USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 enclosure

[DLary]

I have a new 27" iMac arriving next week. I need to get an enclosure to support SATA external drives. Any recommendations? I don't think Thunderbolt will give me a speed advantage (I don't plan on a RAID setup).

 

[mfram]

What kind of SATA drives? SSD? Magnetic disks? If magnetic, then TB or USB-C won't make any difference. SSD maybe, but you'd have to look at the drive specs.

 

[lapot]

Samsumg T7 the best

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

Do you have several different drives you will want to connect?
What kind of drives?
3.5" or 2.5", or both?

THE BEST way to deal with multiple drives (in both the 3.5" and 2.5" sizes) is to get a USB3/SATA docking station.
You can then connect/disconnect drives as needed.

Or, do you want some kind of "tower" or similar enclosure to hold multiple drives at once?

Or, are you talking about getting NEW drives, for supplemental storage?

 

[DLary]

I have several 3.5" 6TB drives used for video storage and backups. I found an old Thunderbolt 2 enclosure that I thought was broken, but only needed a new power supply. I think that will be adequate for my needs. I appreciate the advice given by those who commented.

 

[PBG4 Dude]

I have several 3.5" 6TB drives used for video storage and backups. I found an old Thunderbolt 2 enclosure that I thought was broken, but only needed a new power supply. I think that will be adequate for my needs. I appreciate the advice given by those who commented.

You may want to confirm that a TB3 to TB2 converter cable won’t cost more than a new USB enclosure.

 

[Spk1]

I bought this. It was the perfect solution for me as I was going from a 5,1 Mac Pro to the new iMac and the price point was great. All I had to do was disconnect the drives from the Pro and plug them in. “Expansion” is also comparatively cheap.

OWC Drive Dock | Quick & Easy Bare Drive Access

Swap, boot, and transfer from 2.5 and 3.5-inch drives effortlessly. Includes USB-C/USB-A cables, independent power controls, and cool fanless design.

eshop.macsales.com

 

[PaulD-UK]

<<I found an old Thunderbolt 2 enclosure that I thought was broken, but only needed a new power supply. I think that will be adequate for my needs.>>
I can confirm that with an Apple TB3<>TB2 adapter, TB1/TB2 hard drive units work well with a TB3 iMac.
I have a number of LaCie TB units that I connect to my 2019 iMac to deal with old DV/HD video edit projects.

I also have a Caldigit TS2 TB2 dock that also connects with the TB3<>TB2 adapter, and this dock has eSATA ports, to directly connect eSATA units. The LaCie units are daisy-chained to the dock.

USB 3 4-drive/2-drive SATA-drive port-multiplier units also connect fine.

 

[xgman]

TB3 is what I would recommend for sata enclosure. Avoid adapters.