SABRENT SSD HDD hard drive enclosure, 2.5″ 3.5″ inch SATA
SABRENT SSD HDD hard drive enclosure, 2.5″ 3.5″ inch SATA case dock, external SSD docking station, super fast Data transfer, Support UASP, LED indicator, tool-free, USB cable included (EC-UASP)
SABRENT Ultra Slim USB 3.0 to 2.5-Inch SATA External Aluminum Hard Drive Enclosure [Optimized for SSD, Support UASP SATA III] Silver
Take advantage of the lightening speed of USB 3.0 to quickly transfer files up to 5 Gbps!
Connect any 2.5” Serial ATA (SATA) or SATA II Hard Drive to your computer through an available USB 3.0 port on your desktop or laptop.
This case is constructed from durable aluminum, ensuring heat dissipation, and protecting your drive from overheating while also providing you with a sleek aluminum design.
FEATURES:
- Supports Standard Notebook 2.5″ SATA and SATA II Hard drives.
- Transfer Rates Up to 5 Gbps when connected to a USB 3.0 port.
- Transfer Rates Up to 480 Mbps when connected to a USB 2.0 port.
- Hot-swappable, plug and play, no drivers needed.
- Backwards-Compatible with USB 2.0 or 1.1
Reverse compatible with USB 2.0 and 1.1, this enclosure is a perfect solution for data transfers or data backup!
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
- Available USB 3.0 port on the computer to achieve full 5 Gbps transfer speeds.
- Available USB 2.0 port on the computer to achieve full 480 Mbps transfer speeds.
- Windows 11
- Windows 10
- Windows 8.1/8
- Windows 7
- Windows Vista
- Windows XP
- Linux 2.4 or Above
- Mac OS 8.6 or Above
WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
- SABRENT EC-UM30 Hard Drive Enclosure.
- USB 3.0 cable.
- Screw set with screw driver.
- Carrying Case.
 |  |  |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model # | EC-UASP | EC-OCUB | EC-UK30 | EC-DFFN | EC-DFLT | EC-KSL3 |
| Size Compatibility: | 2.5″ SSD | HDD | 2.5″ SSD | HDD | 2.5″ SSD | HDD | 2.5 & 3.5 SSD | 2.5 & 3.5 SSD | HDD | 2.5 & 3.5 SSD | HDD |
| Capacity Supported: | 8TB | 8TB | 8TB | 16TB | 16TB | 16TB |
| Transfer Speed: | Up to 5 Gbps | Up to 5 Gbps | Up to 5 Gbps | Up to 5 Gbps | Up to 5 Gbps | Up to 625 MB/s |
| Cable: | USB 3.0 | USB 3.0 Type-B to Type-A | USB 3.0 | USB 3.0 Type-A | USB 3.0 | USB 3.0 Type-B to Type-A |
| UASP | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Plug and Play: | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Material | ABS | ABS | Aluminum | ABS | ABS | Aluminum |
| Assembly: | Tool Free | Tool Free | crews set with screws driver included | Tool Free | Tool Free | Tool Free |
| Fan cooling: | ✓ |
 |  |  |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MODEL | CB-3010 | CB-3060 | CB-3030 | CB-301W | CB-306W | CB-303W |
| PORT TYPE | USB 3.0 TYPE A | USB 3.0 TYPE A | USB 3.0 TYPE A | USB 3.0 TYPE A | USB 3.0 TYPE A | USB 3.0 TYPE A |
| LENGTH | 10 Feet | 6 Feet | 3 Feet | 10 Feet | 6 Feet | 3 Feet |
| COLOR | BLACK | BLACK | BLACK | WHITE | WHITE | WHITE |
| MATERIAL | PVC | PVC | PVC | PVC | PVC | PVC |
| SPEED | 5Gbps | 5Gbps | 5Gbps | 5Gbps | 5Gbps | 5Gbps |
| SUPPORTS QUICK CHARGE | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| PLUG AND PLAY | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Weight: | 56.6 g |
| Dimensions: | 13.49 x 7.39 x 1.5 cm; 56.7 Grams |
| Brand: | Sabrent |
| Model: | EC-UASP |
| Colour: | Black |
| Batteries Included: | No |
| Manufacture: | Sabrent |
| Dimensions: | 13.49 x 7.39 x 1.5 cm; 56.7 Grams |
Works as advertised and the best part about it is the ON/OFF switch. I back up my PC and switch it off so no malware can get to the data. There is a blue light to indicate when it’s on so it’s not easy to forget to switch it off
Its extremely easy to snap a 2.5″ SSD into one of these and once plugged into your computer’s USB port you are instantly ready to go with no extra drivers necessary. This is the best design of enclosure I have come across for both HDDs and SSDS. It is reliable, simple to use, and I like it so much I now have 4 of them for various types of storage requirements. You can either plug it in for immediate use, or leave it plugged in but switched off, ready to be activated when needed.
