As a content creator and data enthusiast, I live in a constant state of digital clutter. It starts innocently enough: a few project files, a growing library of high-resolution photos, and 4K video footage that eats gigabytes like candy. Before you know it, you’re juggling a half-dozen external hard drives, each a tiny island of data. The real fear sets in when you hear that dreaded ‘click’ from a drive or see a “disk not recognized” error. The thought of losing years of work or priceless family memories is a nightmare. This is the digital precipice many of us find ourselves on, desperately needing a solution that offers not just more space, but smarter, safer space. That’s precisely the problem the QNAP TR-004-US 4 Bay DAS Hardware RAID aims to solve—a centralized, redundant, and high-capacity home for your most important files, without the complexity of a full network-attached storage (NAS) system.
- USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port* for faster data transfer.
- Supports up to four SATA drives for reliable read and write performance
What to Consider Before Buying a Direct Attached Storage (DAS) Enclosure
A Direct Attached Storage (DAS) enclosure is more than just an item; it’s a key solution for consolidating and protecting your digital life. Unlike a simple external hard drive, a multi-bay DAS like this one allows you to combine several drives into a single, massive volume. More importantly, it can use a technology called RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) to either supercharge your speeds (RAID 0) or create automatic, real-time backups of your data across multiple drives (RAID 1, 5, 10). This means if one drive fails, your data remains safe on the others, providing peace of mind that a single-drive solution simply cannot offer. It bridges the gap between a basic external drive and a more complex, network-accessible NAS.
The ideal customer for this type of product is someone facing the limits of single-drive storage. This includes photographers, videographers, music producers, and serious data hoarders who need large, fast, and secure local storage connected directly to their primary computer. It’s also perfect for QNAP NAS owners looking for a seamless way to expand their existing storage capacity. However, it might not be suitable for those who primarily need to access their files from multiple devices over a network or remotely. For that, a true NAS would be a better fit. Likewise, if your storage needs are modest and portability is your main concern, a simple portable hard drive will serve you better and be far more cost-effective.
Before investing, consider these crucial points in detail:
- Dimensions & Space: A 4-bay enclosure is a significant piece of hardware that will live on or near your desk. The QNAP TR-004-US 4 Bay DAS Hardware RAID has a compact tower design, but you must account for its footprint (6.63 inches high) and the need for adequate ventilation around it. Also consider the noise from the internal fan and the spinning drives, which, while generally quiet, is more noticeable than a silent, fanless portable drive.
- Capacity/Performance: The unit is diskless, meaning you supply your own 3.5-inch SATA drives. Your total capacity depends on the drives you install and the RAID level you choose. RAID 5, for example, offers a great balance of capacity and single-drive failure protection. Performance is governed by the USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps) Type-C connection, which is plenty fast for mechanical hard drives but could be a bottleneck for an array of SSDs.
- Materials & Durability: The main chassis of the TR-004 is a sturdy metal, which helps with heat dissipation and gives it a solid feel. However, as we and other users noted, the individual drive trays are made of plastic. While they are functional and include locking mechanisms to prevent accidental removal, they don’t inspire the same confidence as all-metal caddies found in more enterprise-grade equipment.
- Ease of Use & Maintenance: This is where the QNAP TR-004-US 4 Bay DAS Hardware RAID truly shines for many. It features physical DIP switches on the back to set the RAID mode without needing to install any software, making the initial setup incredibly straightforward. For more advanced control, QNAP’s software utility offers a graphical interface. Long-term maintenance involves keeping the firmware updated and monitoring drive health.
Understanding these factors will ensure you choose a storage solution that not only meets your capacity needs but also fits seamlessly into your workspace and workflow. To see its full feature set and user reviews is to understand its place in the market.
