ICY DOCK MB982SPR-2S SATA HDD & SSD Raid Review

1. Introduction2. The ICY DOCK MB982SPR-2S3. The Software4. Testing Methodology5. CrystalDiskMark6. HD Tach 3.0.4.0.7. ATTO Disk Benchmark8. Real World Testing9. Closing Thoughts10. View All Pages

The Icy Dock MB932SPR-2S might ship in bland, instantly forgettable packaging, but inside lies one of the handiest little devices we have tested this year. Many people reading this will have at least one spare 2.5 inch drive in a drawer right now, gathering dust.

If, like me, you find a single 2.5 inch drive too slow to incorporate into a new desktop system build, then the Icy Dock MB982SPR-2S will prove invaluable.

Today we used two Western Digital Scorpio black 7,200 rpm drives for testing. One was taken from a laptop which we upgraded with a new Solid State Drive, another we ordered online specifically for this review for only £47 inc vat. With a Raid 0 configuration it is always best to keep the sizes and speeds identical.

Testing showed that while the Raid 0 configuration is not as fast as a modern day SSD, the cost is significantly less. Lets say you already have a mechanical drive ready and you purchase another, like we did today. That is a cost of around £50. While the Icy Dock MB982SPR-2S can be bought at Scan and Overclockers in the UK for £60 we found it on Amazon for £54, with free Prime delivery. For a cost of around £100 you could end up with a 640GB Raid 0 array with generalised entry level solid state performance.

Additionally, if you have having problems with the Raid configuration on your motherboard, then adding two identical Solid State drives would give an exceptionally high performance system. Just be aware of potential drawbacks … such as saturating the bandwidth of a SATA 3Gbps or SATA 6Gbps port, depending on the drives you would use.

For the price, this product is worth the modest outlay. It is very well constructed and feels as if it could withstand considerable abuse over the years.

The only negative points we could mention would be the mundane packaging and the below average literature, which does not explain the Raid ‘reset' feature very well. Just follow the video links earlier in this review and it will be straightforward to configure.

Pros:

• Good price
• excellent build quality
• JMicron controller is very capable

Cons:

• Poor manual
• rear switching mechanism is a little fiddly

Kitguru says: An excellent addition to a system, breathing new life into older 2.5 inch drives.

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