Features to look for or beware of in an external HDD enclosure?

[PrinceXizor]

I'm looking to buy an external HDD enclosure for the drive from my broken computer. Once I pull off what I need I'd like to use it for a general storage/backup drive that I back up my laptop and my soon to be purchased new computer.

What features should I look for or could be useful moving forward? I'm not looking to spend a lot of money if I don't have to. Thanks!

P-X

 

[Vinwiesel]

OEM external drives typically use a green, or low power HDD. I'm found that when pulling a typical 7200 rpm drive from an old system and placing it in an external enclosure, it runs a bit warm. If all you plan to do is use it now and then for backups, it probably isn't a big deal. If you are going to put media on it and use it for extended times, I would recommend getting one with a fan, or at least some good passive cooling. The ones I have are just a sealed aluminum enclosure. The smaller ones look nice, but they are also a bit of a pain for connecting cables.

I have one that has Esata and USB 2.0. The Esata is faster, but less convenient. For backing up a few gig here and there, Esata is not worthwhile to me. Check the reviews on the enclosure as well. I had one blow up a drive when I plugged the DC end of the power into the enclosure when the switch was already on. Cheap power supplies tend to drift higher than their rated voltage when under no load, and can damage things when suddenly connected.

 

[Dessert Tears]

I got fed up waiting for 50–100 GBs to copy over USB 2.0 (with verification, well over an hour), so I bought a Rosewill RC-505 USB 3.0 PCI-E card and a Rosewill RX-358 U3C SLV USB3.0 enclosure. The enclosure goes on sale for $30 or 35, free shipping, every few months. The card is limited by PCI-E x1, but it's still much faster than USB 2.0. The enclosure, card, and/or USB 3.0 don't like being left plugged in (must be power-on then plug in; the drive goes unrecognizable until reboot), but that won't be an issue if you get front USB 3.0.

 

[blastingcap]

I got fed up waiting for 50–100 GBs to copy over USB 2.0 (with verification, well over an hour), so I bought a Rosewill RC-505 USB 3.0 PCI-E card and a Rosewill RX-358 U3C SLV USB3.0 enclosure. The enclosure goes on sale for $30 or 35, free shipping, every few months. The card is limited by PCI-E x1, but it's still much faster than USB 2.0. The enclosure, card, and/or USB 3.0 don't like being left plugged in (must be power-on then plug in; the drive goes unrecognizable until reboot), but that won't be an issue if you get front USB 3.0.

I was too cheap for that and wanted something that could also make use of my old IDE DVD/CD drive so I got this instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812119475

Obviously your enclosure will stand up to a lot more punishment but I don't need my CD/DVD drive much, nor do I do that much data-swapping, so it's a viable option for cheapskates like me.