So this is my go to enclosure and I highly recommend it.
Works well, I like the switch and the light, light let’s you know it’s transfering data and you can switch it off and leave it in the usb untill you need it. Easy to load drives.
This is USB 3.0, not 3.2 as described.
EDIT:
Alright, I’ll admit, 20 GB/s is probably unrealistic either way, but it still should be labelled as 3.0 and not 3.2.
Will give 4/5 because it’s actually so damn quick.
This really does what it says on the tin.
It was easy to open an slot in my SATA HD Drive and then plug it into my Laptop with the USB-C cable.
Really pleased as I wanted to see all the files on this old hard drive I have had for11 years.
Also saved time to get another laptop and install it and get the motherboard to recognise the drive etc.
I previously bought the plastic version, which clicks together without requiring a screwdriver, has a much larger and more visible indication LED. Needing another I found the aluminium version also described as tooless. However it requires two very small screws to be secured with the supplied screwdriver which is fiddly, especially in my case as the front panel fitted poorly. The indicator light is tiny and only visible when viewed from the front.
I would recommend the plastic version, although the aluminium version seems OK if the HDD is not often swapped.
I’ve always liked Sabrent products including their SSDs and this enclosure is no different. It’s well made and sturdy and I chose this one due to it’s power switch. I have installed an SSD inside this enclosure and I use it for Batocera. It’s handy being able to keep it plugged in and just flick the power switch when I want my mini PC to boot to Batocera instead of Windows 11.
I’m using it with a 2TB Micron 1100 SATA SSD and it easily achieved over 500Mbps read speeds and nearly 500Mbps write speeds according to Crystal Disk benchmarks… This is over USB3.
Very happy overall and it does what it’s supposed to.
Bought this as a previous controller I’d bought failed.
Unscrewed the holder (using the supplied mini screwdriver), plugged the drive in, job done. Less than 5 minutes for a working drive.
The even supplied a leatherette pouch and 2 spare screws.
Highly recommended.
Where the enclosure came into its own though, was when holding an SSD. Copying files to and from the enclosed drive is very fast. I haven’t noticed much of a difference between having the drive connected inside the computer. I’ve even used it as a boot drive to run Linux, and there are no slowdowns when running an operating system from an SSD in the enclosure.
I’m writing the review now because I’m buying a second enclosure for my wife to use, as I’ve found it so much faster than a regular USB pen drive. Obviously it’s bigger than a pen drive, but in my opinion, the massive increase in speed is worth it.
The only downside is the cable. It’s great and works excellently, but it’s USB A on both sides, which tends to be unusual. It’s not a major issue, but it does mean that if you break the cable, you’re not likely to have a spare to hand.
That’s literally the only downside i’ve found to this enclosure though. I highly recommend it 🙂
Was surprised how cheap and instantly useable this device is: the SSD slotted straight in; plug in the USB lead and the drive is instantly available to the operating system without, it seems, any performance hit (though I haven’t formally tested this). It does feel a bit cheap and plastic but, then, it was cheap and is plastic. I may end up eating my words but, if it’s not being thrown about too much, it’s hard to see what could go wrong with it. Pleased.
