CENMATE Aluminum 3 Bay 10Gbps Hard Drive Enclosure
Bottom line: The CENMATE Aluminum 3 Bay 10Gbps Hard Drive Enclosure ($99.99 on Amazon as of 2026-10-06): Three hot-swap bays for 2.5" or 3.5" SATA HDDs and SSDs, up to 20TB per drive; main trade-off: fan runs 40-50 decibels, loud enough to notice on a desk beside you.
As an Amazon Associate, SpecPicks earns from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure →
*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Last updated 2026-10-06. Price and availability subject to change.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- ✓ Three hot-swap bays for 2.5" or 3.5" SATA HDDs and SSDs, up to 20TB per drive
- ✓ USB 3.2 Gen 2 hits 10Gbps: 500MB/s across two HDDs, 510MB/s on a single SSD
- ✓ Daisy-chains up to 3 units via the USB host port for roughly 180TB total
- ✓ Aluminum-alloy shell plus a 2.7-inch fan pulls heat off spinning drives
- ✓ Tool-free bays and hot swap let you change drives without powering down
Cons
- ✗ Fan runs 40-50 decibels, loud enough to notice on a desk beside you
- ✗ No RAID and no NAS mode, so it is plain DAS with no redundancy
- ✗ Real speeds hinge on your drives and host port, so 10Gbps is a ceiling not a promise
SpecPicks Verdict
SpecPicks scored CENMATE Aluminum 3 Bay 10Gbps Hard Drive Enclosure using a rating × review-volume × price-fit model applied to published specs and reviews across the drives & media category. cenmate's drives & media lineup sits within the broader category mid-tier; price and specs are the deciding factors over brand loyalty here. Judge it on the specification table and the price rather than on sentiment: check the figures that decide your use case, then put it side-by-side with two or three close alternatives in the Compare tool before clicking through.
Common buyer scenarios for drives & media of this kind: matching it to an existing build, replacing a failing part, or upgrading from a previous-generation equivalent. Check the spec table below against your current setup — particularly socket / form-factor / power-rating fields — and confirm compatibility on the retailer's listing before purchase. Prices and stock are set by the retailer and may have moved since this page was last updated.
Key Features
- 【Up to 10Gbps】This dual bay enclosure equips with advanced chips and USB 3.2 output interface.Transfer 1G files in 3-5 seconds with USB 3.2 Ports, which is 20 times faster than USB 2.0. 2 HDDs -Total R/W speed 500MB/s,1 SSD-510MB/s R/W speed. NOTE:Read and write speeds are determined by factors such as hard drive version, computer version, etc...
- 【Reliable External Storage System for Individuals and business】The 3.5 hard drive enclosure supports 2.5/3.5 inches HDD and SSD, max capacity up to 20TB for each hard drive, it's a ideal external hard drive enclosure for personal or enterprise using.Save space on your desktop or laptop.
- 【No heat】The 2 bay hard drive enclosure built in Aluminum-Alloy materials and 2.7 inch Fan.Maximize the security of your data. NOTE:Fan noise is around 40-50 decibels, not recommended if you are very sensitive to noise.
- 【Hot Swappable Convenience】The HDD enclosure supports hot swapping, allowing users to replace hard drives without powering off the device. This feature enhances convenience and efficiency in data transfer processes.
- 【Daisy Chain Expansion】Add a USB HOST port for external hard drive enclosure and daisy chain to expand capacity. Expansion 180TB storage through daisy chain up to 3 devices
- 【Wide Compatibility, Plug and Play】Equipped with USB A/C Gen 2 Cable.Compatible with Windows 7 and above, Mac 9.1 and above, Linux.The USB Type-C interface supports various computer interfaces, including USB 3.0, USB 3.1, USB 3.2, Thunderbolt 3, and Thunderbolt 4.
Full Specifications
| Brand | cenmate |
|---|---|
| Color | Black |
| Weight | 1g |
| Unit Count | 3.0 Count |
| Connectivity | USB |
| Model Number | 803TC |
| Compatibility | Mac, Linux |
| Built-In Media | 3 Bay 10Gbps Hard Drive Enclosure(NO RAID) USB A/C 3.2 Cable User Manual Power adapter |
| Mfr Part Number | 803TC |
| Hardware Platform | Windows Mac Linux |
| Compatible Devices | Desktop, Laptop |
| Data Transfer Rate | 10 Gigabits Per Second |
| Enclosure Material | Aluminum |
| Hardware Interface | USB 3.2 Gen 2 |
| Warranty Description | 1 year |
| Hard Disk Form Factor | 3.5 Inches |
| Connectivity Technology | USB |
| Memory Storage Capacity | 60 TB |
| Item Dimensions L x W x H | 7.95"L x 5.2"W x 4.41"H |
| Supported Devices Quantity | 3 |
| Full listing title | CENMATE Aluminum 3 Bay 10Gbps Hard Drive Enclosure with Cooling Fan for 2.5“/3.5" SATA HDD/SSD with USB A/C 3.2 Gen 2, Support Hot Swappable, Tool-Free HDD Enclosure, DAS(NO RAID/NAS) |
Ready to buy?
