External HDD storage

[stiltman]

What do you all use for external HDDs. I'm running out a space on my 2 internal drives and rather than upgrading them to 200gb or something like that, I was thinking about getting something external.

I'll have to get a PCI card because my PC only has USB1.
I don't want to use my PCI bus to power the HDD because I've pretty much maxed out my PSU with what I have in my PC and whats hanging out (tape drive). I also really don't care if it's firewire or USB because I'll buy a card that has both. Plus, it will only be used for storage and not as everyday working drive.

So what do you all use (model#)
Are drives easily change from it (enclosure?)
Expandable?
Are you happy with it?
USB or firewire?

[ViRaL1]

I have a Maxtor 5000DV 120GB. No problems with it whatsoever. Although XP does ask for drivers (2000 doesn't). I think this is because of the 'One Touch Backup' button on the front.

I have an older ADS firewire enclosure with just a 40GB drive in it. It's pretty easy to swap drives if I need to. I've used it for moving data off of an OS drive that wouldn't boot and switched it back to the 40GB in a matter of minutes. The downside is, I can't seem to find a model number, and despite having a removeable faceplate (conceivebly for an optical drive) AND stereo RCA jacks on the back (HDD-Audio anyone?) yet, I've never been able to get an optical drive to work in it. I can't complain too much, it was open-box and I got a good deal on it at the time. Aslo it doesn't support 48-bit ATA (>137GB).

Learning my lesson, I also got (don't know the name but I got it from ComputerGeeks) an external USB2/Firewire enclosure that supports hard drives, CD/DVD etc. I have my DRU500A in there and it burns at 4x without a hitch. On the other hand, when it's all put together like it should be with the drive properly mounted, it's not really easy to remove and readd another drive, but that was never the intent. Looks like the pic below, but with 1 USB2 and 2 Firewire ports instead of SATA.

I WOULD recommend choosing your own enclosure and getting whatever size hard drive you need, it will be less expensive than premade, plus it will be upgradeable. Make sure you get something that supports >137GB, CD/DVD just in case (no pun intended) and has an Oxford 911 chipset or better.

[DVD_Ripper]

I WOULD recommend choosing your own enclosure and getting whatever size hard drive you need, it will be less expensive than premade, plus it will be upgradeable. Make sure you get something that supports >137GB, CD/DVD just in case (no pun intended) and has an Oxford 911 chipset or better.

I'm in the same boat as Stilt.... I have about 60Gigs internal and will no doubt go external before xmas ... probably firewire.... but what mfg would anyone recommend for a good enclosure. ADSTech other others to support an IDE HD today and maybe a DVD Burner tomorrow??

[ViRaL1]

I think ADS is overpriced and they don't really offer anything extra for the money. Speaking of overpriced...

They have an option to buy a kit, with the drive included. Here are the specs and their 'retail values'...

40GB Ultra-Fast hard drive $179
80GB Ultra-Fast hard drive $240
120GB Ultra-Fast hard drive $364
160GB Ultra-Fast hard drive $530
200GB Ultra-Fast hard drive $658

If you click on the link for these drives, they are WD Caviar BB drives (7200RPM / 2MB cache)

Mind you, they don't charge you their 'retail value', but considering you can find a 2000JB (7200RPM / 8MB cache / 3yr warranty) for just over $100 online, and a basic USB2 / Firewire enclosure for under $50, paying $260 for a 2MB version and their enclosure is outrageous.

[stiltman]

I was looking at this one from newegg

BYTECC 5.25" USB 2.0/ 1394 Combo External Enclosure, Model "ME-320U2F" -RETAIL
- Specifications -

Application: 5.25" CD/ CDRW/ DVD, 3.5" IDE drive
Material: Not Specified
IDE Interface: IDE
Interface: USB 2.0 / 1394 Combo
Power: AC input: 100 - 240V
Features: Supports 250GB Hard Drive. With a COOLING FAN
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=92&manufactory=16...tby=14&order=1
About halfway down and its $42.99

I have seen some advertise the chipset...what's that all about?
VIA has some then the Oxford.

