INTRODUCTION

   People who wish to expand on the storage space of their systems (regardless if that system is a PC, MAC, NAS or even a console) can either use an internal or an external drive. Obviously when it comes to PC's the preferred choice is to use one or more internal drives but for people who may want to be able to take their data with them external ones are clearly the way to go. Over the last 2 decades I've used and tested countless external drives and if there's one thing, I've learned it's that factory ready solutions are not the best. They may do well in terms of read & write performance but aside build quality (most are made out of plastic after all) they lack features like RAID modes and active cooling. The D2-310 Hard Disk RAID System (or DAS - Direct Attached Storage) by Terra Master made its way to the lab almost a month ago and it's what I have on the test bench today.

    TerraMaster is a professional brand that focuses on providing innovative storage products, including network attached storage and direct attached storage that has become increasingly popular in over 40 countries and regions. The brand has been developing storage technology for 10 years, addressing the needs of customers such as home users, small/medium businesses, and enterprises.

   The first D2-310 hard disk raid system was released by Terra Master back in 2017 (never had the chance to check it out, did check out the D4-310 however) so it goes without saying that today I'll be testing the new and updated version (probably new hardware inside) released back in March this year. So, the new Terra Master D2-310 is a dual-bay USB 3.1/2 Gen 1 (5Gbps) model with 2 removable trays that support both 2.5" and 3.5" SATA 600/III drives (via a JMicron SATA to USB bridge chip - don't know the exact model used however) in single, JBOD (large), RAID 0 and RAID 1 modes. Just like all their past models the new D2-310 also features an hight quality aluminum enclosure (for both looks and improved heat dissipation) which is also cooled actively thanks to a rear 80mm smart (temperature controlled) exhaust fan. Since i never did test the original I can't do a direct comparison but i can compare the new D2-310 with several other models so let's see what it can do.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The D2-310 is shipped inside a yellow box with just the Terra Master logo at both the front and rear.

A large sticker located on the left side has the serial number, barcodes and product name on it.

As with past models the enclosure is wrapped inside a plastic bag and placed between two foam spacers (the rest of the bundle is located inside another cardboard box).

Alongside the D2-310 and its power adapter with its power cord you will also find an USB-A to USB-C cable, large Philips screwdriver, aluminum pin (for the reset button), small screwdriver (drive mode set), two small bags with mounting screws, two extra drive rubber pads, drive content stickers and the quick start guide.

THE D2-310

The 1.3Kg heavy aluminum enclosure of the new D2-310 measures 133mm in height, 119mm in width and 227mm in length.

A sticker with instructions on how to use the rear pointer to set the desired mode for the drives is located on the left side.

At the front we find the two drive trays, HDD and power LEDs and of course also the on/off power button.

Turning the enclosure around we see the 80mm exhaust fan, raid pointer, USB-C port, DC in and the reset button.

The base of the enclosure is perforated and has a total of 4 rubber feet.

Both trays are made out of plastic and have bottom screws for both 2.5" and 3.5" drives.

Don't recall if previous model had these but i see bottom and side anti-vibration pads on all 4 corners.

Typically for my tests i used two Seagate IronWolf 12TB drives.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Complicating things is not really our way so once again our testing procedure will be almost identical to the one, we use with external docking stations. However, since we are talking about a multi-bay 3.5" external enclosures this time over, we will be using one or more (depends on the mode) Seagate IronWolf 12TB SATA III hard disk drives since mechanical drives are obviously what people will use more with such devices (besides in quad+ enclosures these should pretty much max out the performance of the onboard controller). Our standard selection of benchmark suites is used here as well for single, RAID 0 and RAID 1 testing including the famous HD Tach RW (Long Bench 32mb Zones), HD Tune Pro (read/write -when possible- speeds), Sisoftware Sandra Pro (Read/Write -also when possible- speeds), AIDA64 (Linear Read/Random Read), Crystal Disk Mark x64 (100MB/1000MB read/write speeds) and finally the quite outdated yet highly reliable ATTO 2.47 (Max Read/Max Write speeds).

   Temps as usual were recorded using the latest version of Hard Disk Sentinel along with the sensors provided by AIDA64 while noise levels were recorded using our HD600 dBA meter placed just 10-15cm above each unit. Every test was repeated for a total of 6 times and after that the average (not peak) performance numbers were recorded into our graphs. As always, every test was performed in a fresh installation of Microsoft Windows 10 Pro with every update installed up to the moment of this review.

* Noise level recordings were also introduced in March 2017.
** Seagate IronWolf 12TB drives have been used since May 2020.

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK

TEST RESULTS – NOISE LEVELS / TEMPERATURES

CONCLUSION

   I’ve always believed that it makes very little sense to get an external enclosure that has just 2 available drive trays, for me at least. You see I always had many HDDs laying around and for example right now I use three 5-bay external enclosures in the lab, all filled with drives (different capacities each) so just 2 would never cut it. With that out of the way however the new D2-310 is a very good choice for people who don’t have plans to use more than just 2 drives. Performance is very good, the high-quality enclosure is one we’ve seen numerous times in the past, the smart 80mm fan is not loud and does its just and as for the rear mode selector well it may not be quite as convenient for some people as a software but it’s still very easy to use. Now I would like to see Terra Master use aluminum trays with their solutions (something I always point out) but that’s not really a drawback (especially since there are no temperature issues present).

   Retailing for USD159.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 159.99Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) the new D2-310 DAS by Terra Master might not be the lowest cost 2-bay external USB 3.1/2 Gen 1 enclosure in the market but it’s worth every penny. Of course, this applies only if you have need for its available drive modes so if you do you should really give it chance, especially since it ticks all boxes needed to deserve the Golden Award.

PROS

- Very Good Build Quality (Aluminum Enclosure)
- Very Good Performance
- Hardware Drive Mode Selection (Single/JBOD/RAID 0/RAID 1)
- Low Noise Levels & Temperatures

CONS

- Plastic Trays
- Price (For Some)