[Request] External HD Case

qBot

Eh,

i'm looking for a usb 2.0 or Firewire external case for my samsung IDE 160gb drive... Any good deals going?

talking_walnut

Ebay's your best bet. Got a case from there not too long ago. USB 2, supports up to 160gb. Cost me about the e30 mark. Firewire ones cost a fair bit more though. Still miles better value than any I've seen for sale in stores. They're usually at least twice the price.

RicardoSmith

Maplins have one for 84 but every so often they have it on special at 64.

qBot

Thanks 4 the response lads... i took a look on ebay today alright.. they seem to have a number of types on offer. What type did u buy seker.

Guy:Incognito

i got 1 in peats the other day for E75.

The_Conductor

Marx computers have a choice of an external USB 2 case suitable for any IDE/ATAPI device for E55, or just for a hard-drive for E50. I went for the multipurpose case it has a cooling fan- the smaller one does not. It has to be plugged in seperately- and the fan in the case does make a background hum- not really noticeable if the PC is on, but annoying if you forget to turn it off.

www.marx-computers.com

Shane

RicardoSmith

Getting one with a fan is a good idea.

qBot

thanks smc, but i want something that looks good too . That aluminium one on marx doesn't look that great.. There are some nice cases on ebay alright. The one i was thinking of getting was this one. Although there was a lot more of em yesterday and they were a lot cheaper.

What's the story with the humming btw, i thought they all hummed.

The_Conductor

I also have a little baby case with a laptop hard-drive in it- no fan at all, so the extra noise from this case was more noticeable to me.
The reason I notice it humming is because its in my bedroom I guess, I have all the noise dampening maths and things so the extra bit of noise is noticeable from the fan. That said- its not loud, and its a bloody solid aluminium body- not bad looking at all. (My case is a brushed aluminium case, so they do match up nicely).

Shane

RicardoSmith

Maplins do an aluminiun enclosure too, but its cheap and nasty looking.

They can be noisy depending on the HD you use and the fan in the enclosure. Some fans and HD's are simply more noisey than others. I've a Seagate barracuda IV in one and Seagate barracuda V in the other. The latter is a lot quieter and cooler.

The_Conductor

I went for the 80Gb Barracuda V as well- ditto to everything RicardoSmith said.

RicardoSmith

Its funy because the IV is meant to be quieter than the V but mine isn't. The Samsung drives (I can't remember which one) are meant to be even better than the Barracuda V's, but my V is good enough for my needs. Mines a 120gb BTW.

Why do some enclosures have a lmited on the size of HD they take. I've seen some that say they only take >120gb.

The_Conductor

Mine can be jumpered (the IDE to USB 2 circuit board in the enclosure) to modify the limitations on the size of the drive being accessed.
I think it might have something to do with USB addressing- but I'm only guessing.

The reason I got the Barracuda V- I read the reviews (Toms HW etc) and then of course it was cheaper..... always a good selling point!

qBot

Thanks for the responses lads.. been busy studying for exams so i haven't been able to respond much myself. I think i'll get one of the ones off ebay if I spot a deal.

cormie

I got the one in Maplin for 65. It looks fine to me, but personally, I wouldn't care how it looked as long as it did what I wanted it to do. Which it does, I'm pretty sure it does any size hd too:)

Ebonyks

They've got 3.5" USB2 enclosures from €15 to €30 in

http://www.success-hk.com

...a few other nice little gadgets too

savemejebus

isn't shipping really expensive with success-hk?

Ebonyks

I think there cheapest shipping rate is like €15 (Airmail). They go by weight.

CombatCow

komplett recenty got some new 1's in starting at E38 for usb2 3.5" ( http://www.komplett.ie/k/kl.asp?bn=10160 )


CombatCow

qBot

Originally posted by Combatcow
komplett recenty got some new 1's in starting at E38 for usb2 3.5" ( http://www.komplett.ie/k/kl.asp?bn=10160 )


CombatCow

sweeet. that's what the type of deal i've been looking for.. looks good and seems to be quality made and it's from komplett.. nice..

qBot

Just ordered it there.. thanks for the tip-off combatcow.. I had checked the site about a fortnight ago and they didn't have anything under €70

[nicK]

i was thinking of getting a Maxtor OneTouch external hd instead of buying a seperate case and hd. There suppose to be a lot quieter, and they look better.

Anyone know if there's a normal hard drive in the Maxtor OneTouch? Could i take it out and stick it into a pc? Or are there any other cons to getting an external hd like the maxtor?

