Hello everyone and yes I did do a thorough search already. I learned a lot but I am still confused.

I have a Seagate ST-3120026A (Barracuda 7200.7 Plus 120, Ultra ATA/100) hard drive that I would like to move to an external enclosure. Speed is not really an issue; I'm not going to be burning from this drive. I have both firewire and USB available and I'm just looking for the most inexpensive solution. As near as I can tell from the big external enclosures thread I'm looking at Mapower KC51C1 or a Kingwin KH-525U-S. I have gleaned that aluminum and fan are desired for Hard Drive mounting and that Oxford chipsets and firewire are desirable for proper operation.

Can someone recommend a solution?

go to newegg.com they have tons. They also ship fast too.

I like the OKGear line of aluminum cases. They cool well and are very solid. I've also seen them with the Mad Dog brand on them.

Although it costs more, I prefer getting dual link cases, (both USB and firewire), because it's more flexible. If you want to choose one type, go with firewire.

Jeez, DVD, I didn't think to look on newegg?
What, I needed was a recommendation from someone who actually shoved a Seagate 7200 HD into one and it worked.

CDAN, I'm looking at this OKGear. That's a little more reasonable at $33 shipped vs. $58 for the Mapower or . I thought that I could save a little by going Firewire only but the Mapower MAP-Y51F1 is $45 .

Here's the rock bottom OKGear OK350A at $26 shipped. 3.5", Aluminum, Power Supply. Alas, no fan. Do I really need one with the aluminum case?

I really don't need both USB and firewire, I'm going to set this behind my PC and forget about it. I'm just trying to keep the 120gb that I bought for $108 two years ago, without spending more than it costs to just buy a Seagate 120gb in an enclosure.

I Have 2 Galaxy MetalGear USB external enclosures holding 2 Seagate drives and they work fine, Except the very cheap ribbon cable that connects the drives and the fans leave alot to be desired, But they sure look cool with the Blue LED Power and Activity light and if it worked right, The Blue LED fan and it also matches my Thermaltake Armor case (Black w/ blue LED fans). I believe they come in silver as well.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817716019


They come in USB, USB/Firewire, USB and LAN. They cost 28.99 w. 7 shipping (Depending on ship option)

That 1st enclosure is for 5.25 devices, Not hard drives.

Another Armor owner

Everyone has their own favorites. If I was going to put a PATA drive in an external enclosure, I would use this one:
http://www.dealsonic.com/usb20enfor52.html

It has the power supply built in instead of the clumsy "power brick" in the cord.

The chipset is smart. All others I've ever seen are stupid. With this enclosure, WD's Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows can pull the SMART status and it can run the drive's built-in self test, A.K.A. SMART drive quick test.

It's USB only and it's 5 1/4 so you can also put your DVD burner in there. The fan is quite small so you might want to check the drive temperature if you run it a long time. It's plastic too, but that's all right with me.

well, the important to look at is the chip used in the enclosure. If you go USB route, I would highly recommend Cypress AT2+ Chip, make sure it is AT2 Plus, not the regular AT2. And if you are going Firewire route, Firewire 800 is too expensive and most motherboard doesn't support Firewire 800, so get the firewire 400 with Oxford 911+ chip, again, 911 plus, not plain 911. Or get Oxford 912 if you can find the enclosure using Oxford 912 chip. For USB and Firewire combo, then get Prolific Chip. And for other things to consider, get the enclosure that has active cooling for the longevity of your hard drive and ensure the safety of your data.

Thanks to everyone who answered. I haven't been around for awhile. Special kudos to steveb and ghetocowboy, it looks like the Plumax at Dealsonic will come to the house for $25.98. Cypress AT2+, fan, internal power supply, sounds perfect. I looked at the 3.5" version for the same $ but it has the external power module and it says it has a fan but I don't see it. I think I'd rather have a little extra room around the drive for airflow anyway.

Thanks, again, gheto! Ultimately, I ended up ordering this Plumax combo.

• Cypress Semiconductor Chipset
• This USB2.0 External Enclosure uses the latest AT2+ MicroChip for Mass Storage
• Oxford OXFW911+ Chipset / High Performance IEEE 1394 to IDE/ATAPI Bridge
• Internal silent ball bearing fan to keep drive cool for long life cycle.
• Enclosure with built-in power supply
• USB 2.0 A-B Cable
• 6-pin to 6-pin Type 1 Male - Type 1 Male Firewire Cable
• AC Power Cord
• Front panel for 3.5" Devices
• Screw set for installing storage devices.

That seems unbeatable for $27.99 + $5.99 shipping.

Does this case have a metal chassis?


The specs and the price range look really good. Looks like it would be perfect to house my Black Friday purchase(s).

It sure looks like it from the picture. I should have this monster early next week. I'll report back and let everyone know how it goes.

[quote=yojimbo197;1914997]Does this case have a metal chassis?


All my previous Plumax cases (6) were all plastic. I like the internal power supply.
Case is easy to take apart & swap out drives. Advertised as stackable, but needed to add taller feet to make this possible.
One case had fan problems, which I was easily able to fix by removing fan, lifting fan label & lubricating fan spindle.
I suspect these cases are the same. Don't let that scare you, Very good USB/1394 chip combo. I think you will be pleased.

I received Plumax, PM-525C2-PTB, IDE to USB2.0 and IEEE 1394 Combo for 5.25" & 3.5" drives. It has a shiny black plastic exterior but does have a stamped metal sheet riveted inside the top and bottom case as well as a metal plate across the back. Two of the screws that mount the 3.5" HDD are going through the bottom metal sheet so I'll end up with the HDD case electrically connected to the enclosure chassis. I'm doing the install tonight with my son for fun. I'll post pictures.

As promised,
Right to left, top to bottom,
Driver disk, USB manual, bag o' screws, 1394 manual, 120vac cord, Bottom case, 1394 cable, USB cable, top case, side pieces, front cover for 3.5
Note both top and bottom metal stampings. Two red arrows point at where you want to mount one set of hard drive screws.
Single red arrow is the drive activity light/harness. Cheap glue, I had to glue it down again.
Connectors (just above red arrows) - power, IDE, audio

Now drop in hard drive and screw down (screws were supplied). Red arrows show mounting to the aforementioned metal mounts.
Right side picture shows mounted drive with power and IDE plugged in. I left the jumper set to cable select.

Now snap on the side panels and front plate, done.
Metal backplate with power switch, 120VAC input, Fan, Audio Out, 1394 I/O and USB2 I/O. The fan screws were loose out of the box. Nearly lost the tiny little nuts off them. Tightened those up with a tiny dab of service removable loctite.

This whole deal took me about 20 minutes from box open to transferring files. This drive was already formatted from XP so simply plugging in either USB or firewire resulted in an automatic drive letter assignment and display in Windows Explorer. YMMV.

I missed this one. A 3.5" will go in a 5.25, generally, see above. The 3.5 OKGear enclosures don't have fans.