I recently went from having several computer workstations, to a single laptop. I did not want to backup everything on disc (I already have things backed up on external drives) and I didn't really want to just sell my drives with my work on them (I have loads of pictures, video, and 3d renders stored over 2-3 TB of space).
I was at circuit city, and seen this case. It is from Antec, a company I trust and like, and it works with internal sata drives. As long as they didn't screw things up, this was going to be a good thing (they did not, and it is).
Assembly is so easy, a caveman can do it (darn you geiko!). You take your sata drive out of your computer, open up the antec case, insert your harddrive, screw in the 4 screws (they fit easily with my Western Digital 500gb drives) then insert the drive (and backing) into the case and plug in the power cord. Once that is closed, you screw in 2 black screws. Very easy, and it looks great too.
I have 5 of these right now, in use, and they all run perfectly, look fantastic, are slim, make no noise, do not have glaring lights, and work the way you would want.
These look great, and work great. Transfers are fast, and the unit does what you want it too.
If I have a complaint, it is the stupid power supply, The thing is slanted sideways, and takes up 2-3 ports on your power supply. Why they can't use standard power supplies, or supplies connected to a power brick is beyond me.
If you are going to be setting these up and keeping them on your best bet is to buy the Surge Protecter known as PowerSquid (it is here on amazon) that way you can keep them running at the same time, without messing up anything.
Also while I am at it, if you want a USB hub that matches these drives perfectly, then I highly recommend the low priced, and highly functional Cables To Go 7 Port USB 2.0 Hub that is also available here on amazon. It matches the design of the enclosure perfectly.
All in all, a perfect product, it does what you want, with no frills.
Note this model only has USB 2.0 function, which is fine. If you need high speed transfer for video, I would recommend a firewire 2 setup, or nas, and this will cost money. Antec MX-100 3.5-Inch USB Aluminum Enclosure for SATA Hard Drive
This is the second Antec enclosure I purchased and is a overall a good product. The only problem is that the 4 screws for mounting the HDD to the PCB are too long and do not secure the HDD properly. Am going to have to find some washers at the local hardware store.
pros:
-really small enclosure for a 3.5" (no fan)
-easy to install and good instructions
-good price
cons:
-the wrong screws
If Bruce Wayne were to own an enclosure, it would seem like he would own this one; the enclosure is a black brush metal, but most of all, the LED on the front is shaped like a bat. Seriously. It lights up in only white (which is a good thing - who needs flashy rainbow colors?) and flickers when it is reading/writing.
This is a good basic enclosure if you just want to hook up your SATA drive via USB 2. It is very simple to install and sticks in easily (no annoying ribbons like on some IDE enclosure). For beginners, it includes an instruction sheet on how to install in all black & white picture drawings - not a single word on it - so this is good for visual learners.
With this enclosure, when you SAFELY REMOVE THE DEVICE, it will automatically shutdown the hard drive for you (from the sound of my hard drive, it seems to shut it off abruptly). Most enclosures I've used will still have the hard drive running even when you safely remove the device from the computer). If you reconnect the USB, the hard drive will power back on (that is if you have the power switch kept to ON).
The power supply doesn't use one of those "power bricks", but instead, the thickness (horizontally) is on the plug itself so it may block some areas on the power outlet.
The reason I gave this a three star is, while the enclosure works, the black brush metal started to fade and turned orange because I had it near the window - avoid from sunlight! It also will show signs of finger prints as well.
The design is really similar with Vantec's NexStar 3 Enclsoure, but I definitely prefer Vantec's glossy sleek finish (and it feels nicer too). If you want people to drool over your enclosure, then go with the Vantec. If you want more of a casual, plain look then go with this Antec.
I purchased a 500G SATA drive thinking I could install it into my Dell Inspriron 531 (with 500G already). After quite some time and some really good service over the phone with Dell, they told me my computer has a maximum internal drive capacity, of which, I was already at. They suggested using an enclosure and making my recent purchase a USB drive.
I found it on Amazon and ordered the enclosure. When it came it had simple but clear instructions, which I didn't really need. I assembed the drive into the enclosure. The only problem I had was that there is a power connecting wire that when I first tried to open the assembly so I could put my drive in, the wire seemed to be stuck. It took me a while to relize that they had put a small ammount of adhesive to hold it in place and that I had to free this up so I could slide the assembly out and install my drive. Once I figured that out it was a breeze.
After assembly it worked fine right off the bat, took a while to format the 500G dive, but now I can use it and have a terabyte of memory for my video editing.
I bought two of these to house drives to backup my HP EX475 MediaSmart Home Server (AMD Live, Windows Home Server, 1 TB Hard Drive). I'm still giving them 5 stars, but I'll share a couple of tips for using them. There is a power wire running from one end cap to the other. It took me a moment when I opened the first one to figure out I needed to disconnect it to remove the end cap for my drive installation. After the drive was attached, reconnecting the wire took a minute, but it wasn't hard. The wire has a 3 pin connector that was easy enough to connect and disconnect.
The bright white Bat Light drive use indicator is OK for me too, and the unit is quiet with a 1TB WD drive in it. One other thing - one of the enclosures didn't ship with a USB cable. I had plenty at home so except for the fact that I spent 10 minutes looking for the cable, it wasn't a problem but the company should do a better job of QA.
I still give the enclosure a five start review, because it's doing exactly what I need it to do.
One more tip. I put my drive in the enclosure, and while I saw it get added as a USB device, it didn't show up as a new drive. It took me a little bit to realize that the OEM drive I bought didn't have a partition on it, so I had to create the partition and do a quick format. I've done this in the past, but it took me awhile to remember that the drive probably was truly bare. - External Hard Drive - Hard Drive - Sata - Enclosure'
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