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EugW

macrumors G5
Original poster
Jun 18, 2017
13,638
11,207
I have an iCan USB 3.0 to SATA dock, and it works fine with my 2010 iMac (USB 2) and my 2017 MacBook. However, my 2017 iMac hates it. Every time I try to connect it, it mounts the docked drive for a split second and then says it disconnected.

What is the best and most compatible model that works with legacy Macs and 2017 Macs?

Is there any point in getting one that supports UASP? I see some do support USB 3.1 10 Gbps links.
 

EugW

macrumors G5
Original poster
Jun 18, 2017
13,638
11,207
Do you use just hard drives with the dock or also SSDs? Cause UASP won't really benefit hard drives, but def. would SSDs.
Thanks but I already bought one. To answer your question I use both hard drives and SSDs, but the one I bought makes no mention UASP, although the review I included below says it has it.

The one I bought is the Orico 6818US3, mainly just because it has a silver aluminum shell that matches my iMac and MacBook (the latter with a USBC adapter). ;)

4993_P_1436816732968.jpg



One problem I've noticed with my 500 GB Samsung 850 EVO though is with repeated testing, write speeds will drop well below 100 MB/s. I thought it was the dock but it turns out the exact same thing is happening with my OWC USB 3 enclosure. Dunno what is going on.

So for the first few tests I'll get 400+ MB/s reads and 375+ MB/s writes, but then it will drop to as low as 20 MB/s writes. WTF. I tried this on two Macs with the same result. Repartitioning the drive brings it back to normal write speeds again.
 
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