Need a recommendation for a 4 bay USB 3 external case

[DJ Zio NYC]

Hi. I have 2 Vantec NexStar HX4's which I use for discrete HDs to store the usual garbage. I have 3-3T and 1-4T drives. If I put all 4 HDs in one case, one of them starts to get freaky, falls off the bus and sometimes will get that unloveable hard disk sound of death. It seems that with my 4 HDs, they draw too much current, even at an idle. When I limited each case to 2 drives, they work 24/7 and perform quite well. I checked all 4 drives' SMART data just to be sure but all were good. I also haven't used 3 drives in one.
My question is can anyone recommend a 4 drive USB 3 case that they've had for a while with success? I won't really say that money's no object but if anyone suggests something for, saaay, $400, I'm OK with that. On the other hand, if someone says, if you spend $700, you'll *really, really, really* get what you want, I'd figure it out. (Personally, whenever I've read forums where users have asked for suggestions for a laundry list of specs requirements, then adds, "Oh, yeah it's got to be cheap because I have no money", I get twitchy.)
Thanks in advance...

[Mark.]

I've no experience with 4-bay USB boxes (didn't know such a beast existed) but what about 4-bay network connected boxes, that is, a NAS (network attached storage) box?
there's a bunch of makes/models available, they are built for just that sort of thing, have included features like RAIDs, external backups, virus protection.

[DJ Zio NYC]

Thanks for the reply. I actually have 2-2 bay and 1-4 bay Nethear NAS boxes. I use them primarily for archiving. I originally had a single external USB drive for docs, downloads, music and images but I outgrew it over a few years time, especially for music (1.2T) and images (~1T). I use the WMP Play To feature for music and networked drives just don't fly with it.

[DaveLembke]

Are these all 2.5" ( Laptop type ) Hard Drives that your trying to all power off of a USB HUB and have a single USB connection with 4 Drives?

Looking at what you have, I'm thinking this might be what you have. I've run into problems with the 2.5" external drives and USB power insufficient power for all the current they pull combined and get the clunk of death which does away once plugged into a strong USB power source.

A better setup would be the larger 3.5" external drives that are powered off their own dedicated power supplies each, then if you want a single connection back to the computer you could USB HUB connection to all of them.

I have SATA/USB drive caddies that hold 2 drives each and took my 2.5" drives and inserted them into the dual drive caddies which have a dedicated power source for them and this way the USB is only used for communications and not for powering current demanding hard drives. I picked up a 2 drive caddie for $45 USD at a local computer store. So for $90 USD you could have two of these dual drive caddies and 2 USB connections with 2 drives per USB connection powered on their own dedicated power supplies and havent had any problems since.

I lost data on those USB Powered External Drives and so I gave up on their use for important data. All drives for me are powered off the PC power supply directly or came with their own dedicated power supply. USB Power is too dangerous for drives with important data based on my negative experiences with them.

This is the caddie/dock that I'm using that works flawless for me. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=1B4-006X-00028&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-External+Enclosure-_-1B4-006X-00028&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqremir3L1wIVDNRkCh2-aQb4EAQYAiABEgJtKPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Two of these would give you 4 drives connected for under $100 USD maybe, but with 2 USB connections. If you need a single USB connection I'd add a USB hub with these connected to that HUB and then the HUB having a single connection to PC. Most people have extra USB ports available, but a USB HUB is the option if you need more ports.

[BC_Programmer]

It looks like power problems with 3 or 4 drives are not uncommon with those HX4 devices and it is a very common complaint people have with the unit. Looking around at some reviews of the product and this seems to be a relatively common complaint. I don't see the same complaints for Mediasonic's ProBox devices - those may be a suitable replacement. It looks to retail for around $150 (Mediasonic ProBox HF2-SU3S2). They have a fancier version with RAID capability for around $200 (Mediasonic HFR2-SU3S2).

[DJ Zio NYC]

These are all 3½ drives.
Thanks, BC_P. Now you guys can call me a dork because I already have a Mediasonic HF2-SU2S2 and it works reliably. I kinda "forgot" I had it because it's on a KD Links HD720 I have in my basement. Sorry about that and thanks again for the replies / assistance.

[VintronNZ]

Don't write off the external case for the want of a 12 v 6 amp power supply , there is universal laptop power supplies which can be set to 12 v and have tips to fit the case. The power supply should be  rated 90 watts not 65 watts. 

[VintronNZ]

Don't write off the external case for the want of a 12 v 6 amp power supply , there is universal laptop power supplies which can be set to 12 v and have tips to fit the case. The power supply should be  rated 90 watts not 65 watts.