SilverStone TS231U-C Dual-Bay USB-C RAID Enclosure Review

Introduction Today we're taking a look at a DAS in one of its simplest forms: The SilverStone TS231U-C 2-bay RAID enclosure with 10Gbps USB-C connection. While it might be a simple DAS, it comes with the latest connection technologies. Design SilverStone's TS231U-C might be a simple DAS (Direct Attached Storage), but it still packs the features you want and a little bit more. But let us talk a bit about the general design first. The unit is quite compact and you'll easily find a place to put it. That is good and not only because the included cable isn't very long. The device itself is made from an SECC body with an aluminium finish. The aluminium doesn't just look good, it also helps the unit with the cooling. But that isn't enough to deliver a secure operation and that's why it also has a 70mm low noise fan. The installation is plug-and-play all the way through. The drive bays are built for tool-less and tray-less installation. While that is cool, it does bring along the limitation of only supporting one size of drives. Connectivity With the latest generation USB and the newest connector type, the TS231U-C is well equipped. The USB 3.1 Gen.2 standard allows for 10Gbps throughput while the reversible Type-C connector offers convenience. SilverStone added a Type-C to Type-A cable with this DAS which allows for maximum compatibility with previous USB standards. UASP is supported too, that is if your operating system supports it. Windows 8 and newer versions do, and that should cover the majority of users. With UASP (USB Serial Attached Protocol), the system is able to talk more efficiently with the connected drives thanks to more command queues. Drive Modes and Supported Drives We're past the time where drive capacity could be an issue. The TS231U-C supports all types of 3.5-inch hard disk drives, no matter their capacity. The unit also supports plug-and-play usage and hot-swapping of the drives. With two drive bays available, we get RAID 0 and RAID 1 modes along with a JBOD span and a single drive mode. It is a little bit of a shame that the DAS doesn't support 2.5-inch drives as it would be a perfect unit for an SSD RAID setup. With the 10Gbps performance of the USB 3.1 Gen.2 bus, there's enough bandwidth available. While it isn't officially supported, I'll naturally try to install SSDs in it anyway with the help of some adapters. Whether I'll be successful or not is something you'll see on the following pages. The Power Supply SilverStone opted for an internal power supply in the TS231U-C and I love that. It makes the setup easier as well as cleaner. You don't have an extra power brick or AC/DC adapter laying around or taking up huge spaces at your outlet. The power supply delivers 12V and 4A which equals 48W. Plenty for two HDDs and the built-in system for the hardware RAID. Controllers doing the work There are two main controllers inside the SilverStone TS231U-C that do most of the work. There is the ASM1352R which is ASMedia's single chip solution to bridge USB 3.1 to a dual SATA interface. It also integrates ASMedia's proprietary HydraTeK technology. With it, it supports RAID0 (Strip), RAID1 (Mirror), JBOD and Span (BIG) with low power consumption. And all while it keeps the resource usage free from the main CPU. The second controller is the ASM1542 which is a passive 10Gbps signal switch. Feature Highlights USB 3.1 Type-C connector with Gen2 up to 10Gb/s super speed transfer rate Configurable RAID function (RAID 0, RAID 1, JBOD, Non-RAID) Compact and screw-less design for easy HDD installation Supports UASP (USB Attached SCSI Protocol) function for even faster performance Aluminium body with Tool-free design Supports all 3.5-inch SATA drives up to any capacity Plug & play with support for hot-swapping Specifications Model No.: SST-TS231U-C Colour: Black Material: Aluminium and SECC body Cooling system: 70mm x 15mm low noise fan x 1 Operating system support: Microsoft Windows 7 (32bit/64bit), 8/8.1/10 (32bit/64bit) or future release version Mac OS 10.5 or above Power Supply: Internal universal power supply design Input: AC 100-240V, 50Hz / 60Hz Output: DC +12V / 4A Drive support: 3.5" Enclosure Interface: USB 3.1 Gen2 up to 10Gbps (Compatible with USB 3.0 / 2.0 / 1.1) LED indicator: Solid Blue: Power on Blinking Blue: Read / Write Solid Red: Rebuilding Blinking Red: Drive not recognised Chipset: ASM1352R A1, ASM1542 Drive interface support: SATA I / II / III RAID mode support: