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  1. I was going to buy an external hard drive (Seagate, Maxtor, etc.), but I have since read many things online about building your own using an external case and a regular ATA IDE internal hard drive. I could really use some advice and feedback from others who have experience with this subject.

    MY USE: I'm looking for a 200-300GB drive, firewire or USB, for recording real-time audio and/or video to (using Cakewalk Sonar for audio recording and Sony Vegas for video capturing).

    WHAT I'VE HEARD: Alluminum cases are the way to go and use firewire instead of USB2. I've heard the transfer rates of an external drive are obviously slower than an internally mounted one, but that there is no speed different between prebuilts (Maxtor, Seagate, etc.) or DIY drives.

    MY QUESTIONS:

    1 - Should I get a case that has a fan or not?

    2 - Will the drives perform well enough to record real time full-quality video and or audio to? I would also need to read that information for playback from the drive.

    3 - Does a prebuilt outperform a DIY, or vice versa?

    4 - USB2 or Firewire?

    5 - If I were to get a prebuilt which would you recommend? I've heard that Maxtors aren't very reliable... is this true?

    6 - Will an external be suitable for my needs?


    Thanks for you help everyone! I really appreciate the feedback!

    -DVD-Dude
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  2. Aging Slowly Bodyslide's Avatar
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    1. Yes, get a fan
    2. Yes
    3. I have only used the DIY versions.
    4. I have a USB2 and have had no issues with capture or playback.
    5. I would buy an external Aluminum case with fan for around 35.00, 50.00 if you want both firewire and usb2. Then buy you a 300 gb drive amd place in the case.
    6. I think so
    Here's one that is close to what I have.
    http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-145-357&depa=0
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  3. contrarian rallynavvie's Avatar
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    By prebuilt you mean a drive in an enclosure already? I built all but one of my 6 FireWire drives and it's the one I didn't build that causes problems for me. Get a good enclosure from Granite Digital and put your IDE drive in there, you'll have no problems.
    FB-DIMM are the real cause of global warming
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  4. Member
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    Well here is my experience for what it is worth.

    Only 1 prebuild and 6 DYI. all 5.25" for hdd or cd/dvd
    All are plastic usb2 (don't have firewire)
    I see no differance between pre-built and DYI except the cost

    For the hdd install I also use removeable caddy so I can swap drives easy
    Maxtor hdd 1 40g, 2 60g, 2 120g. Western Digital 1 120g
    Dvd burners nec 1300a, Emprex dual 4x, I/O Magic dual 8x and 2 nec 3520a

    So far I have not been able to burn faster than 4x in usb. But this could be me, media, usb2 port or someting else.

    I use ADS InstantDvd=2 (hardware cap encoder) , Compro usb VideoMate Live (hardware encoder tuner pvr) and Leadtek Winfast TV2000 deluxe (pci software capture)

    I have had no problems capturing to the external, in fact that is why I went this way way back when desktop hdd would only do 4mb/s write.
    I have captured to external and then burned to external burner with no issue. Most of my stuff is at 4mb/s

    If I remember correctly the external hdd tested at 20 mb/s sustained data transfer. Same tested at 50+ in desktop *new system)

    All my cases have fans, if I were not so cheap, I would have gone with dual usb/firewire cases. Mine were only $25-35 us and the dual ones were $60 us and up.

    Very easy to DYI, both my daughter and granddaughter in new your have done it with stuff I sent them. That way they do not have to get under the hood (open up the tower case)

    I prefer usb if I had to choose, but not for preformance, but for mobility to other systems without firewire.

    Ideal box would be dual usb/firewire with firewire passthru for daisychain
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  5. Thanks for the feedback so far.

    I'm having trouble finding an alluminum case for a 3.5" hard drive (up to 300GB) with the Oxford 911 chipset, USB2, firewire, and a fan. Anybody know of a good one for under $50?

    -DVD-Dude
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  6. Originally Posted by dvd-dude
    Thanks for the feedback so far.

    I'm having trouble finding an alluminum case for a 3.5" hard drive (up to 300GB) with the Oxford 911 chipset, USB2, firewire, and a fan. Anybody know of a good one for under $50?

    -DVD-Dude
    Here's one but it's only firewire:

    http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?DEPA=0&description=17-145-339&ATT=Extern...C-pr1c3grabb3r




    We have 3 of the following and they work great.
    The price is higher than you want to spend though.

    http://shop1.outpost.com/product/3553794?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

    Karen
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  7. I think BYTECC enclosures are the best for the money, look for frequent sales at www.newegg.com

    My 250GB Hitachi drive works great in it. My LiteOn DVD-ROM did too. Just don't think about doing a Plextor DIY, they like only their own enclosures for some reason.
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  8. Mod Neophyte Super Moderator redwudz's Avatar
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    Here's another source for cases, some within your price range. They also have Firewire 800 cases, for higher transfer rates. Most have the Oxford chipsets. http://www.cooldrives.com/firen.html

    I would also recommend a dual Firewire/USB case with a fan. I have always had better luck with the Firewire interface, but I occasionally use USB 2.0.

