External hard drive enclosures...

[Tired of the Bull]

I've been searching for the following with very little luck, anyone know where I can find a good enclosure that meets these requirements:

Firewire
USB2.0 (High Speed)
Internal Power
Must support 3.5" HD of at least 250GB


I've found two so far (neither very impressive):

No 1

No 2

 

[Zepper]

newegg.com has a pretty extensive line: newegg > Shop by Category > External Enclosure . compgeeks.com > cases/power supp. also has quite a few but most are color variants on a few base models. I take it having a wall wart is unacceptable? How about a little project - battery pack - 10 AA NiMH?
.bh.

 

[Tired of the Bull]

The problem with the wall wart is that I frequently travel with the drive and having to crawl under my desk to unplug the drive each time is a real pain. And paying $30 for a spare wall wart is offensive.

 

[Tired of the Bull]

Anyone else????

 

[alex1122]

I recently bought an 160 gig 7200rpm external HD from here for $160 with free shipping. I noticed that they also sell the enclosure itself if thats all you want. The description does say that it is capable of self power, and their external drive prices are tough to beat. Might want to check them out.

 

[Eug]

Here's one, but I have no idea if it supports 250 GB drives or how fast it is. You could call them I suppose. Looks cool though.

The description does say that it is capable of self power

You can't power a 3.5" drive off a USB or FW port. You can only do that with 2.5" laptop drives.

 

[21stHermit]

Originally posted by: Tired of the Bull
anyone know where I can find a good enclosure that meets these requirements:

Firewire
USB2.0 (High Speed)
Internal Power
Must support 3.5" HD of at least 250GB

I own two of these Bytecc mine are USB 2.0 only, work great. I have a 120G IDE in one and a 8X DVD burner in the other. No wall wart, but the fan is noisy.

 

[alex1122]

The description does say that it is capable of self power

You can't power a 3.5" drive off a USB or FW port. You can only do that with 2.5" laptop drives.[/quote]

sorry, got a little ahead of myself. i actually was talking about some of the 2.5in external "pocket drives" that they offer on that site although theyre not the size he wants.

 

[21stHermit]

Originally posted by: alex1122

Dell Inspiron 5150
15" UXGA display
3.06ghz Intel P4
512mb ram
ATI Radeon Mobility 9000 64mb
60gb Hitachi TravelStar

Alex,

Tell me about your 5150, I have the 1100 . . . very pleased. The 5150 has a P4-M? Fast.
On the UXGA, is the text big enough to read comfortably?

 

[Zepper]

Looks like you missed out on the ADS that they had at compgeeks - wasn't cheap at ~$80., but it was a good brand that sells most places for ~$100. It was also a 5/3" case - not likely to find one that fits only 3.5" or smaller drives w/built in power - no room. Didja ever think of taping (or Velcroing, etc.) the wall wart to the drive enclosure and carrying a cheap 10-pack of 6' extension cords. You plug the extension cord in only once and if you leave it, you leave it - no big woop.
. IAC, you're going to have to plug something in under the desk regardless of what you buy, as that's about the only way to get the 12V that the 3.5" drive motors need (unless the machine you're connecting to is a desktop and you can access a drive power connector). And I'd use the extension cord idea anyway as they cost less and are more widely available than the standard computer power cords (or you could just keep a bunch at home and be sure to take a handful with when you travel).
. Didja browse the newegg section I mentioned? They have the ADI there for $51. shipped and some others.
.bh.
Another place to look: http://www.meritline.com/firusben.html

 

[alex1122]

The 5150 is a very nice laptop. I bought it last summer for school and I am very pleased with it. Its a bit heavy, and it does have a desktop P4 though so it does run very hot under load, but fortunately I have not experienced any overheating issues as some others with this model have. Its fast and so far it handles anything I throw at it. The UXGA display has a native resolution of 1600x1200 so some things can appear a bit small, such as some web site text etc. But for the most part, its not a problem and I do have the 120dpi fonts setting so all windows font are perfect size for this resolution. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a laptop that has more of the performance of a desktop while sacrificing a little portability due to weight and size.

 

[Tired of the Bull]

Thanks for all the replies, it looks like there are only a couple enclosures that have internal power and I can't identify which chipset they use so I guess I'll play it safe and go with an enclosure that I know has the Oxford chipset.

 

[Ralphing]

I'm in the market for the exact same thing (firewire/sub 2.0/ 250gig capable). Just wondering what you decided on .

 

[tiap]

Do a google search for "pm 525" series. All that is on the box/carrying case. Can't remember the rest of the name.
Bought one about a month ago for a plextor 708a drive. Has an oxford chipset, usb2 and firewire, internal ps, 5/3.5", came with power cord and firewire and usb2 cables for around $48.00. Works great.

 

[rextilleon]

I've got about five extrenals that I use for Video editing--I find that the ADS boxes are very good---sometimes you can get them for about 79 bucks--then just purchase your drive and throw it in. They have the Oxford chipset are reasonably well cooled and really hold up well. The other recommendation I have is to look into granite digitals line of enclosures ---they really make a fantastic product--many fellow editors use them.

 

[Ralphing]

The Granite Digital's look etremely nice, they're quite pricey though. Even their low end firewire 800/usb 2.0 model is $159. You get what you pay for though, it's got really nice specs and features including internal powersupply, 3 port firewire hub, usb 2.0, etc. Schnazzy

 

[FrustratedUser]

Bason Computer $45

They also have a complete 250Gb external USB 2.0 drive for $219 w free shipping.

 

[FrustratedUser]

Just ordered the 250Gb drive myself.

 

[FrustratedUser]

Here are a few more.

 

[Ralphing]

FrustratedUser,
Do you know if the enclosure you ordered has an internal power supply? Also I couldn't see a fan, I'm wondering if it's passively cooled.

 

[FrustratedUser]

Originally posted by: Ralphing
FrustratedUser,
Do you know if the enclosure you ordered has an internal power supply? Also I couldn't see a fan, I'm wondering if it's passively cooled.

I don't know. A friend of mine got the complete HD so I can take a look at it.
He has no problems with it so far so i wouldn't worry.

Ohh, om the page I listed it says it comes with power adapter.