About four years ago I bought and installed a Crucial 1TB SSD into an aging iMac. This replacement completely transformed the computer and made it swift and quiet. In the process, I used a Sabrent mount to allow me to put the 2.5 inch SSD into the 3.5 inch bay left by the older conventional Hard Drive. I was so impressed by the design and engineering of this drive mount, and how beautifully it did its job, that I remembered Sabrent when I came to the next problem. Eventually, the old iMac has become so slow and impossible to upgrade with the newer OSs, that I bought a new iMac. To create a Time Machine backup for the new computer, I salvaged the Crucial SSD from the old iMac and put it into this brilliant little case. The old SSD had cost me about 120 four years ago and to throw it away seemed madness. Apart from the fact that I needed a small USB-C to USB 3.0 adapter to plug it in, this 12 kit included everything to allow me to create a perfect 1TB backup drive. It even came with a dinky screwdriver to fasten the connector plate to the front of the box and a neat little soft storage case. It’s now working faultlessly and looks very good. If this is what you need to do, this is the perfect kit for doing it.
The case is too tight to install an SSD unless the small circuit board is removed. Unscrew and remove both the small screws in the circuit boards and then remove the circuit board. Carefully attach the circuit board to the SSD drive and install both together into the see-through case. You will need to push down hard on the circuit board where the screw holes are and the circuit board will ‘click’ into place. Reinstall the two screws carefully and do not overtighten them. Slide-on the top lid and push to close.
Sabrent should change the design of this and make the SSD end-stop part of the sliding top of the case, rather than the bottom. That would have allowed unobstructed access without having to take the circuit board out.
Overall its a nice looking unit which works well and I have since ordered a second unit for another drive.
The Sabrent 2.5-Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool-free External Hard Drive Enclosure comes packaged with 1 enclosure, 1 USB 3.0 to USB 3.0 cable (backwards compatible), 1 user manual, and 1 warranty card.
TLDR: I’m happy with my purchase, it came as advertised and is quite a handy little kit. I will be using mine as a case for an internal SSD.
Following the instructions in the manual, opening the enclosure was very easy, inside was a small piece of foam and a much smaller piece of foam glued on the bottom of the enclosure. (Before putting the hard drive in, make sure to remove the foam glued to the enclosure, otherwise you will have a difficult time getting the hard drive in.) Docking the hard drive was quite easy. (Wriggle the small piece of foam back at the bottom of the hard drive, this makes it so the hard drive won’t be jiggling around just in case.) Opening the enclosure again was easy. Removing the hard drive is the reason why I’ve only given it 4 stars; pushing the hard drive away from the connector is VERY difficult, it feels like it got superglued. With a hard drive you have to be gentle with it so you shouldn’t force it, I had to unscrew the cover to the connector (which just falls off the enclosure afterwards), then take it off the hard drive – it comes off really easy this way. I’m assuming it’s the angle that makes it difficult to remove the hard drive.
I bought this enclosure for an old laptop hard drive, unfortunately, the hard drive is broken and cannot be read, as such I don’t know what speed this enclosure can do. However, Windows did read the presence of the enclosure itself, so I believe the enclosure will work with a functioning hard drive.