CENMATE Aluminum 3 Bay 10Gbps Hard Drive Enclosure with Cooling Fan for 2.5“/3.5" SATA HDD/SSD with USB A/C 3.2 Gen 2, Support Hot Swappable, Tool-Free HDD Enclosure, DAS(NO RAID/NAS) is listed on Amazon. Price, availability, shipping and returns are set by Amazon and its sellers — check the listing for current terms. SpecPicks earns a small commission on qualifying purchases — thank you for supporting independent review work.
*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Last updated 2026-10-06. Price and availability subject to change.
Related Drives & Media
More guides & deep dives from the SpecPicks archive
Browse all articles & guides →- Best Budget Gaming PC Build 2026 — ~$1,000 ($800 on Sale)
- RTX 4070 Super vs RX 7800 XT — Which to Buy in 2026
- Best Retro Handhelds in 2026 — From $35 to $500
- Emulation Hardware in 2026: FPGA, Software, and Cart-Reader Ecosystems
- The Complete Voodoo5 5500 AGP Driver Guide (2026 Edition)
- How to Build a Windows 98 Retro PC in 2026
- Best 1440p Gaming GPUs in 2026
More reviews from the SpecPicks archive
Browse all reviews →- ComfyUI on a 12GB RTX 3060: Install + Stable Diffusion Throughput 2026
- Claude Opus 4.8 vs Local LLM on RTX 3060 12GB: Honest 2026 Benchmarks
- Best SATA SSD for an AM4 Budget Build: BX500 vs 870 EVO vs WD Blue
- Best Wireless Productivity Keyboards for Home Office in 2026
- Best SSD for Steam Deck and Handheld Emulation in 2026
- Why Privacy-Preserving AI Demand Is Rising in the LLM Era
- Vision LLMs Driving Period-Correct WinXP and Win98 Installers: Field Report from a 4-PC Retro Fleet
- Run Qwen 3.6 27B Locally: What Fits on 12GB in 2026
- Local AI News You Missed in April 2026
- Best AMD CPU for Gaming in 2026: Our Top 5 Ryzen Picks
- Best 4K Monitor for Forza Horizon 6 on PC (2026)
- Build an Always-On Raspberry Pi Zero W Project: 24/7 FM Radio and More
- Intel Optane DIMMs Run 1-Trillion-Parameter LLM on One Workstation
- Air vs AIO for the Ryzen 7 5800X: Noctua NH-U12S vs CoolerMaster ML240L
- Imaging a vintage IDE hard drive with a USB adapter in 2026
- Can a 12GB RTX 3060 Run Gemma 4 31B? Quantization & Tok/s Reality Check
- Can a 12GB RTX 3060 Still Run 2026's Local LLMs?
- Moonshot AI Targets $30B: Can You Run a Kimi-Class Open Model on a 12GB GPU?
- Best NVMe SSD for Gaming PCs in 2026
- Best CPU Cooler for a Ryzen 7 3700X: Air vs 240mm AIO in 2026
- Logitech G920 vs HORI Racing Wheel: Best Sim Racing Wheel for PS5 & PC
- LiteLLM as a Fallback Router: Keep Working When Limits Hit
- 16% of Freelance Jobs Are Now AI-Doable: The Local Agent Rig That Runs Them
- Running Mistral's New OCR Model Locally on a 12GB GPU
Earliest SpecPicks reviews
Browse full archive →- Best GPU for Llama 3.1 8B (2026)
- Best GPU for Qwen 3 14B (2026)
- Best GPU for Qwen 3 32B (2026)
- Best GPU for Llama 3.1 70B (2026)
- Best GPU for DeepSeek-R1 32B (2026)
- Best GPU for Llama 3.1 405B (2026)
- How to run Llama 3.1 8B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Qwen 3 14B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Qwen 3 32B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Llama 3.1 70B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run DeepSeek-R1 32B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Llama 3.1 8B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090