[ViRaL1]

VIA is good too, just make sure it supports 48-bit addressing. That way you can use larger drives if you decide you want something over 120GB. Others may have some recommendations about a brand or model. I'm not sure how much they vary but I'm sure the greatest differences are in construction as opposed to compatibility.

[joecav]

Stilt,

I have a similar Bytecc enclosure (USB only) and put a 160GB Maxtor HD in it and it works great.
This one

It got alot of good reviews too. It's inexpensive (but kinda "cheap") and the important thing is it works. I would recommend it to anyone. If you plan on swapping out the HD often then you might want to go for an aluminum model thats sturdier.

[1hunglo]

I was looking at this one from newegg

BYTECC 5.25" USB 2.0/ 1394 Combo External Enclosure, Model "ME-320U2F" -RETAIL
- Specifications -

Application: 5.25" CD/ CDRW/ DVD, 3.5" IDE drive
Material: Not Specified
IDE Interface: IDE
Interface: USB 2.0 / 1394 Combo
Power: AC input: 100 - 240V
Features: Supports 250GB Hard Drive. With a COOLING FAN
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=92&manufactory=16...tby=14&order=1
About halfway down and its $42.99

I have seen some advertise the chipset...what's that all about?
VIA has some then the Oxford.

I've been using 2 of these for about a year and a half and they work great. Built in fan, sturdy construction. I just ordered 2 more from Newegg. They stack good and being both USB 2 and firewire is very handy although in my tests firewire kicked USB's ass so thoroughly I use firewire almost exclusively.

I put an A07 burner in one and it burns even faster than the internal burner. Even better I can plug it in to my laptop and burn no problem as well. These things work.

[stiltman]

I've been using 2 of these for about a year and a half and they work great. Built in fan, sturdy construction. I just ordered 2 more from Newegg. They stack good and being both USB 2 and firewire is very handy although in my tests firewire kicked USB's ass so thoroughly I use firewire almost exclusively.

I put an A07 burner in one and it burns even faster than the internal burner. Even better I can plug it in to my laptop and burn no problem as well. These things work.

Welcome aboard 1hunglo, I suggest you stay out of off topic till you get a few more posts though....they might eat you alive

Joking of course....thanks for the feedback. What price did you pay for them?

[ViRaL1]

Taking a look at it, I think I have my DRU500A in the same enclosure.

[1hunglo]

Welcome aboard 1hunglo, I suggest you stay out of off topic till you get a few more posts though....they might eat you alive

Wearing my shark suit...hope that's good enough!

Joking of course....thanks for the feedback. What price did you pay for them?

The first ones were about $60 from ComputerGeeks. The ones I'm expecting to be delivered tomorrow from NewEgg $42.99.

[DVD_Ripper]

I was looking at this one from newegg

BYTECC 5.25" USB 2.0/ 1394 Combo External Enclosure, Model "ME-320U2F" -RETAIL

I'm not fond of mailorder... just me .. like to touch and feel before I buy .... can these be sourced via CompUSA / MicroComputer Centers or the such?

[808smokey]

I was looking at this one from newegg

BYTECC 5.25" USB 2.0/ 1394 Combo External Enclosure, Model "ME-320U2F" -RETAIL

I'm not fond of mailorder... just me .. like to touch and feel before I buy .... can these be sourced via CompUSA / MicroComputer Centers or the such?

Touch and feel all you want at bestbuy then go online and buy for less money

[stiltman]

I was looking at this one from newegg

BYTECC 5.25" USB 2.0/ 1394 Combo External Enclosure, Model "ME-320U2F" -RETAIL

I'm not fond of mailorder... just me .. like to touch and feel before I buy .... can these be sourced via CompUSA / MicroComputer Centers or the such?