The product “Sabrent Hard Disk Drive Enclosure” is a perfect example of how there are many products that are expensive, but with some time and patience, one can find similar products for a cheaper price. Now, often you might not want to buy the cheaper version of a product, as they are often worse in quality. The Sabrent enclosure for your hard drive has many purposes. One purpose, the one which I purchased it for, was to recover data from a damaged laptop, but the hard drive was fine. You can also use it to connect a hard drive to your PC to use for backups. It can also make the hard drive work exactly like a USB. The case slides open and the lid comes off. You can also prop up the lid on the side of the case as I show in picture 4. There is an on/off switch on top which isn’t much use to me. The button turns off the power to the enclosure and it turns off, not showing up on the computer anymore. You can just unplug it from your device if not wanting to use it, but be sure to eject the hard drive first. If the hard drive doesn’t show up, It is likely a problem with your hard drive and not the enclosure. I tested this with different hard drives. The broken hard drives would often not show up, while the perfectly fine hard drives worked fine. The case is very easy to use. Just open the lid of the enclosure and plug in the hard drive to the hard drive connector pins. Plug the USB into the enclosure on one side, and into your pc or mac on the other side. I have tested the enclosure with Windows, Mac, and Linux. It performs perfectly well with all three. I would definitely recommend this product for you if you need to connect your hard drive some way to a computer. I have also installed windows using this on a PC. You can also use it to open up the pc which the hard drive was using to recover data if the PC breaks. You will just require another computer.
Pros:
– It is very lightweight
– Requires no additional software, shows up as a USB
– Easy to use
– Helps get data on and off the hard drive.
Cons:
– The wire is a bit short
– The LED can be a bit annoying at times.
– Otherwise no issues.
Final Verdict: This enclosure is perfectly well priced. I recommend you buy it if you need some way to connect your hard drive to a computer, whether it’s for backups or data recovery, it will be the solution.
IF YOU FOUND THIS REVIEW HELPFUL PLEASE LET ME KNOW BY PRESSING THE HELPFUL BUTTON BELOW.
I bought this as a practical enclosure for a 240Gb SSD to use for storing photos. I’ve recently bought a new DSLR Camera which I am intending to take lots of pictures with and I don’t want to clog up my PCs internal SSD with image files and potentially slow things down. I chose an SSD purely for the speed in transferring large files.
I could have just used an SSD and USB3 connector on its own but this would not have been a very robust method and, constantly plugging and unplugging would have caused damage to the drives connections. This drive enclosure benefits from UASP SATAIII (Google it to understand how this speeds up data transfer with Windows10). It has an on/off switch which means you can leave it plugged in to a USB3 socket and switch on as needed. If you register your purchase online with Sabrent you can download a free copy of Acronis True Image which is useful software for disk cloning and back-up. Overall, I’m pleased with it and it does the job. However, the one frustration I had is that it is NOT EASY to open the case. After about five minutes struggling it eventually separated and I was able to install the SSD. I would suggest that, before you close it up for the first time, you spray a little silicon lubricant on a cotton bud and wipe the runners that the lid slides on. Don’t go mad with the lubrication obviously.
I bought this to fit a new SSD drive so I could clone my existing HDD to it.
Well packaged with an instruction booklet that shows you how to open it and place the SSD drive. A little fiddly but nothing to complain about.
There”s a sticker on the front of the box ‘Free Acronis True Image cloning software’ with a URL.
So you go to the URL and, download the software and install.
If you run it without the drive attached to your PC it gives you a message saying you must use a Sabrant drive or words to that affect).
Attach the drive and the software loads.
Unfortunately when I tried to Clone, the Acronis software froze on my Laptop (spinning clock). I googled and it appeared to have first surfaced in 2014. I guess I was just unlucky that it didn’t work on my Laptop.
My SDD was a Samsung so I downloaded the Samsung Data Migration tool and cloned my HDD to SDD using that. Very easy, took about 45 minutes. It didn’t matter that the SDD was smaller than the HDD.
I replaced the HDD with the new SDD and the laptop booted up very fast and worked as before but much faster.
I put the old HDD in the Sabrent enclosure and attached it to the laptop and it
was available as a ‘D’ drive.
So the enclosure itself was excellent but let down slightly because the free software didn’t work for me.
Update 30/12/2020
Not compatible with Rapsberry pi4. It works in the USB2 port but has major problems in the USB3 port (This maybe because of the Pi4 firmware, I don’t know). If you want to boot the Pi4 from a SSD then this enclosure does not work in the USB3 port (which defeats the object of the exercise because the speed of the SSD is negated by the speed of the USB2 port).
