Drive enclosures cover external cases, internal hot-swap bays and mounting cages for hard drives and SSDs, and they suit home users, workstation builders and IT teams. Our range of over 250 products includes ICY DOCK, COREPARTS, ICY BOX, FANTEC and OWC.
How to choose a drive enclosure
Drive size and type. Match the enclosure to the drives you own: 2.5-inch SSDs and laptop drives, 3.5-inch desktop drives or M.2 SSDs. Many internal bays take 2.5-inch drives in a 3.5-inch or 5.25-inch slot, so check which free bays your PC case or server has before ordering.
Internal or external. An internal bay or backplane fits inside the case and makes swapping drives quick without opening the machine. An external enclosure connects by cable, which suits backups, data transfers and reusing an old drive.
Interface and speed. USB, Thunderbolt, SATA, SAS and NVMe are all used in this category. A SATA SSD gains little from a Thunderbolt enclosure, while an NVMe SSD will be held back by a slower USB port, so pair the enclosure with the drive and the port on your computer.
Number of bays and hot-swap. Single-bay models are enough for one drive. Multi-bay units suit RAID setups, archives and servers. Hot-swap trays let you replace a drive while the system is running, which matters when downtime is costly.
Cooling and build quality. Drives packed closely together run warm, so look for a fan, ventilated trays or a metal body that draws heat away. Tool-free trays and lockable carriers also make regular drive changes easier.
Drive enclosure brands we carry
- ICY DOCK: specialises in hot-swap bays, backplanes and mobile racks that fit standard 3.5-inch and 5.25-inch drive slots in PC cases and servers.
- ICY BOX: the consumer brand of RaidSonic, known for external enclosures, docking stations and internal drive adapters.
- FANTEC: a German brand with external enclosures and internal drive bays for desktop and small-server use.
- OWC: focused on storage for Mac users, including Thunderbolt enclosures and upgrade kits.
- StarTech: best known for connectivity and adapter products, including external drive enclosures and docks.
- Synology: makes NAS systems, so its products suit people building network storage rather than a single external drive.
- Lenovo: a server and workstation manufacturer, so its drive hardware is mainly relevant for its own systems.
- Chieftec and LC Power: both also make PC cases and power supplies, and their enclosures suit standard desktop builds.
Also in our range: COREPARTS, Conceptronic and some unbranded models.
Drive enclosure FAQ
What is the difference between a drive enclosure and a drive bay?
A drive enclosure is usually a standalone external case that connects to a computer by cable. A drive bay or mobile rack fits inside a PC case or server and holds the drive in a removable tray. Both let you swap drives, but the internal type connects directly to the motherboard or controller.
Can I turn an old internal hard drive into an external drive?
Yes, an external enclosure for the same drive size does this. Put a 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch drive into a matching case and connect it by USB or Thunderbolt. A 3.5-inch drive generally needs its own power supply, while many 2.5-inch drives draw power from the cable.
Do I need an NVMe enclosure for an M.2 SSD?
It depends on the type of M.2 SSD you have. NVMe and SATA M.2 drives use different interfaces, and many enclosures support only one of them. Check the drive type and the enclosure specification before buying.
What does hot-swap mean for drive enclosures?
Hot-swap means you can remove or insert a drive while the computer is switched on. It needs support from the bay, the controller and the operating system. It is common in servers, NAS builds and RAID arrays, where a failed drive should be replaced without shutting down.