The_Conductor

Success have their drives on special now. Ordered a 2.5 and a 3.5 USB2 case. Will let you know about them when they arrive. Total came to less than 50 for both, including shipping- I can live with that!

Shane

RicardoSmith

Originally posted by Scrappy]-[Nick
i was thinking of getting a Maxtor OneTouch external hd instead of buying a seperate case and hd. There suppose to be a lot quieter, and they look better.

Anyone know if there's a normal hard drive in the Maxtor OneTouch? Could i take it out and stick it into a pc? Or are there any other cons to getting an external hd like the maxtor?

Buying a complete unit like a Maxtor is a lot more expensive. Thats about it. Other than theres no difference. Noise wise and looks wise it depends what HD and enclosure you get.

Sztraik

What about the plug?
Is it american, UK, continental?
I'd follow your lead if everything works fine with them... ;-)
Thanks!

Sztraik

What about the plug?
Is it america, UK, continental?
I'd follow your lead if everything works fine with them... ;-)
Thanks!

qBot

well.. i got my drive today off komplett. It's some sweet case. I was expecting something crude and a lot bigger, but the thing is tiny. I thought id made a mistake when i saw it first and order a 2.5" drive. The only thing wrong with it was komplett gave me the wrong mains cable. There were two included in the kit. One which came officially with the drive is one of those plugs with no ground prong that i think are popular in the UK or mainland. The other cable i think komplett included themselves and had the right plug to go into the socket, but the wrong one to plug into the case.. Small problem though.. I'm dead chuffed


Thanx to those who replied:D

RicardoSmith

Any pics?

qBot

Originally posted by RicardoSmith
Any pics?

Here ya go.

RicardoSmith

ooh thats neat. Nicer than the ones I have. Does it have an internal fan?

qBot

nope, but the drive doesn't get as hot as when it was inside in the computer case. Atleast the case doesn't anyway..

RicardoSmith

Umm this is a photo of mine. I've two of these. Sorry the picture is so bad. Photo

I've two different drives in mine. Once gets warm the other a little bit warmer again. The unit has a little 40mm fan on the back. If I wasn't planning on having the drive turned on for a more than an hour or so I guess I'd be happy without a fan. But generally I leave mine running for hours. So I'd need a fan in that case.

qBot

not too shabby..

mine has been running for hours now and it only gets a bit warm. I couldn't take having a fan in it.. My computer has three fans and it runs like an extractor fan.

RicardoSmith

Mines pretty quit as its a laptop. The external drives aren't very noisey either.

qBot

A bit off point but do u just turn the drive off when u don't want to use it or do u use the safe removal tool in the system tray. I read when right clicking on "usb 2.0 mass storage volume" in device manager that u don't have to use this when set to the right option... which i have. Has anyone got any views on this.

RicardoSmith

Originally posted by qBot
A bit off point but do u just turn the drive off when u don't want to use it or do u use the safe removal tool in the system tray. I read when right clicking on "usb 2.0 mass storage volume" in device manager that u don't have to use this when set to the right option... which i have. Has anyone got any views on this.

I have an icon (green arrow) in the system tray from which I select the device I want to turn off. If I don't do this I can have problems with the USB device reconnection. This happens withall my USB devices I have aswell. If I'm leaving it connected I just turn it off after the machine powers down and before it powers up. Sometimes I forgot or don't both and I might have to turn the drive on/off once or twice before XP picks it up again.

CyberGhost

I have this one link

love it! a little bit hot though


I also like this one link

this one is pretty good too link

dazberry

Originally posted by RicardoSmith
Umm this is a photo of mine. I've two of these. Sorry the picture is so bad. Photo

Yeah, I've one of those, its an "i-buddie" (Elite Group?). Not the best, but was cheap at the time - and does the job, but I don't use mine much.

D.

qBot

Originally posted by RicardoSmith
I have an icon (green arrow) in the system tray from which I select the device I want to turn off. If I don't do this I can have problems with the USB device reconnection. This happens withall my USB devices I have aswell. If I'm leaving it connected I just turn it off after the machine powers down and before it powers up. Sometimes I forgot or don't both and I might have to turn the drive on/off once or twice before XP picks it up again.

ya... that's what i'm on about.. but there is an option and it's on by default to not have to bother with it. u can supposedly just turn off or plug out the drive without touching the arrow.. i just wondered did anyone do this or do the always disable the drive from the green arrrow first.

qBot

Actually I found the answer here

RicardoSmith

Originally posted by qBot
Actually I found the answer here

Useful to know. Thanks for the link.