I had two Laptop Hard Drives which had been taken out of old laptop/PS3 and opted to buy a case for each to allow me to use them as “normal external” hard drives.
I bought two of these and they arrived promptly from Amazon, each in a thin carboard sleeve with a “USB A to USB A” cable, claiming to be USB 3. The cases are thin plastic with a bright blue LED, there is a simple on/off switch in the back.
Additionally supplied is a leaflet with images showing how to fit the hard drive in the case, and card allowing you to register it for an additional 2 years warranty.
The USB A cable is of sufficient length and should be fine when plugging into other PC devices, normally when I see a USB 3 cable, they have a different connection one end and the usual USB A on the other, so it is weird to see the cable exactly the same both ends. (Male USB A).
Opening the case is easy enough, you slide the top piece away from the rear connection/switch, then fit the hard drive and push it firmly into the connections nearest the switch/LED. Once done you can replace the top by reversing the slide off process. There is a piece of “foam” inside the empty cases which can be used on top of the hard drive to stop it moving about for those hard drives that are very thin. Once done the unit is ready for use, so just plug the cable into the case and the PC, turn on the switch and you are ready to use.
Once the hard drive is in the case it adds more substance to the case so it doesnt look so flimsy, it does the job well, works well and I now have a 120gb and 300gb hard drive available to me as external drives.
I will upload photos later and amend the review should it be needed.
Highly recommended as a budget way to make 2.5 inch laptop drives into external USB drives.
* REMEMBER this is just a case with no hard drive. *
Ever since buying a new laptop that has a traditional 5400rpm HDD and a smaller SSD, which is used to boot up my PC, I love just how much faster and better SSDs are compared to normal HDDs. My laptop boots up in about 10 secs, which used to take minutes on my old laptop.
However, the SSD is only 120GB in size, so I was looking to get another SSD with more storage space so I could back up the data on my laptop more quickly, as my last laptop only had a normal HDD and I used an external HDD to back up my laptop data and it would take all night to backup.
So I looked into getting an external portable SSD and when I saw how more much these cost compared to internal 2.5 SSDs and I discovered SSD internal drive enclosures, I resolved to create my own “external” SSD, using an internal SSD and the enclosure by Sabrent, which is the product I’m reviewing.
The enclosure arrived quick and was competitively priced. When I opened the box, it had the enclosure, usb 3.1/3.0 cable to connect to my laptop and some instructions. Once I purchased a 500GB internal SSD, I then inserted it into the enclosure with relative ease and then proceeded to back up my whole laptop in about 30-35 minutes, which was a MASSIVE reduction in time and exponentially faster than running backups on my old laptop.
If you want to save some money and create your own portable SSD and not pay through the nose for an external SSD and get more GB for your money, get this Sabrent enclosure and buy a good-value 2.5 internal SSD and save yourself some money! Once you go SSD, you never want to go back to HDD and the Sabrent enclosure makes it a lot easier and cheaper to use SSD.
This enclosure is pretty easy to install a disk and holds the disk firmly but I found the top didn’t close properly. I bought two of these and it did the same on both. It was difficult to open at first and on closing it, the lid didn’t sit flush. I had to push it a few times to get it to click properly into place.
I really don’t like the large bright blue light on it. I like having an activity indicator but it’s a huge blue LED that is constantly flashing when using the drive. I turn the drive upside down to avoid the distraction. I have a Seagate drive that has a small pinhole for the light, that’s all that’s needed and it can be on the back of the drive so isn’t distracting.
At first I thought the performance was low as I was getting 40MB/s. I checked About This Mac > System Report > USB and clicking the Sabrent drive showed 480Mb speed (USB 2 speed), whereas USB 3 is 5Gb. I noticed the USB cable wasn’t pushed in the whole way to the computer port, there was a small gap. On pushing the plug further in, it managed to get the full 5Gb/s speed so is now over 400MB/s read and write. If you find the drive (SSD) running slowly, make sure the plug is pushed in the whole way or it can run at USB 2 speed, which is 1/10th the speed.