RAID 0, RAID 1, JBOD, Non-RAID Enclosure connector: USB 3.1 Type-C Environment: Operating Temperature: 5°C ~ 35°C Operating Humidity: 20%RH ~ 80%RH Storage Temperature: -20°C ~ 50°C Storage Humidity: 20%RH ~ 80%RH Net Weight: 1983±20g Dimension: 130mm (W) x 115mm (H) x 221.35mm (D) (without feet) Packaging, Accessories & A Closer Look Packaging The box it comes in is nicely made. The front shows a shot of the unit itself and lists the feature highlights. The full specifications are on the rear side along with a closeup of the tool-less drive bays. The two sides explain the features a little more. On this side, it's the RAID setup that is shown. The other side simply lists what it is in several languages. Accessories Inside the box are the SilverStone TS231U-C DAS itself as well as a power cable for the region where you purchased it, a USB Type-C to Type-A cable, and a multilingual user guide. A Closer Look The included cable is a Type-C to Type-A cable. The unit itself features a Type-C port and the cable to a Type-A port allows for maximum compatibility with previous generations of USB. You could still get yourself an aftermarket USB Type-C to Type-C cable should you want to use the new reversible connector at both ends. The unit itself features four large rubber feet which will keep the unit where you place it. They'll also catch possible vibrations from the drives and prevent them from travelling to the surface and back. The brushed aluminium door gives the unit a great look. Above the door are the LEDs for power and status as well as drive activity for the two drive bays. The power button is located inside the unit when you open the door. It might seem a bit inconvenient at first, but it's no big job to open the door and press the button and it does prevent accidental turn offs while you use the unit. On the rear is the power connector as well as the RAID selection. There is a diagram next to the RAID selector which explains how you need to place the DIP switches for the RAID mode you want. Once set, press the Set button for 5 seconds and the new setup will be applied. But keep in mind, doing this will erase any data that's already on the drives. The USB port is located between the power and the RAID selector and the 70mm cooling fan is above it all. It's also worth mentioning that the RAID-mode selection button is big enough to be pressed by a default Phillips-head screwdriver. There is no need to search for small needles and pin for this unit. Test System, Software, & Methodology For this kind of reviews, I use two types of drives whenever it is possible, HDDs and SSDs. Hard drives have the capacity advantage while SSDs provide a better performance. Both have their merits and it depends on your usage scenario which you'll opt for. The drives will be tested in all available drive modes. In this case, it is RAID 0, RAID 1, JBOD, and no RAID. Each drive mode is tested with a variety of benchmark apps before its destroyed and I move onto the next mode. This will give you a great view of a possible setup's performance and comparable values to other reviews and devices. The SSD tests are mostly relevant in regard to the possible max performance. As such, I'll only set the SSDs up in RAID 0 mode which offers us the best performance. This test will show us the maximum possible performance of the enclosure. Test system: Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 7-EU Intel Core i5-6600K EVGA GTX 980 SC Kingston Fury DDR4 2400MHz 32GB Patriot Hellfire NMVe M.2, 480GB be quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 850W Thermaltake Water 3.0 Ultimate Software used: AIDA64 Storage Benchmark Anvil's Storage Utilities ATTO Disk Benchmark AS SSD Benchmark CrystalDiskMark 64bit Windows 10 Pro 2.5-Inch Drive Installation Attempt My first attempt to install 2.5-inch SSDs into the SilverStone TS231U-C wasn't a success. I dug out some old 2.5-inch to 3.5-inch adapters that had come packed with some drives over the years. It looked promising, but the ports wouldn't align with the units connectors. So that was a bust, but it takes more to make me give up on an idea I got into my head. So, I kept digging through by cupboards and boxes with hardware and found something else that could be used. In the past, I have reviewed the SilverStone MS08 and the Enermax EMK3203 devices. Both are hardware RAID units that utilise two 2.5-inch drives in a standard 3.5-inch form factor. Since these units are built to be compatible with 3.5-inch