While the QNAP TR-004-US 4 Bay DAS Hardware RAID is an excellent choice, it’s always wise to see how it stacks up against the competition. For a broader look at all the top models, including those optimized for different uses like gaming, we highly recommend checking out our complete, in-depth guide:
- Easily store and access 2TB to content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive
- Easily store and access 1TB to content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive
- Easily store and access 4TB of content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive
Unboxing the QNAP TR-004: A First Look at Build and Features
Opening the box for the QNAP TR-004-US 4 Bay DAS Hardware RAID, we were greeted with a well-packaged and professional-looking kit. Inside, alongside the main tower unit, you get everything needed to get started (minus the drives, of course): an AC power adapter, a power cord, two keys for the lockable drive trays, bags of screws for both 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch drives, a USB Type-C to Type-A cable, and a handy USB cable clip to prevent accidental disconnection. The unit itself feels substantial, thanks to its metal enclosure, which promises good durability and passive heat dissipation. The front is clean, with status LEDs for each of the four drive bays and a one-touch copy button. The rear is the business end, featuring the large cooling fan, the USB-C port, the power input, the eject button, and the all-important DIP switches for RAID configuration. It’s a thoughtful design that puts function first, and a feature that really sets it apart is that hardware-level control.
Key Benefits
- Extremely flexible RAID configuration via hardware switches or software
- Excellent cooling from a large, relatively quiet fan
- Simple plug-and-play setup for individual drives (JBOD)
- Seamless integration as a storage pool expander for QNAP NAS systems
- Modern USB Type-C connectivity
Limitations
- Drive caddies are made of plastic, which feels less premium
- USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps) interface, not the faster Gen 2 (10Gbps)
- Software integration with some QNAP NAS models can be buggy
Putting the QNAP TR-004-US 4 Bay DAS Hardware RAID Through Its Paces
An enclosure’s spec sheet only tells half the story. To truly understand its value, we had to load it up with drives and put it to work in real-world scenarios, from initial setup and massive file transfers to its performance as a dedicated backup hub. We populated our unit with four 8TB IronWolf drives to test its capabilities fully, exploring its setup process, transfer speeds, and long-term stability.
Setup and RAID Configuration: The Simplicity of the DIP Switches
One of the most intimidating aspects of multi-bay storage for newcomers is RAID setup. This is an area where the QNAP TR-004-US 4 Bay DAS Hardware RAID excels in user-friendliness. We decided to first test the “Hardware Control” mode. The process was refreshingly analog and simple. On the back of the unit, a small diagram clearly labels the DIP switch positions for Individual, JBOD, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10. We opted for RAID 5, which provides a great mix of capacity and single-drive redundancy. We set the switches, inserted our four drives, connected the unit to our PC, and powered it on. The final step was to press and hold the “Set” button for a few seconds. The status LEDs blinked, indicating the array was being created. Within minutes, Windows Disk Management recognized a single, large unallocated volume, ready to be formatted. It was genuinely that easy.
This experience mirrors what many users have found. One user noted they “Popped in my…HDD…and just left them as individual drives. Worked out of the box. Just needed to set the RAID switch on the back to ‘Individual Disks’.” This highlights the unit’s versatility. You can use it as a sophisticated RAID array or simply as a convenient box to hold four separate hard drives without any complex configuration. For those who want more granular control, switching the device to “Software Control” mode allows you to use QNAP’s External RAID Manager utility on your computer. This provides a graphical interface for creating, monitoring, and managing your RAID groups, which is a great option for power users. This dual-mode approach is a significant strength, catering to both beginners who want simplicity and experts who demand control. The ability to get a multi-terabyte redundant array running in under 30 minutes, as one reviewer reported, is a testament to this excellent design.
Real-World Speed and Performance: The Cable is Key
With our RAID 5 array formatted, it was time to test performance. A common point of contention online is the unit’s USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, which has a theoretical maximum speed of 5Gbps (~625 MB/s). Some users lament that the smaller 2-bay TR-002 model features a faster 10Gbps port. However, our testing confirms what knowledgeable users have pointed out: for mechanical hard drives, the bottleneck is almost always the drives themselves, not the USB interface.
During our first large file transfer—a 200GB folder of raw video footage—we were initially appalled by the speeds, which hovered around a dismal 40-50 MB/s. This mirrored a frustrating experience reported by a user who thought they had a faulty unit. Recalling their solution, we swapped the included USB-C to USB-A cable for a higher-quality, certified USB-C to USB-C cable connected to a native port on our motherboard. The difference was night and day. Speeds immediately jumped to a consistent 220-240 MB/s write and peaked near 280 MB/s read. This is a crucial takeaway: don’t blame the enclosure until you’ve tried a different cable. The included cable may be adequate for some, but for optimal performance, a premium cable is a must-have investment. For those curious about performance, you can check the latest price and availability and factor in a good cable.