I’m really pleased with the performance, this is about as fast as the SSD can go and I copied an entire 1TB drive in under an hour.
There’s not much that can be done about the cable issue, that seems to be the nature of USB 3 cables but perhaps the supplied cable can be thinner. The USB 3 cable with my Seagate drive is half the thickness and plugs in easier. With an SSD, the drive is so lightweight and the thick cable makes it hard to position the drive. I also think it’s about twice as long as needed.
I would suggest a much smaller light indicator and adjustment to the enclosure molding. I have an Inatek enclosure (FE2001) that opens and closes much more smoothly but I prefer the Sabrent design. If possible supply a thinner, shorter cable with the drive.
I had some spare SSDs laying around doing nothing from other upgrades and I decided to take a punt on a Sarbrent USB3 black external device to mount my SSDs externally.
Having read other reviews on amazon I realised that quite a lot of the negative reviews were non-tech savvy folks who were either expecting too much from old SSDs or are not getting the performance they expected because of USB3 implementations that don’t support UASP (USB attached SCSI protocol).
UASP succeeds USB mass storage bulk-only transport (BOT) protocol and has a number of requirements such as:
1. OS is at least Windows 8
2. a motherboard that supports the Intel Platform Controller Hub (PCH) with UASP support (that to complicate matters is a licenced feature so not all motherboard manufacturers implement / enable the feature!).
3. not all usb ports are equal as their paths go to hubs on the motherboard that are not all the same technology, some may be labled SS (super speed) for example and others not so. The simplest method is to plug the usb device into a couple of ports until you see the device appear in device manager as a JMicron SCSI Disk Device. If you really want to see if UASP is in use you can then open the properties dialog and click the Details tab. From there select Property -> Device stack and see that ‘DriverUASPStor’ is listed. This will show that UASP is in use for this device. Generally if you can see this then you are good to get the maximum speed you can. For me I’m getting a little over 350MB/s sequential I/O reading from an older OCZ Vertex 3 SSD in the Serbrent to a newer Samsung device on the SATA 3 bus. Obviously the OCZ is the limiting factor for me and the device is 100% busy whereas the newer Samsung is only ~40% busy writing the data.
Other things to note:
* now you’re not going to get close to native sata3 (6GB/s speeds) for random I/O although USB3 at full bandwidth will get close for sequential I/O like copying a large movie for example.
* I quote windows and Intel above as these are what I have tried myself however I’m sure Linux may have a kernel that supports the feature by now and I’d be surprised if AMD don’t have a similar supported implementation on their motherboards. so you’d need to check.
Quality aspects:
I feel the company has done very well for the price point for the physical quality of this enclosure. It comes in good packaging that’s not too wasteful, you get a cloth bag (I guess this could be useful to avoid scratches while travelling) and I really like the compact design – this device is not much more bulky than the SSD itself!
Some people complain that the alloy is thin but to me that’s the point of having alloy vs plastic isn’t it? You get a nice thin compact surround that is plenty strong enough once the SSD is mounted inside. Yes the screws are small and the ends are plastic, and this is a cheap external device so in my opinion the quality good enough for most uses unless you’re planning to throw this off a cliff…
The device itself is a good quality aluminium (mine is black) and all the cables are good quality. Its also worth noting that the device is bus powered so older laptop spinning disks may draw more power so you want to be careful if you are planning to add a whole bunch of these on an external hub that’s not powered.
My only gripe is the sticky label that’s stuck to the aluminium on the outside of the body. This takes a bit of work to remove and clean. It would be a nicer finish if the company solved this issue or avoided including the small paper coded label entirely (I expect this is for a robotic manufacturing / tracking process but this just spoils the aesthetic for me when the company obviously went through pains getting the look and feel right just to spoil it with a minor detail, anyway I’m nit picking).
So that wraps up my review. Hope this is of use to someone. I use an Intel Nuc btw and this is great for adding external silent, quick storage to the Nuc.