[Tee]

I'm thinking of getting a drive dock instead of a full enclosure as part of my next HD purchase.

Anyone have any favorites/recommendations or are they all pretty much the same??

I tend not to like to leave all of my various drives mounted when I'm not using them, so I always look for enclosures that can be powered off.

Anyone know if it is possible to have a drive inserted in the dock, but for it to be powered off?

[ibook_steve]

I'm using the Thermaltake BlacX and it is fantastic. Switch on the back to turn it on and off. It's been much more reliable than my other full enclosures. Why? Not sure, but it does keep the drive cool without a fan. Newegg is the place to go.

Steve

[Cold Warrior]

ez dock 2. Am happy with it.

[SoBayJake]

I have the "Thermaltake BlacX Duet" which allows two drives
Amazon link: Amazon.com: Thermaltake BlacX Duet USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive ST0014U:…

[Tee]

Originally Posted by SoBayJake 

I have the "Thermaltake BlacX Duet" which allows two drives
Amazon link: Amazon.com: Thermaltake BlacX Duet USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive ST0014U:…

Can both drives be performing different tasks at the same time via the single USB connection??

[SoBayJake]

Originally Posted by Tee 

Can both drives be performing different tasks at the same time via the single USB connection??

If you are asking if they show up as two independent drives in Finder, yes. The dock doesn't create a RAID set or anything like that.

The product site states:
- Hot-Swap Capability for Rapid Multi HDDs Access & Exchange
* When utilizing eSATA interface, Port Multiplier feature is required on the host system’s eSATA controller for two hard disk drives to be seen at the same time. All USB supports Port Multiplier function.

So if you use USB, you are fine (which I use). If you use eSATA, you might have issues.