Another user reported write speeds of ~150 MB/s and reads of ~240 MB/s in a RAID 0 configuration and was disappointed, expecting speeds closer to 700 MB/s. It’s important to set realistic expectations here. While RAID 0 does stripe data for higher speeds, achieving 700 MB/s would require an array of SSDs and a 10Gbps or faster interface. For four mechanical drives in a RAID 5 array over a 5Gbps connection, our observed speeds of over 200 MB/s are excellent and more than sufficient for 4K video editing, large photo library management, and rapid backups.
Cooling, Noise, and Long-Term Reliability
Housing four heat-generating hard drives in a compact box requires effective cooling for long-term drive health and reliability. The QNAP TR-004-US 4 Bay DAS Hardware RAID employs a large 120mm fan on the rear panel, and we found it to be exceptionally effective. As one Italian user aptly described it, the enclosure acts like a “wind tunnel for the disks.” Throughout hours of intensive read/write operations, our drive temperatures, monitored via software, remained well within safe operating limits. The fan speed can be set to auto, low, medium, or high, allowing you to balance cooling performance with noise levels. On the auto setting, we found the fan to be a quiet, low hum that easily faded into the background noise of a typical office.
The physical construction contributes to its reliability. The lockable drive trays are a nice touch for preventing accidental ejections, especially in a busy environment. We do agree with user feedback that the all-plastic construction of the trays feels a bit lightweight compared to the solid metal chassis. While they hold the drives securely and function perfectly well, they lack the premium, durable feel of metal caddies. This is clearly a cost-saving measure, but one that doesn’t impact the core functionality. We also appreciate the external power supply. While it adds to cable clutter, as a user pointed out, it’s a huge advantage if the power adapter ever fails. Instead of having to replace the entire enclosure, you can simply swap out the adapter, making it a more resilient long-term investment.
QNAP Ecosystem Integration: Powerful But Imperfect
For existing QNAP NAS users, one of the biggest selling points of the QNAP TR-004-US 4 Bay DAS Hardware RAID is its ability to function as a direct expansion unit. You can connect it to a compatible QNAP NAS and use it to create a new storage pool and volumes, all managed through the familiar QTS operating system. This is a fantastic way to seamlessly add more capacity to a maxed-out NAS. Many users purchase it for this exact reason, valuing the “official” integration over a third-party enclosure.
However, our research and testing revealed that this integration can be a double-edged sword. We found several credible reports from users who ran into significant software bugs and frustrating limitations. One detailed account explained that when using it as a NAS expansion, the TR-004 can only be configured as a single storage pool, meaning you can’t, for example, create two separate RAID 1 arrays within the same four-bay unit. This severely limits its flexibility in that mode. Worse, users reported frightening stability issues, with the NAS management interface freezing, incorrectly reporting empty drive bays, and even allowing individual virtual drives from a RAID array to be “ejected,” risking data corruption. Another user reported a daily ritual of power-cycling the TR-004 to force their NAS to recover a disappearing storage pool. These are serious issues that potential buyers, especially NAS owners, must be aware of. While the hardware itself is solid, the software layer for NAS integration appears to have some serious kinks that need to be ironed out by QNAP through firmware updates. If you plan to use it this way, proceed with caution and ensure all your devices are on the absolute latest firmware. For those who want to explore this powerful but flawed feature, you can find more details on its compatibility online.
What Other Users Are Saying
The general consensus among users is that the QNAP TR-004-US 4 Bay DAS Hardware RAID is a very capable and easy-to-use piece of hardware, especially when used as a standalone DAS connected to a PC or Mac. Many echo our positive experience with the setup process, with one user summarizing it perfectly: “I am fairly impressed with how easy this is to set up and use… had everything up and running in under 30 minutes.” The hardware RAID functionality, configurable without software, is consistently praised as a major advantage.
