on the HD Tivo as it would make a quiet, fanless drive "enclosure". Not sure how well it