HDD and external enclosure combo

[overst33r]

I was thinking of the Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 250GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s

and Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 250GB 3.5" IDE Ultra ATA100 for HDD's

Now for the enclosures i am unsure...Theoretically firewire is faster than USB rite? But neither my lappy nor my desktop have connectors for firewire...so i guess USB 2.0 it is.

What is a good easy to use quiet and cool enclosure? Also how does the harddrive actually turn on and off, does it ever turn off when idle and plugged into a computer?

Enclosures:

AMS VENUS DS-2316B2BK Aluminum 3.5" USB 2.0 Black External Enclosure

KINGWIN KH-350U-BK Aluminum 3.5" USB2.0 (type B)

BYTECC ME-7050U2 3.5" USB2.0 (type B)

AMS Venus DS3 DS-2316SU2SBK Aluminum 3.5" USB2.0 (type B) + SATA External Enclosure

VANTEC NST-360SU-BK 3.5" eSATA + USB2.0 Aluminum External Enclosure

 

[corkyg]

Why not use SATA? You can add a SATA port on the backplane and use a SATA external enclosure. Much faster than either 1394 or USB 2.

SATA

 

[overst33r]

Originally posted by: corkyg
Why not use SATA? You can add a SATA port on the backplane and use a SATA external enclosure. Much faster than either 1394 or USB 2.

SATA

Its mostly for my laptop...

 

[overst33r]

any suggestions?

 

[corkyg]

If it is for your laptop, get a combo USB2/1394 enclosure that is self powered. Laptop Firewire ports are usually 4-wire (no power.) If your lappy has no 1394 port, just add an Adaptec Duo-Connect PCMCIA card.

I use that with my laptop - but I use a 2.5" enclosure so I have a source of drives when I upgrade my laptop's HDD. As in, right now. I just put in a 160 GB/5400 Seagate in my laptop, and the replaced drive, a 100 GB/5400 Momentus went to my external 1394/USB2 enclosure for archiving digital imagery.

 

[overst33r]

how did you put in a 160GB in your lappy when the biggest drive out is 120GB? does it fit snuggly?

 

[overst33r]

just jumped on the 200gig from outpost for $50

 

[pkme2]

I used an external USB HDD for my desktop until I built my new PC rigs. Now I use mobile racks that I can pop in and out. Great for transferring data between machines.

If you got to go external, go with best reviews, AMS Venus DS-2316B2BK seems to fit the bill.