Vantec Nexstar GX USB 3.0 Dual 2.5" SATA SSD/HDD RAID Enclosure, Black (NST-272S3-BK) NexStar GX - USB 3.0 Dual 2.5" (Type A)

I have tried two other units like this that were 2.5" adapters that would fit in a 3.5" bay. Both were Chinese with very small and hard to follow instructions that never would work for me. This is an external unit and will not mount inside like the others, but this works and I'll settle for it. This one finally did and I am pleased with it.

I bought a 3rd one of these the other day but when I got it I just couldn't get it to "turn on" the way my other two did. I use them with an OCW thunderbolt dock and an M1 Mac mini in raid 0. When I reported that the new one I received didn't work, they sent me a replacement immediately. It works fine. I have older 1 TB SSDs that even if they were plugged directly into a motherboard would only get 500MB read writes anyway, so these enclosures work great for that. Plus they are very sturdy metal. I appreciated the customer service.

Needed an esata enclosure for an ssd. turns out there are none for nvme ssd's so i had to buy an old 2.5" ssd, but everything working well so far

Un petit peu difficile d'ajuster toutes les parties du boitier parfaitement. Pour les disques à plateau (HDD) l'alimentation USB peut parfois être insuffisante.

(Note: This review is specifically for the Nexstar GX USB 3.0 Dual 2.5", Model# NST-272S3-BK) I've bought a couple of these now, and will probably get a couple more. Among other things, these are a great way to repurpose older, smaller-capacity drives, especially since they come with their own supplementary power supply if your HDDs pull more current than your USB port can supply on its own. (If you're only connecting to computers with USB3 ports, or using SSDs rather than HDDs, you generally don't need the extra power, but it's handy to have the option.) Assembly is easy; the drives just slide in to their respective bays, and one screw in each corner holds them in place. Note that the package comes with two short screws, and two longer ones -- and what's not immediately obvious from the instruction sheet is that it's the *longer* screws which are used to secure the drives to the plastic carrier tray, and the *short* ones that are then used to secure the carrier into the outer metal shell. Once assembled, it's a compact and solid little device; the sturdy metal shell is a welcome change from the usual flimsy plastic a lot of external USB cases use. The only two issues I've found so far, are these: First, I have to agree with some previous reviewers about the status LEDs; they're really not in the best position for visibility when the drive is in use, being located on the side of the unit and well towards the "back" where the connectors are, and recessed below the surface of the drive enclosure. They're more visible if you use the unit in the vertical "stand-up" position with the little plastic stand, but when it's lying flat on the desk, they're very hard to see. The other issue is first-time setup. The manual really should caution you not to connect the device to your PC until *after* you've powered up the enclosure and pressed the "reset" button to reinitialize the enclosure and set the desired RAID mode -- otherwise, Windows seems to get confused when it finds the drives, and then they abruptly disappear when you reset the enclosure, and you may have to restart Windows entirely to make it recognize the new array again. If you do your first-time setup by powering it from the USB power supply, reset the enclosure, *then* connect it to the PC, it gets recognized right away. That minor annoyance aside, it's always nice to find a product that just *works* and does what it's supposed to. :-) Recommended.