UGREEN CM335 USB RAID BOX: TWO BAYS AND GOOD PERFORMANCE FOR THE PRICE

Established Mac-centric vendors have lately been forsaking hardware RAID for the more versatile but CPU cycle-stealing software variety.

- BJON JACOBI

Hence our interest in UGreen's CM335 hardware RAID enclosure, which tips the monetary scales at a svelte $149 yet won't tax your computer's CPU while doing its business. It's a good performer, albeit requiring high-quality cables.

DESIGN AND FEATURES

The CM335 is inexpensive for what it is, though it sometimes shows. The construction is all plastic but still manages to strike a reasonably elegant profile on the desktop. Being largely plastic also makes it light at around 5 pounds, although it's 8.4 inches deep by 5.3 inches wide by 5.7 inches (all approximate measurements).

But the lack of heft can also translate to a somewhat insubstantial feel, at least if you're populating it with 2.5-inch SSDs or HDDs. 3.5-inch hard drives, being significantly heavier, add the gravitas of feel that might otherwise be lacking.

On the front of the enclosure are the status lights (power and drive activity), and the drive bays featuring nonlocking, lift-handle, plastic slide-out pressure-fit trays. The trays use quick-fit, removable plastic mounting rails (long tabs with pins that fit into the hard drive's screw holes).

You'll need to remove one of the rails to mount a 2.5-inch drive, as the front pin prevents proper alignment. Keep the rails around as they're very handy for quickly installing HDDs should you ever switch. With 2.5-inch media installed, there's plenty of room inside the drive bay to stow them away.

UGreen thoughtfully provides enough screws for four drives (there are only two bays), as well as a small screwdriver should you be lacking. Nice touch. Tip: I've found that using a soft pencil on the contact areas of plastic junctions serves well as a non-oily lubricant.