Looks like they have the same thing at Frys, but it's $54 instead of $43
http://shop1.outpost.com/product/3543164

[stiltman]

OK now how does fireware 800 play into all this?

I noticed enclosures that use Oxford 922 are 800 not 400. Isn't the PCI bus going to be a bottleneck?

[stiltman]

Anyone seen this before?

Looks almost like the Bytecc
http://www.pcmicrostore.com/PartDetail.aspx?q=c:36232;p:10501119

Has a Prolific chipset

[videocheez]

I have a Maxtor 5000XT 250GB. I liked it so much I just bought another. I bought the first one maybe 18months ago for $400 and the second for $250. It can be used with either firewire or USB2.0. I had problems using it as a firewire drive. It would occasionally lock up. The USB feature works great. It only rotates at 5400RPM but it's great for backing up. I also use it as an drive for my ftp server. I'm gonna get another the next time I catch one on sale.

VC

[rallynavvie]

Now we're talking.

1394a or 1394b is the only way to go. I paid a friend to take one of my USB 2.0 enclosures and he thought he was getting the deal of a lifetime. I got my $5 back but we trashed the enclosure. And that was supposed to be one of the "good ones".

I have one FantomDisk 40GB bus-powered drive, one 200GB drive in a Granite Digital 1394b hot swap enclosure, and then 3 DVD burners each in their own aluminum 1394a enclosure (which the brand is unknown but they are my favorite enclosures). All work wonderfully.

If you want expandability the Granite hot swap enclosures are the best. Then you only need more swap trays if you need more space rather than more enclosures. I use mine to archive customer projects for future use or reference.

[stiltman]

Now we're talking.

1394a or 1394b.

Damit be clear man!

a = 400 and b = 800 , right?

But can a 400FSB PCI bus get 800? I didn't think so?

first I was just looking at an enclosure but of course there are 5 million to freaking chose from. Then I said, Stiltman, get a freaking external that you can put that damn tape drive in too. Then I realized i could use all my removable HDD caddies too....


DAMN IT TO HELL !!!!!!!



think i'll go with the least expensive enclosure i can find that has usb2 and firewire a or 400 or what ever they call that mac crap

[DVD_Ripper]

Now we're talking.

1394a or 1394b.

Damit be clear man!

a = 400 and b = 800 , right?

But can a 400FSB PCI bus get 800? I didn't think so?

first I was just looking at an enclosure but of course there are 5 million to freaking chose from. Then I said, Stiltman, get a freaking external that you can put that damn tape drive in too. Then I realized i could use all my removable HDD caddies too....


DAMN IT TO HELL !!!!!!!



think i'll go with the least expensive enclosure i can find that has usb2 and firewire a or 400 or what ever they call that mac crap

Stilt... let me know how you make out.... I think I will be doing the same this winter... some of hte DVD's I'm buring are wigging out and due to limited disk space I'm not backing up the MPEG's... and good 200G would be a good start to archiving these files

[rallynavvie]

400 and 800 in reference to FireWire refer to their max throughput in MB/sec, so 1394b is 800 MB/sec bandwidth. I think most 1394b PCI cards are 66/100 MHz bandwidth PCI-X cards which is more than ample. I can't remember how the math work to show how much data a 100 MHz PCI-X bus can push through.

Keep in mind you won't see 400 or 800 speeds from a single drive. Remember that ATA 133 drive you would put in there? It only does 133 MB/sec theoretically. So why the extra bandwidth on FireWire? So you can download from several devices on the bus without slowing them down. Say for 1394b you could be pulling at max transfer rates from 8 ATA 100 hard drives if you wanted. For a single drive FireWire 400 is plenty though. You'll still have plenty of room for a capture device or something.

[stiltman]

400 and 800 in reference to FireWire refer to their max throughput in MB/sec, so 1394b is 800 MB/sec bandwidth. I think most 1394b PCI cards are 66/100 MHz bandwidth PCI-X cards which is more than ample. I can't remember how the math work to show how much data a 100 MHz PCI-X bus can push through.

