External HDD Enclosures - Inquiring Minds Want To Know!

[[XC] serlv]

( alright, well at least this one does... :) )

There are a ton of them out there.

You can get them for 2.5" and 3.5" drives. Hell, you can get them for 5.25" drives ( DVD-ROM, etc. ).

I am interested in people's personal experience with them. I've been to the hardware vendor sites. I've read reviews at entusiast sites. But there is just so damn many of 'em out there.

What I'm looking for is an enclosure for a 3.5" HDD. It must have maximum flexibility. Whereas I might be using the USB 2.0 hookup today, I might be using Firewire drive a year from now and don't want to limit myself. That already eliminates most of 'em ( and increases the cost of those left! ). Most are just USB 2.0, but, they're out there.

Furthermore, I'm looking for an enclosure that has active cooling, BUT it can not be too loud...

Lastly, I wouldn't mind it being good looking, though that is the least of my considerations. I'm definitely into function, foremost.

Can anybody, based on personal knowledge/experience, point me in the right direction?

Thanks, in advance,
Scott

[scottk]

I have an Addlogix FireXpress 525DX that has served me well. Supports 200GB+ drives, with USB2.0/1.1/1.0 and FireWire. It's a 5.25" box, but they make an equivalent for 3.5" (FireXpress800 350DX). The model I have has a 40mm exhaust fan.

http://www.addlogix.com/

[[XC] serlv]

Thanks for the link, and reply. I'll check it out. I've been doing a lot of searching and reading.

Though it wouldn't be nearly as universal ( I have a lot of computers to mate this to ), I've been checking out eSata, external SATA HDD's connected via SATA cable. Looks to be much faster, but then again each computer I'd use it with would have to have an external port. It is kind of new though and requires a slightly different connection ( and cable ). If I was to go that route, it would cost too much for all the ports. My needs aren't that great that I'd want to go to the expense of it.

But still, full speed... hmm. :)

In the future it'd be nice to see those ports become as common as front-mounted USB ports are.

[mesyn191]

If you don't really need it to be able to be hooked up to any PC anywhere you should go for a eSATA enclosure. Sooooo much faster than USB2/firewire.

[nn_step]

if it ain't SATA, it ain't worth your time or money

[JoeBar]

There are external enclosures that are both eSATA + USB2.0.