drive bays, they'll work. I configured both units to a no-RAID mode and installed a single SSD in each of them. That worked like a charm and the two drive adapters slid right into the unit. So yea, it is possible to install 2.5-inch drives into the SilverStone TS231U-C, despite it not being built for it. It does require extra adapters and hardware, so it might be cheaper to find a unit that has native support for it. That said, it is possible and I will be able to hit the maximum performance of this DAS. AIDA64 Storage Utilities AIDA64 is a streamlined Windows diagnostic and benchmarking software for home users with a broad range of features to assist in overclocking, hardware error diagnosis, stress testing, and sensor monitoring. The app has unique capabilities to assess the performance of the processor, system memory, and disk drives and is compatible with most Microsoft Windows operating systems. It also has a disk benchmark tool, and that is the one I’ll be using. Single Drive Setup JBOD (Span) Setup RAID 0 Setup RAID 1 Setup SSD Setup with RAID 0 Performance Analysis Anvil's Storage Utilities Anvil’s Storage Utilities is a complete benchmark solution used to test any writeable storage drive. It has a variety of settings and options as well as a multitude of tests. Single Drive Setup JBOD (Span) Setup RAID 0 Setup RAID 1 Setup SSD Setup with RAID 0 Performance Analysis AS SSD The AS SSD software determines the performance of Solid State Drives (SSD). The tool contains five synthetic and three practice tests. The synthetic tests determine the sequential and random read and write performance of the SSD. These tests are performed without using the operating system caches. In Sequential tests, the program measures the time it takes to read and write a 1 GB file respectively. Single Drive Setup JBOD (Span) Setup RAID 0 Setup RAID 1 Setup SSD Setup with RAID 0 Performance Analysis ATTO The ATTO Disk Benchmark performance measurement tool allows to test your storage systems performance with various transfer sizes and test lengths for reads and writes. Several options are available to customise your performance measurement including queue depth, overlapped I/O and even a comparison mode with the option to run continuously. Single Drive Setup JBOD (Span) Setup RAID 0 Setup RAID 1 Setup SSD Setup with RAID 0 Performance Analysis CrystalDiskMark CrystalDiskMark is a small HDD and SSD benchmark utility that allows you to measure a drive's sequential and random performance. Single Drive Setup JBOD (Span) Setup RAID 0 Setup RAID 1 Setup SSD Setup with RAID 0 Performance Analysis Final Thoughts Pricing The SilverStone TS231U-C USB 3.1 Gen.2 external 2-bay hard drive RAID enclosure can be yours for £129.83 or $137.73 at the time of writing. Conclusion The TS231U-C will be a great choice for those who need more storage than their internal offerings and also need that storage to support hot-swapping and RAID. I quite like the design of this unit. It isn't spectacular and blends well with any kind of setup. The simple design is important for a storage device, at least in my opinion. It needs to work and not be seen. Still, the SilverStone TS231U-C looks great with its aluminium finish and clean design. Connectors are on the rear side while the power button is hidden behind the front panel door. With USB 3.1 Gen.2, we have up to 10Gbps bandwidth. That's more than enough for HDD usage, as we've just seen in all the benchmarks. It's also enough for two SSDs to perform awesomely with up to 954MB/s. With the Type-C style connector, the unit is suited for all the future generation of systems. The reversible connector type is a joy to use and it's one that we'll see on more and more devices in the future. Still, the TS231U-C retains its backwards compatibility thanks to the included Type-A USB cable. While the unit only supports 3.5-inch drives, 2.5inch drives can be used with the help of the right adapters. These aren't included and they'll have to match the 3.5-inch SATA size and connector specifications completely to work. But when you have that, then it'll work. Pros Good looking and small footprint USB 3.1 Gen.2 10Gbps and USB Type-C port Support for any capacity 3.5-inch HDD Built-in power supply Hardware RAID Cons No native 2.5-inch drive support "SilverStone's TS231U-C is a great way to add extra storage to any USB capable system, and that includes RAID setups and a performance up to 954MB/s." Thank you SilverStone for providing us with this sample.