Do you want to replace the SSD of your notebook or PC with one with more disk space? Give your old trusted SSD a second life! With the right accessories, you can transform the storage drive into a lightning-fast external disk or build a price-friendly mini PC with an “elderly” SSD. Use it to your advantage!
Ewent EW7044
price: Approx. € 15, –
www.ewent-online.com
Don’t feel like fiddling with small screws? With this SSD housing from Ewent you will not be bothered by that. Place an SSD in the holder and then slide it into the housing. The front has a USB3.1 port with a specified transfer rate of 5 Gbit / s (actually USB 3.0 so). Furthermore, this EW7044 supports the so-called USB attached scsi protocol (uasp), which ensures a faster transport of data. You can store any SSD or 2.5 inch disk with a maximum thickness of 9.5 millimeters. Prices vary a lot, so take a good look at where to buy this drive enclosure.
LogiLink UA0256
price: Approx. € 12, –
www.logilink.de
Are you looking for a dirt cheap disk enclosure, then this product from LogiLink is an interesting option. After some online research you will find the UA0256 for less than ten. The plastic housing offers space for an SSD or 2.5-inch disk of up to 9.5 millimeters thick. The German brand opted for a screwless construction, making assembly a simple task. For data transfer, the device contains a USB3.0 port, for which LogiLink supplies a USB cable of 46 centimeters. The specified transfer rate is ideally 5 Gbit / s.
Sharkoon Rapid-Case 2.5
price: Approx. € 25, –
www.sharkoon.com
If you regularly take an external SSD with you on the road, it is best to choose a sturdy disk enclosure. This Rapid-Case from Sharkoon is made of aluminum and has a stylish brushed finish. The German brand develops this product in two colors: black and silver. Thanks to the USB-C port with support for the USB3.1 standard, this drive enclosure is future-proof. The manufacturer claims a maximum transfer rate of 10 Gbit / s. For the disc mounting, you first need to loosen two screws with the supplied screwdriver, after which you can place an SSD or 2.5 inch disc with a maximum thickness of 9.5 millimeters. Do not purchase the Rapid-Case from the first best webshop, because the sales prices differ quite a lot.
StarTech SM2NGFFMBU33
price: € 48.39
www.startech.com
Most drive enclosures are designed to mount a 2.5-inch SSD, but you may have an m.2 SSD. Within this StarTech housing, you can easily fit such a plug-in card with sata interface. It is favorable that this product supports the most common sizes of m.2 SSDs, namely 2230, 2242, 2260 and 2280. Unfortunately, you cannot use this product for PCI Express SSDs (NVME). The aluminum housing contains quite a few ventilation holes on both sides to dissipate the heat. Users connect this ‘external SSD’ to a computer via a USB3.0 port. For fast data transfer, the product supports uasp.
RaidSonic Icy Box IB-111StU3-Wh
price: Approx. € 33, –
www.raidsonic.de
If you only want to temporarily connect an SSD to a computer, a docking station for hard drives will come in handy. With this price-friendly Icy Box from RaidSonic you can plug a regular hard disk or SSD directly into the aluminum housing. It is nice that this device supports both the 2.5inch and 3.5inch form factor, so you can place any conventional disk. The connection to a computer is via a USB3.0 host port with a theoretical transfer rate of 5 Gbit / s. The manufacturer supplies a suitable cable for this. You also need to connect this docking station to the mains.
Ewent EW7075
price: Approx. € 15, –
www.ewent-onlinecom
With this sata adapter cable from Ewent you can easily connect an SSD to a PC or laptop. The condition is that the computer has a USB-C connection on board. Connecting to the mains is not necessary, because the EW7075 receives energy via the permanently mounted USB-C cable. The adapter cable is compatible with the USB3.1 standard (actually USB 3.0), with the theoretical transfer rate reaching up to 5 Gbit / s. Connecting an SSD is easy, because you only have to connect the SSD to the EW7075’s sata connection.
Shuttle XPC Slim DS10U
price: Approx. € 275, –
www.shuttle.eu
Your old SSD is fast and hardly makes any noise. In short, a great tool to set up a home theater PC, for example via a free Linux distribution such as OpenELEC or LibreELEC. All you need for this is an affordable mini PC where you can store the storage carrier. The Shuttle XPC Slim DS10U meets all requirements. The fan-free housing can accommodate a regular 2.5-inch SSD and M.2 SSD of 22 × 80 millimeters. In addition to a storage medium, you can also add a maximum of two memory modules. The system runs on an Intel Celeron 4205U processor with a clock speed of 1.8 GHz. For connecting a screen there is a displayport1.2 and HDMI2.0b connection.
Gigabyte BRIX GB-BACE-3160
price: Approx. € 122, –
www.gigabyte.com
A flat mini PC is practical for placement in a television cabinet. Taiwanese Gigabyte has long produced affordable barebones with its BRIX line, such as the GB-BACE-3160 discussed here. In the compact housing, you can mount a 2.5-inch SSD and a DDR3L memory bank of up to 8 GB. Although the Intel Celeron J3160 with a clock speed of 1.6 GHz is not a high flyer, but for media purposes, this CPU is fine. You connect a monitor via VGA or HDMI, where you can transmit 4K videos to a television with the latter port.
ASRock DeskMini A300
price: Approx. € 152, –
www.asrock.com
An older SSD is also very suitable for building a fast PC. Add a regular hard disk with a lot of storage capacity and you can go for years to come. ASRock’s DeskMini A300 barebone has room for two 2.5-inch storage carriers. In addition, the housing also contains two free m.2 slots. Working memory and a processor are absent, so these parts must be assembled by users themselves. An advantage of this is that you choose a CPU according to your own taste. Select an instance that fits on the existing AMD AM4 socket.
DesignSpark Quattro
price: € 14.14
www.rs-online.com/designspark
An SSD and Raspberry Pi are a good combination, provided you purchase a suitable housing for this. This DesignSpark Quattro is compatible with Raspberry Pi 2/3 Model B and has enough space to house a 2.5 inch SSD. The manufacturer supplies a VESA adapter for mounting on the back of a monitor. The housing is available in the colors red, black, white, red / white and transparent.
Joy-iT MakerCase V2
price: Approx. € 5, –
www.joy-it.net
The concept of this so-called MakerCase V2 is simple. Stack three sheets of Plexiglas on top of each other and add the desired (peripheral) equipment. This can be multiple singleboard computers, but also a hard disk or SSD. The product is compatible with just about all Raspberry Pi’s. The German manufacturer supplies spacers and screws to place the floors on top of each other.
Element14 Pi Desktop
price: € 49.95
www.element14.com
With the Element14 Pi Desktop you transform a Raspberry Pi into a full-fledged PC. The top has an on / off switch, while the back and side provide access to all ports on the singleboard computer. Thanks to an mSata interface, you can easily connect an SSD. The manufacturer supplies a USB adapter for the power supply. The Pi Desktop is intended for Raspberry Pi 2/3.
Geekworm X825
price: $ 32.99 ($ ​​52.99 with enclosure)
www.geekworm.com
For the Raspberry Pi 4, there are now all kinds of housings, although most solutions cannot accommodate SSDs. Geekworm recently launched an expansion card on which you can mount both a single board computer and 2.5 inch storage drive. If you prefer to place all technology out of sight, then you can purchase a matching metal housing. For this housing and the expansion card, the maker asks $ 52.99.
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