I'm wondering what the best external hard drive enclosure there is for an internal SATA and external FireWire and USB combo option. If it has eSATA that would be nice as well.
I have a 500GB drive at the moment, but the option to put a larger capacity drive in there eventually would be nice.
I've done research in the past and …
Enclosure only solution tends to be the remit of the Chinese/Taiwanese - the Brands deliver quality solutions but with HDD included. For universal interface (USB-FW-eSATA) there are solutions just becoming available - WD has launched a product which will also support the Fast version of FW (FW800) which is now standard on MACs. Other brands are likely to be launching soon. For future proof I would go with FW800 - especially if you are an Apple user - the new Time Machine functionality in the Leopard OS is great for easy backup but is better if you can connect to the external HDD by FW800 ~2xFW400 speed and ~3x real USB data rates. eSATA is a very new interface with few machines which support it and quite some compatability issues - if you want to use that interface I would definitely go with a recognised and reliable brand for your external storage solution.
Thanks for your reply. The problem with Western Digital is that I yanked this drive out of the My Book enclosure cause it was a POS and it failed on me. The drive still works, at least when I stuck it in a desktop awhile ago. But I want to get an enclosure for it.
I got a Seagate FreeAgent, and it seems to do very well so far although you have to swap the modules, but it has all 3 interfaces. (5 year warranty!!!!!!)
Anyway, I really do need a recommendation for an enclosure though. I don't want to have to buy another external drive for awhile, and enclosures are pretty cheep.
This product looks like it got good reviews: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817145657
However, the problem is that the drive I have is SATA and none of the enclosures by that manufacturer are SATA->FW & USB. Is it possible to get a SATA to IDE adapter and fit it in there?
I have gone thru many external FireWire boxes for work and home and I personally like the higer end products at Other World Computing (OWC) in the States. They have any configuration of USB, FW400/800 and eSATA with plastic or aluminum cases. They also have great tech support and a liberal return policy. The "Oxford 9xx" FireWire interfaces are more reliable than LaCies or others I have used (I mean do not fry after six months).
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I'm wondering what the best external hard drive enclosure there is for an internal SATA and external FireWire and USB combo option. If it has eSATA that would be nice as well. I have a 500GB drive at the moment, but the option to put a larger capacity drive in there eventually would be nice. I've done research in the past and …
Which multi-port external HDD enclosure?
Hi David,
Enclosure only solution tends to be the remit of the Chinese/Taiwanese - the Brands deliver quality solutions but with HDD included. For universal interface (USB-FW-eSATA) there are solutions just becoming available - WD has launched a product which will also support the Fast version of FW (FW800) which is now standard on MACs. Other brands are likely to be launching soon. For future proof I would go with FW800 - especially if you are an Apple user - the new Time Machine functionality in the Leopard OS is great for easy backup but is better if you can connect to the external HDD by FW800 ~2xFW400 speed and ~3x real USB data rates. eSATA is a very new interface with few machines which support it and quite some compatability issues - if you want to use that interface I would definitely go with a recognised and reliable brand for your external storage solution.
Hey there Mark
Thanks for your reply. The problem with Western Digital is that I yanked this drive out of the My Book enclosure cause it was a POS and it failed on me. The drive still works, at least when I stuck it in a desktop awhile ago. But I want to get an enclosure for it.
I got a Seagate FreeAgent, and it seems to do very well so far although you have to swap the modules, but it has all 3 interfaces. (5 year warranty!!!!!!)
Anyway, I really do need a recommendation for an enclosure though. I don't want to have to buy another external drive for awhile, and enclosures are pretty cheep.
This product looks like it got good reviews: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817145657
However, the problem is that the drive I have is SATA and none of the enclosures by that manufacturer are SATA->FW & USB. Is it possible to get a SATA to IDE adapter and fit it in there?
Thanks!
external HDD enclosure?
Hi David,
I have gone thru many external FireWire boxes for work and home and I personally like the higer end products at Other World Computing (OWC) in the States. They have any configuration of USB, FW400/800 and eSATA with plastic or aluminum cases. They also have great tech support and a liberal return policy. The "Oxford 9xx" FireWire interfaces are more reliable than LaCies or others I have used (I mean do not fry after six months).
Here's a link to their best quad interface case:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MEFW924AL1K/
Their products have always rated at the top of any reviews that I have seen them included in.
Good luck,
Philip
Title
Hey Philip!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the info!!!!!!!!!!! I bought this:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MEFW924AL2K/
Looks like the best one there is!!!!!!!!!!
It really is hard to find a quality enclosure with all the specs you want!!!!!!!!