USB/Firewire 2.5" Hard Drive Enclosures - What to look for?

[Chu]

Hello all. I'm looking for a good 2.5" inch enclosure that supports f/w and usb2.0. Browsing on newegg, I can see there are about 50-60 enclosures that meet this criterion. Can someone suggest what specifically to look for, as in particularly good brands/chipsets? I know ByteCC comes up often, but I was wondering if tehre were any other suggestions out there.

-Chu

 

[InlineFive]

I too would like to know as I could make use of an old 2.5" HDD laying around. I like the looks of the ByteCC because (a) doesn't need PS2 for power and (b) works guaranteed on WinXP without special drivers.

-Por

 

[Boonesmi]

i cant really tell you which ones are good/bad

but one thing to keep in mind... some older laptop 2.5" harddrives are 12.5mm high (or sometimes even larger)
and most of the tiny 2.5" enclosures only support the newer 2.5" harddrives that are 8.5mm or 9.5mm high

personally i like the enclosures that are bus powered (meaning you dont need to plug it into a wall outlet for power, but it gets all its power from the usb port)

 

[addragyn]

I'm looking at this one.

http://meritline.com/usb2-ieee1394-enclosure-hard-drive-external-2-5.html

Cheapest model I've found w/ Oxford 911.

 

[Boonesmi]

Originally posted by: PorBleemo
I too would like to know as I could make use of an old 2.5" HDD laying around. I like the looks of the ByteCC because (a) doesn't need PS2 for power and (b) works guaranteed on WinXP without special drivers.

-Por

all of the new enclosures should work fine on winXP (winxp already has the drivers built in) you pretty much only need the drivers disc if you plan on using the enclosures with win98

and the PS2 power tap you are refering to is only needed if for some reason your usb port isnt putting out enough power. personally ive never need to use the ps2 power tap.

 

[addragyn]

I just orderred 2 of the above enclosures. What's nice about that store is that the shiping stayed the same for 2 as it was for one. Fair shipping, what a concept.

I ordered 3 PCI cards from Newegg last week. Like $10 each. Shipping was 8. When I sent my order the s/h total was $24. $24 for 3 FireWire cards! Luckily a phone call brought that to a reasonable level but still... come'on.

 

[InlineFive]

Hmm. After further consideration I'm looking at the Vantec NST-250U2 because I like it's size, layout and color scheme more. Plus the review says it has a rugged case but I don't know how much that counts for. I think I'll order it when it comes in stock and rely on NewEgg's excellent policies to bail me out if it doesn't work out.

-Por

 

[labrat25]

i got the byteCC USB2 2 weeks ago... no annoying ps/2 pass through (important considering my laptop doesn't have a ps/2 port)

also i was thinking if the 2 usb plug gets annoying i'll get a 5V adapter from radio-shack

 

[Chu]

Originally posted by: Boonesmi
i cant really tell you which ones are good/bad

but one thing to keep in mind... some older laptop 2.5" harddrives are 12.5mm high (or sometimes even larger)
and most of the tiny 2.5" enclosures only support the newer 2.5" harddrives that are 8.5mm or 9.5mm high

personally i like the enclosures that are bus powered (meaning you dont need to plug it into a wall outlet for power, but it gets all its power from the usb port)

Not a problem, I'm buying a new 40-60 gig drive to go with it.

-Chu

 

[Chu]

Originally posted by: labrat25
i got the byteCC USB2 2 weeks ago... no annoying ps/2 pass through (important considering my laptop doesn't have a ps/2 port)

also i was thinking if the 2 usb plug gets annoying i'll get a 5V adapter from radio-shack

Are you implying that the ByteCC needs more power then a single USB adaptor can provide? I thought that the PS/2 or 2nd USB adaptor was only needed for unpowered ports . . .

-Chu

 

[InlineFive]

Originally posted by: Chu

Originally posted by: labrat25
i got the byteCC USB2 2 weeks ago... no annoying ps/2 pass through (important considering my laptop doesn't have a ps/2 port)

also i was thinking if the 2 usb plug gets annoying i'll get a 5V adapter from radio-shack

Are you implying that the ByteCC needs more power then a single USB adaptor can provide? I thought that the PS/2 or 2nd USB adaptor was only needed for unpowered ports . . .

-Chu

I think that's what it's for. Normally it seems they can run off of one USB 2.0 port but if you are using USB 1.1 you might need need additional power provided by another USB or PS2 adapter.

-Por

 

[Boonesmi]

Originally posted by: PorBleemo

Originally posted by: Chu

Originally posted by: labrat25
i got the byteCC USB2 2 weeks ago... no annoying ps/2 pass through (important considering my laptop doesn't have a ps/2 port)

also i was thinking if the 2 usb plug gets annoying i'll get a 5V adapter from radio-shack

Are you implying that the ByteCC needs more power then a single USB adaptor can provide? I thought that the PS/2 or 2nd USB adaptor was only needed for unpowered ports . . .

-Chu

I think that's what it's for. Normally it seems they can run off of one USB 2.0 port but if you are using USB 1.1 you might need need additional power provided by another USB or PS2 adapter.

-Por

the 2.5" enclosures ive used have all come with a second usb or ps2 port for powertap (if needed) but i never needed it, both usb2.0 and usb 1.1 provide plenty of power for the enclosure with just a single usb port (thats assuming the motherboard or usb hub is supplying the spec that the usb 2.0 and 1.1 standard call for) and all the systems attached the devices to have all worked just fine running off a single usb port