What's The Best USB Hard Drive Enclosure

[Richard in Va.]

My brother bought himself a USB Hard Drive Enclosure for Christmas.

It's really caught my eye, except he bought an inexpensive model for around $28.
I've gone to TigerDirect and it seems that everyone and his brother makes those things
ranging from $18-$50+.
They vary in configuration and features by model and it's hard to tell by reading user
reviews. whereas for any given model, some people really like it and some people really
hate it. Breaks or doesn't work or whatever.

Can anyone recommend a good enclosure at a fair price? A few things that I would want to
have in an enclosure but can't seem to find more information on the general sales web page
(TigerDirect).

Here is what I think I would prefer along with a few questions...

a) 3-1/2" PATA Ultra 100 up to 400GB
b) USB2 (FireWire400 included would be a plus) I have 3 Firewire Ports and no plans for
them.
c) Power on/off switch (would be a must)
d) Vertical or horizontal (such that I could stack if I get more than one)
e) Will multiple USB2 drives work on a hub?
f) Which USB2 Drives will auto spin-down after a time of inactivity.
(This is where I really have problems knowing which ones will, I've read that some
have a better chipset that will shut the disc motor down when not being used. (This would
be a must as well).
g) I'm not sure about a cooling fan, some say there really not needed, so maybe a
on/off switch for the fan might be in order.
h) And in a nut-shell, who makes quality drives. (for a reasonable price).

I'm sure there are tons of people in amongst this newsgroup that know the ups-and-downs of
these things.
Could someone give me a heads up?

Thanks for your help!

Best regards,

Richard in Va.
++++++++++++++++++

 

[Alias]

My brother bought himself a USB Hard Drive Enclosure for Christmas.

It's really caught my eye, except he bought an inexpensive model for around $28.
I've gone to TigerDirect and it seems that everyone and his brother makes those things
ranging from $18-$50+.
They vary in configuration and features by model and it's hard to tell by reading user
reviews. whereas for any given model, some people really like it and some people really
hate it. Breaks or doesn't work or whatever.

Can anyone recommend a good enclosure at a fair price? A few things that I would want to
have in an enclosure but can't seem to find more information on the general sales web page
(TigerDirect).

Here is what I think I would prefer along with a few questions...

a) 3-1/2" PATA Ultra 100 up to 400GB
b) USB2 (FireWire400 included would be a plus) I have 3 Firewire Ports and no plans for
them.
c) Power on/off switch (would be a must)
d) Vertical or horizontal (such that I could stack if I get more than one)
e) Will multiple USB2 drives work on a hub?
f) Which USB2 Drives will auto spin-down after a time of inactivity.
(This is where I really have problems knowing which ones will, I've read that some
have a better chipset that will shut the disc motor down when not being used. (This would
be a must as well).
g) I'm not sure about a cooling fan, some say there really not needed, so maybe a
on/off switch for the fan might be in order.
h) And in a nut-shell, who makes quality drives. (for a reasonable price).

I'm sure there are tons of people in amongst this newsgroup that know the ups-and-downs of
these things.
Could someone give me a heads up?

Thanks for your help!

Best regards,

Richard in Va.
++++++++++++++++++

I use LG's MobileLite and it meets your specs except that it doesn't
have a fan. Seagate is a good hard drive manufacturer.