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Good Single-Drive Firewire Enclosure?
Hi,
Does anyone have a good suggestion for a Firewire enclosure (or USB/FW or USB/FW/eSATA) that will hold a 1TB SATA drive and work well if it is left on 24/7?
This setup would be used for online music library with a MacBook Pro, so it would in use for 12+ hours/day (and maybe left on all of the time). I would be interested in what people are using with MacBook Pros for “lower end” Firewire storage in on-location settings, particularly for one-drive setups. I haven’t found one that has a fan in it, or a variable speed fan (which would be ideal for an enclosure with a fan). I have seen a couple of enclosures with USB-only connectivity that have a fan.
I guess I’m wondering if a fan is really necessary, as well.
For instance, WiebeTech makes a terrific ToughTech enclosure, but their FAQ states that if it is used for long periods of time, rather than to transfer data or backup sessions, that a fan should be aimed at it. I suspect that this would apply more so for larger drives in the enclosure, as well.
The G-Tech Q drive looks like it would dissipated heat quite well for a single-drive enclosure, though it is sold as a complete kit.
Thanks.
-Dave
-Dave
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6 Replies
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I recently got one that I really like. The Maxx Digital Desktop Drive. It has a quad interface (USB, FW400, FW800, eSATA) and one of my favorite features, NO POWER BRICK. The case is larger because the power converter is inside. But I like it a lot.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
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I picked up a Rosewill enclosure from newegg.com recently. You’ll notice that, except for the logo, it’s identical to the enclosures sold under their own brand names by vendors like Other World Computing. BTW, I don’t think Rosewill is the actual manufacturer, either.
Arnie
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Shane and Arnie…
Thanks for the info.
I had looked at the Rosewill enclosures, and others from OWC, G-Tech, WiebeTech, etc.
Other than the Maxx Digital combo unit that Shane recommended, I haven’t found an enclosure with Firewire that has a fan (for a single-drive unit). There are a few USB only models with fans, but they seem to be cheap (and don’t have Firewire).
Unfortunately, the Maxx Digital unit comes as a complete enclosure-drive unit. I wanted to source my drives separately. I sent a message to Maxx Digital asking if they would sell the enclosure separately (I haven’t heard back from them yet).
I may have to get a dual-drive enclosure, many of which come with fans…
So, the search continues. Thanks again for your help.
-Dave
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Ahh. Then look at FirmTek.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
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The Firmtek enclosures that Shane mentioned are SATA enclousres, rather than Firewire, but that’s really what you should using anyway. SATA has more than twice the throughput of firewire 800 and is much more robust in terms of mean time between failure and the lost links to media that often occur when firewire drives go offline. Of course you will need to install a SATA controller as well.
David Roth Weiss
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Thanks to Shane, David, and Arnie for the terrific info.
The main purpose of my post was to find a good enclosure for a friend, who has a MacBook with a large music library that he wants to take with him when he travels (~500 GB of Apple Lossless music files). So, for him, FireWire is the only real option. He balked at the prices for all of this (he’s a newbie to computers). However, I was able to have him buy two Maxtor/Seagate drives (in OneTouch 4 Plus enclosures). They have 5-year warranties. I had him put “taller” feet on the enclosures, so that the vent on the bottom is more open to air flow. At least he has a primary drive and one he’ll keep in storage as a backup. He realized that it’s taking him a lot of time to digitize his entire music collection of over 1800 albums/CDs.
Back to the Firewire enclosure issue itself. I did stumble across a good fan-based enclosure from MacGurus. The drive “tray” has a fan, as does the enclosure itself. Looks like a good compromise for someone who needs FireWire setup that’s robust.
MacGurus also sells a similar enclosure with a eSATA port. This would be a good choice to use with a MacBook Pro and a eSATA Cardbus card.
There are numerous choices once you consider multiple drive enclosures. Thanks again everyone.
-Dave
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