Does anyone use a hard drive docking station?

Something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153112

If you use a docking station which brands and models can you recommend?

Would using internal hard drives and a docking station be more reliable than using an external hard drive to backup your computers and keep everything safe?

Thanks for your help!

I have that exact model and it has been working fine for the couple of years I've had it. I have so many extra drives from system upgrades this made sense to me. Have a friend with a single slot version and also works fine for him. It supports both e-sata and USB. The only issue is heat as there is no forced air flow so probably not recommended to have on for extended periods such as 24/7. He has a tiny USB powered fan to blow over it just in case.

What I have

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/594451-removing-my-hard-drive-and-into-another-computer/?hl=%2Bhard+%2Bdrive+%2Bdocking+%2Bstation#entry5796562

Post 13 and 14

also no problems...

I have something similar to that New Egg one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sharkoon-Docking-2-5-inch-3-5-inch-QuickPort/dp/B004M180EG/

But mine is USB3 which for me is more practical than eSata. Mine works very well and handles 3Gb drives.

The only issue is heat as there is no forced air flow so probably not recommended to have on for extended periods such as 24/7. He has a tiny USB powered fan to blow over it just in case.

Hardly a problem as the drive sits out in the open.

I have about a dozen bare drives, so something like those drive docks are great. I have a double attached to my desktop.

The only issue is heat as there is no forced air flow so probably not recommended to have on for extended periods such as 24/7. He has a tiny USB powered fan to blow over it just in case.

Hardly a problem as the drive sits out in the open.

If in a hot room, no A/C, they get several degrees above what they would in a fanned enclosure in the same environment which can shorten their lifetime. I've felt them after extended operation and warm room and they are toasty. Just a caution that's all.

This is what I use for my large external primary backup drives. Dual fans, temperature very good and very quiet.

Wow! Blue LED in the fans.... How cool can you get... Me thinks time to upgrade...

If in a hot room, no A/C, they get several degrees above what they would in a fanned enclosure in the same environment which can shorten their lifetime. I've felt them after extended operation and warm room and they are toasty. Just a caution that's all.

They will reach their operating temperature within 10-15 minutes. After that it really doesn't matter if they run for 10 minutes or 10 days. They are DESIGNED to run warm.

I would also suspect that they may actually run hotter in a small enclosure than out in the open.

If you are running them in an un-air conditioned space for long periods I would question your setup.

If in a hot room, no A/C, they get several degrees above what they would in a fanned enclosure in the same environment which can shorten their lifetime. I've felt them after extended operation and warm room and they are toasty. Just a caution that's all.

They will reach their operating temperature within 10-15 minutes. After that it really doesn't matter if they run for 10 minutes or 10 days. They are DESIGNED to run warm.

My toaster is designed to run warm, hard drives are not designed to run warm, actually engineers will try to minimize this as heat can cause quicker failure of the electronics. The one I showed a photo of with dual fans and small enclosure runs significantly cooler then the non forced air caddy versions. This is not just guessing, I run temperature monitoring software as I'm quite familiar with heat and associated electronic lifetimes due to it.

Nowhere did I say I was running them in an un-air conditioned space for long periods, I stated what others should be aware of. They are only on for the time I need to access them.

I have use one of the double-slot uits for three years now, excellent for many uses. Buying now I would go for USB-3. Google did a major study of operating temperature effect on HDD life and performance, totally upset the old belief of heat and HDD life. Negligible (statistically insignificant) effect on their thousands of HDDs. Google it.

I have use one of the double-slot uits for three years now, excellent for many uses. Buying now I would go for USB-3. Google did a major study of operating temperature effect on HDD life and performance, totally upset the old belief of heat and HDD life. Negligible (statistically insignificant) effect on their thousands of HDDs. Google it.

I've already seen it but there is a threshold were it does become an issue.