Mac Studio M2 - SDATA enclosures?

[ronyd]

Anyone recommend SDATA dock stations or hard drive enclosures (ie., multiple drives) that are reliable and compatible with MacOS without issues?

 

[TonyAguila]

Anyone recommend SDATA dock stations or hard drive enclosures (ie., multiple drives) that are reliable and compatible with MacOS without issues?

I have a pair of Akitio Thunder3 Quad X (Thunderbolt 3 SATA enclosures, 4 slots each) but it looks like they are not available right now. I would instantly buy another one, in case one of mine were to fail. I have looked at alternatives but none seem to be as good, or affordable. But if I were desperate right now to get one, I would go to OWC (macsales.com). The Akitios support SMART monitoring and has TRIM support for attached SATA SSDs. I can’t speak for any of the newer models, but SMART and TRIM support are things to inquire about when you look at available models. I have had these enclosures since 2019, and I haven’t had anything go wrong with them, and they constantly run 24/7, and working as well with my M1 Max Studio.

The main thing in favor of most of the newer units is Thunderbolt 4 compatibility, if your Mac has it.