looking for a 3.5 external enclosure

[stickybytes]

im looking for a 3.5" external enclosure for a desktop hard drive. it must have firewire support. any suggestions? it needs to be affordable.

 

[ribbon13]

The best
The cheap

 

[stickybytes]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
The best
The cheap

the first one looks very uber and cool but that thing is priced way beyond my budget. and that cheap one looks extremely flimsy i wonder if it even works.

actually do i even need a enclosure? would buying a ide to firewall converter and leaving the hard drive naked on the desk be ok or is that a big no no?

 

[ribbon13]

I've done that before sorta. I have one workstations that has external IDE+Molex and SATA cables. As long as the drive is on a stable surface it should be fine.

 

[Arcanedeath]

I'd just suggest something w/ the Oxford 911 or 922 chipset, the rest of the features don't really matter.

 

[stickybytes]

Originally posted by: Arcanedeath
I'd just suggest something w/ the Oxford 911 or 922 chipset, the rest of the features don't really matter.

i saw a few with that chipset. do you have any one's that you have used in the past that you know work well?

 

[stickybytes]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
I've done that before sorta. I have one workstations that has external IDE+Molex and SATA cables. As long as the drive is on a stable surface it should be fine.

how risky would it be doing that? i mean i don't want to waste a 150 dollar hard drive trying to save 40 bucks if it's pretty dangerous.

i will be running it on a stable, flat surface. do i need to worry about overheating and the such?

 

[ribbon13]

Not really. Open air should keep it well within operating spec.

 

[Blain]

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.dealsonic.com/plcoideusb2i.html">Supports USB 2.0 & Firewire...
Cheap...
Doesn't require AC adapter...
Accepts 3 1/2 & 5 1/4 drives</a> :laugh:

 

[drifter106]

I was looking for something similiar also...ribbon gave me the same suggestion as well but I ran across this in the hot deals section....if you use the coupon code it will end up costing you about $23.00
the one he refers to is clear...if you search further you can find one that has 2 tone color...

here is the coupon code that he left in the hot deals forum:

Apply Coupon XPCGEARU2C for a $9 discount. This makes the shipping almost free. You can apply this coupon code before you enter your credit card info - click on the little tab just below the box where you enter the coupon.

Better yet here is the thread I got it from...

 

[corkyg]

null1394b

Today, we really should be looking at spending a little more and getting an external case that handles 1394b, or Firewire 800. That is usually combo'd with USB 2, and is backward compatible to 1394a. The performance difference is significant.

 

[Operandi]

How about this Mapower?, it's the best looking external enclosure I've seen, built solid, and uses a known quality chipset so performance and compatibility should be all but guaranteed.