Those Cheaper Usb 2.0 2.5 Inch Enclosures?

[steffi]

Has anybody tried any of those cheaper 2.5 USB 2.0 external drive enclosures?

There's a variety of them around but I'll assume they all use similar chipsets.

I have an older Macsales.com f/w 400 enclosure that I might swap out of as it's thicker than

those others and lacks any USB connectivity.

Is the throughput particuarly bad with these external enclosures or does it actually get close

to 480 mb/s?

If I'm not mistaken I believe prolific makes the most highly regarded USB chipset.

[geoffphuket]

Has anybody tried any of those cheaper 2.5 USB 2.0 external drive enclosures?

There's a variety of them around but I'll assume they all use similar chipsets.

I have an older Macsales.com f/w 400 enclosure that I might swap out of as it's thicker than

those others and lacks any USB connectivity.

Is the throughput particuarly bad with these external enclosures or does it actually get close

to 480 mb/s?

If I'm not mistaken I believe prolific makes the most highly regarded USB chipset.

I've just bought a Philips 2.5 inch drive case from Thanni.com - 260 Baht, came boxed with leads driver cd (for windows 98), a screwdriver and instructions. Brilliant - works really well. the only problem that I've encountered is my computer (laptop) won't go into standby with it plugged in.

geoffphuket

[steffi]

Whilst there are many types the two most common seem to be the Artek 2500 and that one that comes in blue, black and grey and usually has IBM Travelstar written on it. Anybody have any experience with the Artek 2500 model? 550 thb. supports SATA drives...

Has anybody tried any of those cheaper 2.5 USB 2.0 external drive enclosures?

There's a variety of them around but I'll assume they all use similar chipsets.

I have an older Macsales.com f/w 400 enclosure that I might swap out of as it's thicker than

those others and lacks any USB connectivity.

Is the throughput particuarly bad with these external enclosures or does it actually get close

to 480 mb/s?

If I'm not mistaken I believe prolific makes the most highly regarded USB chipset.

I've just bought a Philips 2.5 inch drive case from Thanni.com - 260 Baht, came boxed with leads driver cd (for windows 98), a screwdriver and instructions. Brilliant - works really well. the only problem that I've encountered is my computer (laptop) won't go into standby with it plugged in.

geoffphuket

[Firefoxx]

If your aim is speed, go for eSATA. It's equivalent to an internal drive interface (get a PCMCIA/Expresscard). If not, then most of the enclosures will work fine, with very little variance. I personally wouldn't spend that much on a 2.5" enclosure when they can be had for around 200 baht. If you're going to be using them with older notebooks, get one that has dual USB cables, since some older notebooks don't supply enough juice on a single USB port.

[nikster]

Whilst there are many types the two most common seem to be the Artek 2500 and that one that comes in blue, black and grey and usually has IBM Travelstar written on it. Anybody have any experience with the Artek 2500 model? 550 thb. supports SATA drives...

yes, i have an artek 2500 SATA - the slightly higher price lead me to believe it would maybe be better. big mistake. the artek 2500 simply does not work. it's a brick. luckily i bought another no name one as well, and that works just fine.

my advice: stay away from artek and get a philips one particularly for 260 baht (is that real philips for that price?)...

[nikster]

... If you're going to be using them with older notebooks, get one that has dual USB cables, since some older notebooks don't supply enough juice on a single USB port.

Well thanks for clearing up that mystery for me! I was wondering what these weird-looking dual USB cables were for... at last, an explanation!

[Guest Reimar]

I use a Philips SATA and that works exellent! Need only 1 connector connection on the PC and not 2 as the most. Cost was THB 499.00

For IDE I use a Box from DTech with Battery and several Card Reader. Cost 1,350.00

If I have to suggest, I would go for that brands because the IDE I can use even without comp to download pic's from cards and the SATA because of the single connector. Both work for some of my customers and friends also very well, no any complain!

[Gary A]

I wish now that I would have bought a 2 1/2 inch remote hard drive instead of the desktop size. The power supply for the regular hard drive enclosure is a pain. Not really a big deal but still a pain. The lap top hard drives require no separate power supply.

[Guest Reimar]

I wish now that I would have bought a 2 1/2 inch remote hard drive instead of the desktop size. The power supply for the regular hard drive enclosure is a pain. Not really a big deal but still a pain. The lap top hard drives require no separate power supply.

You're right for some but the 2.5" may requires a second USB connection at same time, the most of the Externals need that! But as I wrote the Philips SATA just need 1 connection and this with 120 GB inside!

The only advantage of the 3.5" HDD is that the limits for space is much higher than for 2.5": 3.5" up to 1,000 GB versus 2.5" up to 160 GB (may the new WD 250 GB will works as well)!

[nikster]

I wish now that I would have bought a 2 1/2 inch remote hard drive instead of the desktop size. The power supply for the regular hard drive enclosure is a pain. Not really a big deal but still a pain. The lap top hard drives require no separate power supply.

Especially true in Thailand. When I do a backup, I have to first get out the UPS for the 3.5" enclosures, then do a whole lot of cable-unrolling, etc.

With the 2.5" enclosure, just plug in and go. Safe from power outages, no cables, and portable. The only problem is that they don't make 500GB laptop hard drives...

I just got the Philips 2.5" enclosure. The SATA version is a bit more @ 490 Baht at thanni and 550 at the local shop where I got it. It's by far the best external enclosure I got so far, looks to be solidly engineered, and comes with lots of cables and a leather case which is very useful for throwing it in the backpack. Highly recommended and thanks geoffphuket for the tip

PS: I saw this Philips box for up to 790 baht in Chiang Mai. Better go with Thanni, really. The funny thing about Thanni is that this enclosure is not listed under hard disks->external, but rather Home->Accessories->External enclosures

Edited July 16, 2007 by nikster

[Firefoxx]

2.5" drives were originally meant to be used in notebooks, and hence use lower power. They could therefore run from just the power supplied by the USB port. Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages.

Speed: Desktop drives have faster rotational speeds, and even at the same RPM desktop drives are still faster.

Capacity: Desktop drives now are available at 750GB, while 2.5" drives have just reached 200GB.

Size/weight/physical: Desktop drives are of course bigger/heavier/louder/hotter.

Price: Per GB, desktop drives are cheaper.

[steffi]

I believe it's 250 GB now re: 2.5" drives but yes 3.5 are larger which is why I have a 400 GB Barracuda in an external enclosure here.

2.5" drives were originally meant to be used in notebooks, and hence use lower power. They could therefore run from just the power supplied by the USB port. Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages.

Speed: Desktop drives have faster rotational speeds, and even at the same RPM desktop drives are still faster.

Capacity: Desktop drives now are available at 750GB, while 2.5" drives have just reached 200GB.

Size/weight/physical: Desktop drives are of course bigger/heavier/louder/hotter.

Price: Per GB, desktop drives are cheaper.