I'm looking for recommendations on good external enclosures for a single (SATA) HD, which provides power, good cooling, and an external SATA cable connector. This is for my PVR, which takes a SATA cable. I already have the necessary SATA I -> SATA II cable.
I already have a case that fits the basic requirements, but it's neither good nor quiet. The case is a Kingwin SATA Shuttle SS-350S-BK. My complaints with it are: Case is flimsy, side panels are cosmetic and not functional -- cannot hold the enclosure by these panels. Fan is very noisy (can be heard across the room). Fan is already aging (getting louder, need to orient it another way to quiet it down). Fan is intake, but there are no visible exhaust slots (so how's the air supposed to be moving?).
Cooling and airflow matter to me. First of all, this PVR encrypts the data and locks it to the HD (yea DRM, not), so there are no backup options, and everything will be lost if (well, when) the HD fails. I'd like to extend its life as long as possible. Second, this device is by a large south-facing window, and as the season heats up, the area will get hotter even without direct sunlight on the device. I know that the ambient temperature will matter a great deal, but there's not a lot that I do about that, and moving air in theory at least should reduce the local buildup. (My wife also doesn't like the AC being on much, nor area fans.)
Let's even assume that budget is not a big problem, as I'd hate to lose all this data before at least some of the material (esp. kids' shows) is backed up elsewhere. I'm even willing to hack an USB/firewire interface box if that's what it takes to get a box with good cooling; I should be able to connect the SATA cable I already have directly.
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
I already have a case that fits the basic requirements, but it's neither good nor quiet. The case is a Kingwin SATA Shuttle SS-350S-BK. My complaints with it are: Case is flimsy, side panels are cosmetic and not functional -- cannot hold the enclosure by these panels. Fan is very noisy (can be heard across the room). Fan is already aging (getting louder, need to orient it another way to quiet it down). Fan is intake, but there are no visible exhaust slots (so how's the air supposed to be moving?).
Cooling and airflow matter to me. First of all, this PVR encrypts the data and locks it to the HD (yea DRM, not), so there are no backup options, and everything will be lost if (well, when) the HD fails. I'd like to extend its life as long as possible. Second, this device is by a large south-facing window, and as the season heats up, the area will get hotter even without direct sunlight on the device. I know that the ambient temperature will matter a great deal, but there's not a lot that I do about that, and moving air in theory at least should reduce the local buildup. (My wife also doesn't like the AC being on much, nor area fans.)
Let's even assume that budget is not a big problem, as I'd hate to lose all this data before at least some of the material (esp. kids' shows) is backed up elsewhere. I'm even willing to hack an USB/firewire interface box if that's what it takes to get a box with good cooling; I should be able to connect the SATA cable I already have directly.
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
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