[Jaymom]

grumpy seems to have a docking station which is probably linked by SATA
the externals which connect by a USB plug are no good for running a game from... too slow a connection

This quote is not true. I have a WD external hard drive connected to my computer via a USB plug that I bought just for storage but IL-2 plays off from it just as good as IL-2 does on my internal hard drive. Both run with frame rates between a low of the mid 30's to a high in the 70's. While flying in IL-2 there is no way of telling which hard drive I am on.

Jaymom