The ORICO 9948RC3 PRO provides a fast, simple, four-bay storage enclosure with RAID options and up to 104TB capacity, targeting users seeking a flexible alternative to traditional NAS devices without the complexity or cost.
ORICO’s 9948RC3 PRO sits in a useful middle ground between a simple external drive and a full network storage appliance. In How-To Geek’s review, it comes across as a direct-attached storage enclosure aimed at users who want RAID protection, high-capacity disks and straightforward performance without the extra software stack, processor overhead and network complexity of a NAS. ORICO says the unit supports four 3.5-inch drives, a built-in 150W power supply, Windows, macOS and Linux, and up to 104TB of capacity with 26TB per bay.
The hardware is intentionally plain. ORICO has built the enclosure around a USB-C 20Gbps interface and a set of rear DIP switches for RAID selection, rather than a management interface or bundled operating system. That means the user chooses between RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10, JBOD and Normal mode on the enclosure itself, then initialises the array from the host computer. In practice, that makes setup less elaborate than a NAS, but also less flexible in the sense that the host operating system, not the enclosure, handles filesystem creation and partitioning.
Performance is the key selling point, although it is also where the review adds the most caution. ORICO markets the 20Gbps link as a major improvement over slower USB enclosures, but How-To Geek’s testing with four 4TB Seagate IronWolf drives did not come close to the connection’s theoretical ceiling. The reviewer reported roughly 400MB/s to 420MB/s in RAID 5 and about 553MB/s to 554MB/s in RAID 0, with no clear benefit from trying to force a 20Gbps USB4 link. That is still fast enough to feel close to local storage for photo and video work, but it also suggests that hard drives, rather than the interface, are the limiting factor in this class of device.
The enclosure’s main practical advantage is that it can be used as a storage block for a separate machine, or effectively as the core of a small, self-built file server. How-To Geek noted that the Normal mode does not expose the individual drive identifiers needed by systems such as TrueNAS or Unraid, but a RAID volume could still be shared over SMB or NFS from a mini PC. That makes the 9948RC3 PRO most attractive to users who already have a host computer nearby and want fast local access, optional network sharing and a quieter, simpler alternative to a conventional NAS. ORICO’s own positioning, alongside the company’s related 20Gbps and 10Gbps multi-bay enclosures, suggests the product family is being aimed at buyers who care more about storage architecture than about appliance-style convenience.
For buyers weighing cost against capability, that leaves a clear conclusion. The 9948RC3 PRO looks strongest for people who want hardware RAID, a neat four-bay enclosure and headroom for future SSD use, or for those who need a faster direct connection than a typical NAS can offer without moving to expensive 10GbE networking. For ordinary hard-drive arrays, though, the review suggests the previous 10Gbps model may deliver much the same real-world experience for less money.
Disclaimer: This content is intended for informational purposes only. Readers are advised to exercise their own judgement, conduct due diligence, or consult a qualified expert before acting on any information provided.
