This post can be edited by most users to provide up-to-date information about developments of this thread based on user responses, and user findings. Feel free to add, change or remove information shown here as it becomes available. This includes new coupons, rebates, ideas, thread summary, and similar items.
Once a Thread Wiki is added to a thread, "Create Wiki" button will disappear. If you would like to learn more about Thread Wiki feature, click here.
expired
ORICO 5-Bay DAS USB 3.0 Hard Drive Enclosure for 3.5" SATA HDDs
$122
$200
39% off
+ Free S/Hat Amazon
Top Comments
You'd have better luck recovering from software RAID, which is compatible with every DAS.
And if I recall, that one might have issues with USB-WAKE from boot, so it might be annoying to use with power outages.
There's also a much higher overhead with a dedicated NAS, even if you go with an underpowered consumer grade Synology or QNAP.
And even if you did need a NAS, you could get one of these and hook it up to a mini PC, which will outperform anything Synology currently offers.
It also simplifies expansion, as you can just buy a second DAS.
That's why most people avoid them. You're locked into the ecosystem.
Community Reviews
This ORICO 5-bay USB 3.0 enclosure is best suited for a DIY storage setup with a mini PC, where it can act as a cheaper alternative to a full NAS and still handle backups, media streaming, and even light server use. The enclosure is described as plug-and-play with Windows Storage Spaces or Linux NAS software, and the listed 22TB per bay limit is treated as a testing figure rather than a hard ceiling. Main cautions are that hardware RAID and USB-based parity pools can be troublesome, and some setups have seen boot, disconnect, heat, or BitLocker issues. It is a practical choice if you want expandable direct-attached storage and can work around USB quirks.
Common Questions (5)
AI-generated summary based on comments from the community. Updated ago
Join The Conversation
Share your experience with the Slickdeals community
Share information with the community. Please follow our Community Guidelines and be kind!
69 Comments
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Apparently I was wrong according to perplexity.
The ORICO 5-Bay DAS USB 3.0 Hard Drive Enclosure you referenced has a hardware RAID feature that can be configured and controlled. Based on information from the user manual of similar ORICO RAID enclosures (such as the 3559RU3 model), the hardware RAID can be disabled by setting it to "Normal" or "PM" mode, which effectively turns off RAID and allows the drives to be accessed individually.
The general procedure to disable hardware RAID on ORICO hardware RAID enclosures involves:
Turning off the HDD enclosure and the hard drives.
Using a RAID control switch or DIP switches on the enclosure, switch the RAID mode to the "PM" or "Normal" mode position.
Press the "Set" button on the enclosure.
Turn the enclosure's power back on.
The enclosure will take about 10 seconds to apply the setting, then it will beep to indicate success.
After this, the drives will be accessible individually (no RAID).
This is supported in the official manual excerpt which states that RAID can be set or changed this way and also notes that the "Normal" mode clears RAID and allows drives to be read as single disks.
Also, ORICO provides RAID control software ("ORICO HW RAID Manager") for Windows that can be used to manage the RAID settings and disable RAID modes via software if preferred.
Thus, yes, you can disable the hardware RAID on this ORICO 5-bay enclosure by switching it to the "PM" or "Normal" mode using the hardware RAID control switch and "Set" button, or by using the ORICO RAID management software.
Apologies if I didnt understand your post, but you mentioned having a 5-bay but mention 11 drives in the pool? Does that mean the other 6 drives are connected in other ways?
First time hearing of StableBit. What OS are you running to use that?
The other drives are in my case connected directly to the motherboard SATA ports or via PCIe to SATA adapter.
Stablebit DrivePool [stablebit.com] runs on Windows.
https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-RI...r=1-3&th=1
this will turn your M2 to a 6 SATA connector DAS. and just connect to a PSU Sata
https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-RI...r=1-3&th=1 [amazon.com]
this will turn your M2 to a 6 SATA connector DAS. and just connect to a PSU Sata
https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-RI...r=1-3&th=1
this will turn your M2 to a 6 SATA connector DAS. and just connect to a PSU Sata
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank
@Tigerwang: I am a software engineer, and I have built several computers. I'm pretty savvy with tech, yet I wasn't familiar with "DAS" either. I looked it up.
A DAS (or direct-attached storage) is an enclosure for hard drives. It'll plug into a computer (PC, Mac, or Linux), which is required for it to work. A DAS does not have an operating system installed on it, and it can't do anything on its own. You might have a computer which is always on, and when that computer is on, the DAS could be accessed via other machines on the network. You can do software-based RAID (drive redundancy) on pretty much any DAS, and some of them allow for hardware based RAID. But the key takeaway is that there must be a computer for your DAS to plug into, and it must be turned on for the drives to be accessible. You can easily upgrade the computer or drives for better performance at a later date.
A NAS (network-attached storage) connects to your network, probably by Ethernet into a router. A NAS does not require a separate computer, since it has one built in. NAS devices are more expensive than DAS devices, you might be locked into a particular ecosystem of software and hardware (like Synology), and you will have a hard time upgrading the NAS beyond replacing drives and possibly RAM. A NAS is more "plug-and-play", where is may be simpler to use and setup.
So, to answer your question... A DAS is better than just an external hard drive in the sense that it can contain multiple drives with data protection and redundancy. A NAS is more expensive but does not rely on another computer to connect to the network.
@Tigerwang: I am a software engineer, and I have built several computers. I'm pretty savvy with tech, yet I wasn't familiar with "DAS" either. I looked it up.
A DAS (or direct-attached storage) is an enclosure for hard drives. It'll plug into a computer (PC, Mac, or Linux), which is required for it to work. A DAS does not have an operating system installed on it, and it can't do anything on its own. You might have a computer which is always on, and when that computer is on, the DAS could be accessed via other machines on the network. You can do software-based RAID (drive redundancy) on pretty much any DAS, and some of them allow for hardware based RAID. But the key takeaway is that there must be a computer for your DAS to plug into, and it must be turned on for the drives to be accessible. You can easily upgrade the computer or drives for better performance at a later date.
A NAS (network-attached storage) connects to your network, probably by Ethernet into a router. A NAS does not require a separate computer, since it has one built in. NAS devices are more expensive than DAS devices, you might be locked into a particular ecosystem of software and hardware (like Synology), and you will have a hard time upgrading the NAS beyond replacing drives and possibly RAM. A NAS is more "plug-and-play", where is may be simpler to use and setup.
So, to answer your question... A DAS is better than just an external hard drive in the sense that it can contain multiple drives with data protection and redundancy. A NAS is more expensive but does not rely on another computer to connect to the network.
Some folks won't understand the differences even with googling, and having people familiar with the different solutions provide real feedback and possibly answer more specific questions is a lot more helpful. We have a lot of technical SMEs on here who can explain these things to the average consumer. Personally, being able to help people here is one of the benefits of using this site over other sales listing sites. Community matters.
Use NAS or DAS.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Join The Conversation
Share your experience with the Slickdeals community
Share information with the community. Please follow our Community Guidelines and be kind!