On the negative side, the feedback is just as consistent. The most common hardware complaint is the plastic drive caddies, which are seen as a weak point in an otherwise solid build. Performance issues are also a recurring theme, but as we discovered, these are very often traced back to a low-quality USB cable rather than the unit itself. The most significant and concerning negative feedback comes from the QNAP NAS user community, where reports of software instability, bugs, and frustrating limitations in expansion mode are prevalent. This suggests that while it’s a top-tier DAS, its secondary function as a NAS expansion can be problematic and requires careful consideration.
How Does the QNAP TR-004 Compare to Other Storage Solutions?
While the QNAP TR-004-US 4 Bay DAS Hardware RAID is in a class of its own for multi-bay hardware RAID, it’s important to understand how it compares to more common storage solutions. The alternatives listed below cater to different needs—primarily portability and simplicity—and highlight why you might choose them instead if capacity and redundancy are not your top priorities.
1. WD 2TB My Passport for Mac Portable External Hard Drive
- Designed for Mac.Specific uses: Personal
- Software for device management and backup with password protection. (Download and installation required. Terms and conditions apply. User account registration may be required.)
The WD My Passport for Mac is built for a completely different user. This is the ideal solution for someone who needs a simple, highly portable drive to carry between work and home, or as a dedicated Time Machine backup drive for their MacBook. It’s bus-powered, meaning it doesn’t need a separate power adapter, making it incredibly convenient for travel. It offers password protection and backup software right out of the box. You would choose the My Passport over the QNAP if your priority is portability and ease of use for a single computer, and you don’t require the massive capacity or data redundancy that a multi-drive RAID system provides.
2. TOSHIBA Canvio Basics 4TB Portable External Hard Drive
- Sleek profile design with a matte, smudge-resistance finish
- Plug & Play - Easy to use with no software to install
The Toshiba Canvio Basics represents the ultimate in no-frills, cost-effective storage expansion. It offers a significant 4TB of space in a compact, plug-and-play package. There are no RAID configurations, no special software, and no lockable trays—it is purely a device for adding storage to a computer or game console as simply as possible. A user would opt for the Canvio Basics when budget is the primary concern and they just need a single, large destination for backups or file archiving. It’s a workhorse for basic storage needs, whereas the QNAP TR-004-US 4 Bay DAS Hardware RAID is a sophisticated system for data management and protection.
3. Seagate Game Drive for Xbox 4TB Portable HDD
- BUILD YOUR GAME VAULT 4TB of capacity to build the ultimate Game Vault without sacrificing titles
- XBOX-CERTIFIED Compatible with Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and all generations of Xbox One
The Seagate Game Drive is a specialized product aimed squarely at Xbox gamers. It’s designed to seamlessly integrate with the Xbox ecosystem, allowing players to easily expand their console’s game storage. Its main selling points are its Xbox-branded design, simple plug-and-play setup with the console, and portability for taking your game library to a friend’s house. While you could technically use the QNAP with a console, it would be complete overkill. You would choose the Seagate Game Drive specifically for expanding your Xbox library. It’s a single-purpose tool that excels at its job, unlike the QNAP, which is a multi-purpose data storage powerhouse for computers and servers.
The Final Word: Is the QNAP TR-004-US 4 Bay DAS Hardware RAID Right for You?
After extensive testing and analysis, our verdict on the QNAP TR-004-US 4 Bay DAS Hardware RAID is overwhelmingly positive, with a few important caveats. As a direct-attached storage device for a PC or Mac, it is an absolutely brilliant piece of kit. It offers a rare combination of powerful hardware RAID capabilities and dead-simple setup that empowers both novices and experts to create vast, redundant storage arrays with minimal fuss. Its excellent cooling and solid construction provide confidence for long-term use. For content creators, data-heavy professionals, or anyone who has outgrown single external drives, this is one of the best and most flexible solutions on the market.
The primary weaknesses are the slightly flimsy plastic drive trays and the potential for a subpar USB cable to throttle performance. The more significant warning, however, is for those looking to use it as a QNAP NAS expansion. While it works in theory, the documented software instability makes it a riskier proposition. If you need a robust, reliable, and user-friendly 4-bay DAS for your computer, we can wholeheartedly recommend it. It’s a powerful tool that brings enterprise-level features to your desktop. If you’re ready to take control of your data storage and protect your digital assets, we highly recommend you invest in the QNAP TR-004-US 4 Bay DAS Hardware RAID today.
Last update on 2025-11-06 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API