StarTech.com SDOCK2U313R dual-bay SATA drive duplicator dock: specs and uses

The StarTech.com SDOCK2U313R is a two-bay docking station that copies one SATA drive to another on its own, with no computer involved. It also works as a USB dock for reading a drive from a laptop or desktop. It suits anyone who regularly clones, backs up or recovers data from drives. Here is what the specs mean.

Two jobs in one dock

In standalone mode you slot a source drive and a target drive into the bays and the dock duplicates one onto the other. In dock mode it acts as a USB-to-SATA adapter, so a drive you drop into a bay shows up on your computer. StarTech.com says the dock works with 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch SATA hard disks and SSDs of any capacity, is 4Kn compatible and is OS independent.

How standalone cloning works

StarTech.com describes a sector-by-sector copier. That means it copies the entire drive, including empty sectors, so it works with any file system and doesn't depend on the operating system. The brand quotes speeds up to 28 GB per minute, and the product description also mentions 25GB per minute. These figures are maximums and depend on the drives used. Because every sector is copied, the target drive must be equal to or larger than the source. Copying empty space also means a large, mostly empty drive takes as long as a full one.

Design

The dock is top-loading, toaster style, with tool-less and tray-less bays, drive doors and eject buttons. You simply drop the drives in. LEDs show power, mode, status for each drive and clone progress. The listing mentions a cooling fan, hot-swap capability and UASP support, which is a USB protocol that typically speeds up transfers with compatible drives and hosts.

Connections and speed

The SATA side supports SATA III (6 Gbps) and is backwards compatible with SATA I and II. The host connection is USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), with a USB-C-to-A cable included. StarTech.com says the dock works with USB-C and USB-A computers and is compatible with Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports. TRIM support is listed too. The chipset is an ASMedia ASM1352R. Real transfer rates are limited by the drive: a hard disk will typically be well below the interface limit.

In the box

According to the listing, the box has the dock, a universal power adapter, USB cables (3 ft), and a quick start guide. An IDE adapter (SAT2IDEADP) for older drives is sold separately. The dock measures about 5.6 x 5.2 x 2.8 inches and weighs 1.1 lb. It meets RoHS, WEEE, FCC, UL and CE standards, as listed.

Support

StarTech.com backs it with a two-year warranty and lifetime 24/5 multilingual technical assistance.

Who it suits

• IT technicians who migrate or image machines.
• People upgrading from a hard disk to an SSD.
• Anyone who needs occasional access to bare drives.
• Photographers and video editors who keep archive drives.

What to check before you buy

• Drive type: it handles SATA drives only. IDE needs the separate adapter, and NVMe or M.2 drives won't fit.
• Target size: the destination must be at least as big as the source.
• Data care: cloning overwrites the target, so confirm which bay is source and target before starting.
• Computer port: check whether your computer has USB-C or USB-A and that the right cable is included.
• Power and noise: it uses an external adapter and has a fan, so allow space for airflow.
• Drive handling: drives with exposed circuit boards need careful handling, with static precautions.

The short version

• A standalone dual-bay duplicator and USB dock for 2.5 and 3.5 inch SATA drives.
• Sector-by-sector cloning at up to 28 GB per minute with no computer.
• SATA III, USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) and UASP, with tool-less top-loading bays.
• Includes a power adapter and cables; two-year warranty.

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