    When you go with the bigger HD's a well ventilated case with a fan is a must to extend drive life. Set you external HD jumper to Master. It only takes a few minutes to put the drive in the case.

    Firewire cards are inexpensive and install automatically under Win XP, SP1 or higher.
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  9. http://www.cooldrives.com/koulfiusb20c.html

    Why does this drive say it doesn't require a fan? I trust everyone when they say that I should get an enclosure with a fan, I'm just surprised at how many drives do not include a fan... and then there's this drive which says it doesn't even need one. How can these enclosures not give you a fan? Wouldn't the case get smoking hot? If not then what is the real advantage of a fan? It is simply to prolong the life of your hard drive? How well does it usually do so?

    If a drive doesn't say Oxford 911 somewhere than odds are it isn't, correct? If I'm doing video and audio with this hard drive I should probably have the Oxford 911 chip set, right? And will I benefit from a firewire 800 or do I need to then buy a different firewire card in order to take advantage of the possible speed increase?

    Thanks a lot for your help! This is more helpful than you know! I think I'm starting to focus in on exactly what I need and why.

    -DVD-Dude
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  10. Originally Posted by dvd-dude
    http://www.cooldrives.com/koulfiusb20c.html

    Why does this drive say it doesn't require a fan? -DVD-Dude

    The aluminum case probably acts like a heat sink. We have a lot of removable HD drawers in our PCs. They are made of aluminum also.

    Dave
    (thanks Karen!)
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  11. So what you're saying is the alluminum absorbs all the heat? Is that good for the hard drive? Is a fan a lot better setup or is it "6 to one 1/2 dozen to the other?"

    -DVD-Dude
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  12. Originally Posted by dvd-dude
    So what you're saying is the alluminum absorbs all the heat? Is that good for the hard drive? Is a fan a lot better setup or is it "6 to one 1/2 dozen to the other?"

    -DVD-Dude
    It helps transfer the heat to the outside of the case.
    Even though our HD drawers are aluminum
    they do have fans. Karen provided a link to
    the ADS enclosures that we have and those have
    fans too.

    You could email Cooldrives and ask them about the
    enclosure in your link not needing a fan.
    Let us know what they say!

    Dave
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  13. I will definitely post a reply when/if I get one from cooldrives. Thanks for all your help.


    I checked out the one Karen posted earlier

    http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?DEPA=0&description=17-145-339&ATT=Extern...C-pr1c3grabb3r

    But it doesn't seem to have a fan...

    -DVD-Dude
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  14. Originally Posted by dvd-dude
    I will definitely post a reply when/if I get one from cooldrives. Thanks for all your help.


    I checked out the one Karen posted earlier

    http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?DEPA=0&description=17-145-339&ATT=Extern...C-pr1c3grabb3r

    But it doesn't seem to have a fan...

    -DVD-Dude

    Dave went home and I'm leaving too, but I found this thread;

    http://groups.google.co.uk/groups?hl=en&lr=&th=a749d09767203a&rnum=8



    Our drives run all day and some of them run 24/7 so we
    opted for fans in everything. My friend who built all of
    these computers passed away recently so I can't ask
    him if he checked for any heat building up in the enclosures.
    We've been working on other things so we don't have time to
    check them.

    I hope we helped you a little bit!

    Karen
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  15. contrarian rallynavvie's Avatar
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    I don't think 1394b is going to make a difference if you're only running the one drive on that FireWire channel.
    FB-DIMM are the real cause of global warming
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  16. Member
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    I have used a Western Digital pre-built 120GB and I also have a Bytecc aluminum USB2/FW enclosure. I like the Bytecc better, mainly because when you buy a pre-built external drive there is no way to open the case if something goes wrong (the one I have looks like it's glued together). I have had no problems with either one, and they are both fast enough for most anything. I have found firewire to be considerably faster than USB2 in the real world. The Bytecc enclosure I have is model ME-740U2F shaped like a book with a bright neon blue light. (I'm even thinking of getting another one of these.) It is well built aluminum (no fan) with Prolific chipset. If you definitely want the Oxford chipset, the only combo USB2/FW enclosure I know of that uses Oxford for FW is by Kingwin. There are many that are FW-only that use Oxford however. The aluminum enclosures only need a fan if you intend to leave them on for many hours, if you only have them on for an hour or two they only get warm - not hot. You might want to also look for one with an on/off switch (you'd be surprised how many of these externals have no on/off switch).
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  17. Member
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    OK, I have found a USB2/FW enclosure with Oxford chipset, 2 fans, aluminum case and only costs $41. Wonder how good it is? Sounds tempting.

    http://www.dealsonic.com/stpmblsmbaco3.html
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  18. nice, if you get it, remember to report back
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