USB Powered external case for 3.5" Hard Drives....

[siratfus]

Is there such a thing? I always see USB powered products for 2.5" hard drives such as the WD passports and Seagate free agents. I even see external case accessories for 2.5'' hard drives that are USB powered. However, I'm having a hard time finding USB powered products for 3.5'' drives.

I saw an external case for 3.5 drive at FRYS by Zonet and it says usb power. However, info on the product online says adapter... so I'm not sure. Even if it was usb powered, given the rarity of this, I'm wondering if it's such a good idea?

Does anybody know of any company or products out there that are USB powered for 3.5 drives other than Zonet?

Thanks for your help!

[ranchhand]

Is this what you had in mind? http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Descr...case&x=20&y=31

By the way, larger drives seem to be less trouble prone with an external power adapter; I use them for my older drives and the one I use has never given me a bit of trouble.

[Supreme2k]

For the most part, no. 2.5" drives were built for laptops, with low-power needs in mind. That is why they are able to work off most usb ports. Some ports don't quite put out enough power, and some drives need more power than is normally available.

[orsetto]

Full USB power for external accessories is relatively new. Early on, even the external 2.5 devices pulled more juice than the bus could provide. Over time, power requirements dropped and USB2 offered improved power output. Most 2.5 pocket drives will now run without an AC power adapter, although a few need the juice from a double port connection (these come with a USB "Y" cable). I've never seen an external 3.5 device that was powered by USB: nearly all 3.5 hardware is engineered for full Molex power running direct from the CPU case. When these 3.5 devices are put in external USB carriers, they usually need a separate power brick to work.

[redwudz]

Just to add, a computer USB port usually limits the power to 500MA, about half a ampere. That's usually not enough for a 3.5" HDD. I have two 2.5" external HDDs and one of them won't run from just USB power.

Also if you plan to use that drive with a DVD player, you could damage the player if it doesn't properly limit the current draw. I would just plan on using a power brick if you want to use a 3.5" HDD.

[tmw]

Also, USB has only 5volt power. Most 3.5" drives need the 12volt power supply as well. If you need 3.5" drive, you will have to plug into a power source too.

[siratfus]

Thanx to all those who replied. Okay, so here's what I'm trying to do. I have a 3.5 Sata docking station that is also a hub for 4 usb connections. This docking station is connected to my WD TV player. I want to add more storage via the hub and so far the best solution is the WD passport essential "bus-powered" portable hard drives. This is clean because I don't have to deal with any more ac adapters. However, this is not the best bang for your buck, as you guys know, you can get twice the storage for the same price with 3.5 hdds. But I don't want to connect a bunch of 3.5's each with it's own ac adapter... all the wires get messy, not to mention the inconvenience of unplugging and replugging the ac adapter to and fro.

So we've established that there is no such thing as a bus-powered external case for 3.5 hdds. Do you guys know of any multi hdd cases that works like a docking station? Most multi hdd cases require you to screw the drives in. I want something that can house 2 or more hard drives, but can remove the drives with a simple eject button. No screws, no racks attached. Just a clean eject, whenever I need to add more movies...so I can take the drive to my PC where I have another docking station. Lots of these external bays are confusing, they are expensive and have a lot of features I don't need. I don't need to network, I don't need streaming, I don't need anything. Just a simple house for multiple drives that can easily eject. I guess in other words, a multi-dock. All the docking stations on the market are for a single drive.

[jagabo]

I agree with redwudz -- expect to use external power with 3.5 inch drives.

A few hot swappable 2 drive USB enclosures:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817332006
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182116