Keep in mind you won't see 400 or 800 speeds from a single drive. Remember that ATA 133 drive you would put in there? It only does 133 MB/sec theoretically. So why the extra bandwidth on FireWire? So you can download from several devices on the bus without slowing them down. Say for 1394b you could be pulling at max transfer rates from 8 ATA 100 hard drives if you wanted. For a single drive FireWire 400 is plenty though. You'll still have plenty of room for a capture device or something.

Thanks!

[stiltman]

Looks like a good deal


http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&u=c&catoid=-10263&qp=0&oid=75676&m=0

Western Digital 120GB External Hard Drive
Brand/Model: WDC WDXU1200BBRNN

$20 Merchandise Card Available
you pay $179.99
mail-in rebate(s) -$60.00
price after rebate(s) $119.99
Plus a USB/firewire card

[stiltman]

How do these look?

http://www.pcmicrostore.com/PartDetail.aspx?q=c:36230;p:10501154
$18, HOUSE BRAND USB 2.0/FIREWIRE IEEE PCI 4PORT 2X USB 2X IEEE COMBO CARD (USB/IEEE4COMBO)

http://www.pcmicrostore.com/PartDetail.aspx?q=c:36230;p:10501119
$35, TRIUMPH DIAMOND 3.5" & 5.25" IDE TO USB 2.0 & FIREWIRE EXTERNAL CASE ENCLOSURE (TT-346U2F)

I have a few small HDDs lying around to use....10gb-60gb

[stiltman]

I ended up getting this card from Fry's

Model # 1578 (UPC # 833250001578)
USB 2.0 + 1394 COMBO PCI CARD
(4 Ext. + 1 Int.) USB 2.0 + (2 Ext. + 1 Int.) 1394 Ports
VIA chipset

[stiltman]

http://www.pcmicrostore.com/PartDetail.aspx?q=c:36230;p:10501119
$35, TRIUMPH DIAMOND 3.5" & 5.25" IDE TO USB 2.0 & FIREWIRE EXTERNAL CASE ENCLOSURE (TT-346U2F)

Read this thread before you buy this enclosure. I was going to buy it until I did some research on the prolific chipset

[stiltman]

I just order this external enclosure. What do you think?

PLUMAX 3.5" & 5.25" IDE TO USB 2.0 & FIREWIRE EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE ENCLOSURE (OXFORD 911) (PM-525C2-PTS)

[handyguy]

Is that the one from Dealsonic for $20.99 plus $5.95 shipping with fan?

Yeah, WD 120 gig internal is under $50 after rebates @ circuit city. Take a look at their new CRT hdtv sets too.

[stiltman]

Is that the one from Dealsonic for $20.99 plus $5.95 shipping with fan?

Yeah, WD 120 gig internal is under $50 after rebates @ circuit city. Take a look at their new CRT hdtv sets too.

No, mine (picture) is link to the site I got it from.
Dealsonic was least, until you added the same things that came with the one i bought. Plus the $20 model is only USB.

[gmatov]

Rallie,

1394 is 400 or is it 450 mega BITS per second, 56, approx., MBPS.

USB 2.0 is 480 mega BITS per second, 60 MBPS.

ATA 133 is 133 Mega BYTES per second X 8 bits is 1 million 64 thousand BITS per second.

Firewire 800 won't strain the ATA buss.

Where's the link to the chipsets used in external enclosures? I have 2 WD 120s and an 80, and an enclosure with a small drive in it, like 25 bucks at the show, but a really flimsy piece of crap. Works, just not pleasing for it's mickey mouse construction. Comes apart in many pieces to install your drive, takes 4 hands to hold everything in place to button it up.

Hot swap removeable tray drive is best if you have an extra 5 1/4 bay and enough power to run another internal. Stack your extras where you can reach them, slap in a new one when the data is on another drive. At least you remove the clutter from your desk, what with all those externals crowding the comp off the desk.

Cheers,

George