INTRODUCTION

   If you're a professional who uses computer systems for work or if you're just an enthusiast then chances are that you will have at least a couple of hard disk drives laying around which once used to inhabit the inside of your PC case but as expected are long replaced with higher capacity models. This is something I’ve seen a lot lately and it seems that most people actually keep these drives stored someplace rather than using them for backup purposes. Still there are always those who are continuously seeking ways to make use of those drives and what better way solution than to mount them on an external USB 3.0 enclosure? Now what's really nice is that although roughly 4-5 years ago there were only single bay external HDD enclosures in the market (excluding server products) nowadays you can find external enclosures with up to 8 available drive bays. Today’s review is about one such product and so on our test bench is the latest dual-bay 3.5" HDD RAID enclosure by Akitio, the NT2U3 (NT2 USB 3.0).

   At Akitio we believe in creating cutting-edge products that are both easy to use and also reliable. We believe that our products should last and that you should enjoy using them. We strive to create the most user-friendly experience possible with the most reliable and long lasting materials and parts available so that you will continue to enjoy using our great products for a long time to come. Akitio’s US headquarters are located in Santa Fe Springs, California. Since 1992, we have been designing, creating and marketing our storage solutions. We now have a full range of direct attached and network attached storage products to satisfy the needs of a wide range of customers. We strive to create products that match our core values, products that are easy to use, reliable, innovative, environmentally friendly and also affordable. We believe that the future of storage products lies in network attached storage (NAS), and that NAS products need to be as easy to use as possible. For those reasons we have created our Cloud Hybrid and MyCloud lines of network attached storage solutions. Our web login portal, UPnP/DLNA support, free iPhone, iPad and Android apps, friendly and attractive user interface and 45 second setup are just a few of the features that set our products apart from traditional NAS units. We are committed to providing exceptional customer service and support. We believe in creating high quality, reliable products, but we also know that occasionally things can go wrong and we are dedicated to providing Akitio customers with the assistance and support necessary to keep our customers satisfied with our products.

   Although for some unknown reason to me we don't see many dual HDD enclosures complete with drives in them (NAS devices excluded) standalone dual bay external HDD enclosures are not really hard to find anymore (although still somewhat limited), what is somewhat hard to find however are dual bay enclosures capable of both JBOD and RAID 0/1 modes which is also the main reason as to why the Akitio NT2U3 ended up on our test bench today. Of course in order to achieve the maximum possible data transfer speeds by two 3.5" drives in RAID 0 the NT2U3 features USB 3.0 connectivity while an 40mm 4000RPM exhaust fan is used to cool both drives. So the task of finding out just what you can expect in terms of performance from the product at hand falls upon us once again and all you need to do is read on.