Multiple Hard Drive Docking station I can use with Plex

Hemps

Hemps

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My Desktop unit crashed and I dont want to replace it, I have an I5 laptop with 16GB ram I don't use so want to turn that into my Plex server etc.

Hard drives I store my media on are 3.5 and I dont want 2 external enclosures or 3 connected to USB3 ports on laptop, I'd rather have a single device that can take at least 2x HDD, single USB3 connection to laptop that can store my media for plex to read?

This?

www.geewiz.co.za

Vantec Hard Disk Duplicator for 2.5"/3.5" SATA drives with USB 3.0

The Vantec NexStar HDD Duplicator is a versatile storage device for duplicating hard drives as well as a high capacity USB 3.0 storage. The simple docking design offers quick access and removal of your hard drives for storage
www.geewiz.co.za www.geewiz.co.za
 
Hemps said:
My Desktop unit crashed and I dont want to replace it, I have an I5 laptop with 16GB ram I don't use so want to turn that into my Plex server etc.

Hard drives I store my media on are 3.5 and I dont want 2 external enclosures or 3 connected to USB3 ports on laptop, I'd rather have a single device that can take at least 2x HDD, single USB3 connection to laptop that can store my media for plex to read?

This?

www.geewiz.co.za

Vantec Hard Disk Duplicator for 2.5"/3.5" SATA drives with USB 3.0

The Vantec NexStar HDD Duplicator is a versatile storage device for duplicating hard drives as well as a high capacity USB 3.0 storage. The simple docking design offers quick access and removal of your hard drives for storage
www.geewiz.co.za www.geewiz.co.za
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's a good bang for buck option.. anything else enclosure wise is going to cost way more..
 
SureThing said:
Would a NAS unit be that anything else enclosure you referring to?
Click to expand...
Not even specifically NAS.. You get other enclosures to do the job as well.. However, they and NAS are overkill for this specific use case, especially when it's solved by this hard drive dock at this price point..
 
Cheaper

www.geewiz.co.za

HDD/SSD Accessories

Buy HDD/SSD Accessories online at the Best Prices! Door to Door and Overnight Delivery. Voted the best online store in SA. View Here
www.geewiz.co.za www.geewiz.co.za
 
Speedster said:
Even cheaper

Takealot.com: Online Shopping | SA's leading online store

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Click to expand...
There is a point where something is too cheap.. this is that point.. I doubt this is something that's going to last for very long..
 
I think a dock would have serious issues with regards to sending multi streams over a USB cable and the HDD head seeking.
 
Unbelievably you can still buy them at a great price.

HP ProLiant AMD Turion II Neo N54L MicroServer (Certified Refurbished) available to buy online at @TAKEALOT We offer fast, reliable delivery to your door.

Takealot.com: Online Shopping | SA's leading online store

South Africa's leading online store. Fast, reliable delivery to your door. Many ways to pay. Shop anything you can imagine: TVs, laptops, cellphones, kitchen appliances, toys, books, beauty & more. Shop the mobile app anytime, anywhere.
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Do that and add 3 more 4TB hard drives with an Unraid license and you’ve got a 12TB redundant array and the best NAS storage for the least money.

Can even get a 5th drive in the 5.45-inch bay with a bit of effort.
 

They sell for about 1.5k locally, gives you way more options and convenience than just a dock, but requires a bit of effort to setup.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Unbelievably you can still buy them at a great price.

HP ProLiant AMD Turion II Neo N54L MicroServer (Certified Refurbished) available to buy online at @TAKEALOT We offer fast, reliable delivery to your door.

Takealot.com: Online Shopping | SA's leading online store

South Africa's leading online store. Fast, reliable delivery to your door. Many ways to pay. Shop anything you can imagine: TVs, laptops, cellphones, kitchen appliances, toys, books, beauty & more. Shop the mobile app anytime, anywhere.
www.takealot.com www.takealot.com

Do that and add 3 more 4TB hard drives with an Unraid license and you’ve got a 12TB redundant array and the best NAS storage for the least money.

Can even get a 5th drive in the 5.45-inch bay with a bit of effort.
Click to expand...
You can get it up even higher if you put a sas card in there. I have one with 10 drives, lowish end HP branded LSI flashed as JBOD (I do zfs, so no crappy semi software raid on the card is needed)
The other 4 are sitting on top though. Surprisingly the PSU still works. I think the card staggers startup though, otherwise it would definitely be an issue.

Been running that way for 3 or 4 years now, I'm not even in the country to monitor it physically.
 
itareanlnotani said:
You can get it up even higher if you put a sas card in there. I have one with 10 drives, lowish end HP branded LSI flashed as JBOD (I do zfs, so no crappy semi software raid on the card is needed)
The other 4 are sitting on top though. Surprisingly the PSU still works. I think the card staggers startup though, otherwise it would definitely be an issue.

Been running that way for 3 or 4 years now, I'm not even in the country to monitor it physically.
Click to expand...

Yeah when you start needing more drives definitely an option.
 
Do you guys leave your media center's powered on 24/7, my previous desktop I used to shutdown every night, turn back on when I arrived back home after 5pm, to save electricity.
 
Hemps said:
Do you guys leave your media center's powered on 24/7, my previous desktop I used to shutdown every night, turn back on when I arrived back home after 5pm, to save electricity.
Click to expand...
Yup, my media center hosted on my local kubernetes cluster with my other apps. So yes always on. For power saving I use old laptops for my cluster, mobile CPUs are way less power hungry than desktops.
 
Hemps said:
Do you guys leave your media center's powered on 24/7, my previous desktop I used to shutdown every night, turn back on when I arrived back home after 5pm, to save electricity.
Click to expand...
My NUC runs my Plex server as well as my Home Assistant and Adguard Home, so it's on 24/7
 
Most external docks are terrible ... have spent too much myself learning that lesson the hard way.

Also, keep in mind a lot of external enclosures implement power-saving modes that'll switch drives off if they're not being used which causes a ton of headaches with apps like Plex.
 
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