3.5IN USB 2.0/1394 Aluminumenclosure

Rating:
Summary: Fully Satisfied So Far
Review: After purchasing a cheaper USB 2 enclosure from a non-Amazonian source, I returned it since it did not recognize my drive. I am extremely satisfied with this enclosure. You get what you pay for.
The Macally enclosure worked perfectly after I installed my 120 GB Western Digital hard drive. XP recognized the presence of the drive and I easily formatted and partitioned it. I was expecting to just have slow archival capability, but I was surprised that the enclosure with the drive is fast enough to play my video files stored on it directly through the firewire link. The enclosure is indeed high quality construction and eye candy to boot! The neon blue status light matches that of my Sony VAIO. The case conductive cooling appears adequate and the silence of not having a fan is a major plus since my SONY is also quiet running. The cheaper unit's fan whinned like a Banshee. The Macally unit sent also has an on-off miniswitch on the case. Kudoos to Amazon and Macally.

Rating:
Summary: No problems so far
Review: I bought this enclosure in December 2004 and I have not had any problems so far (two months later). The quality of the parts is adequate and it is quiet enough that I don't notice it when it's on. It also comes with a stand that allows you to sit the drive vertically, which is very nice. It's not quite as "cool" as say the 250 GB Western Digital Special Edition FireWire drive, but it's easy to assemble, it works, and it's cheap.

Rating:
Summary: Made my Mac upgrade very smooth!
Review: I bought this enclosure so that I could use the drive from my old Mac (beige Powermac G3 desktop) as an external HD on my new Mac (iMac G5). Compared with networking the two computers together and using file sharing to transfer my old data to the new machine, using Firewire for the transfer was MUCH faster and much easier. Plus, as an added bonus, I now have a 30G external hard drive that I can use for whatever -- a backup device, or a portable drive in case I need to move large files from home to office. (In case you are wondering about the "30G", I had earlier upgraded the G3's hard drive! Its original drive was quite a bit smaller. [grin] If you are buying a new hard drive mechanism specifically to put in this enclosure -- rather than rescuing an old drive and transferring files like I was -- you would almost certainly want a much larger current model of hard drive.)

The process was just as smooth and painless as I had hoped. Pop the old Mac's drive in the enclosure, hook it up to the new iMac, and voila. No drivers needed (though the enclosure does come with driver software for less-forgiving operating systems), and the old Mac OS9-format drive and its files were immediately recognized.

When I was shopping for an external enclosure, I preferred Firewire for best performance. Well, I found some units that took both 5.25" and 3.5" drives, but I wanted a more compact 3.5" only case. I found plastic USB-only units which were a bit cheesy-looking and rather expensive. And then I found this MacAlly one: USB 1.1, 2.0, and Firewire, all in a nice aluminum case, for less than other companies wanted for plastic enclosures. And Amazon's price and shipping options were both better than the computer catalog I originally discovered the MacAlly enclosure in!

I have used other MacAlly products in the past, by the way, and have always been satisfied with them. This hard drive enclosure more than keeps up their reputation in my book.

Pros
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* It just works, no fuss (on Mac! Your mileage may vary on other platforms)
* Easy to install hard drive, just four screws (with rubber shock mounts) attach it
* Quiet. The hard drive you put in will determine overall noise, of course
* Decent speed. Again, limited by the oomph of the hard disk you use
* Nice aluminum case (they say it helps heat dissipation, it probably does)
* Rubber STRIPS, won't peel off and get lost as easily as rubber feet
* USB *and* Firewire
* Includes USB and 6-pin Firewire cables in the box
* Cool blue LED power light, blinks red during drive access

Cons
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* Powered by a "wall wart" AC adaptor. (Since they don't know what drive mechanism you will use in it, I guess it wouldn't be safe to offer bus powering)
* The case screws (to open up the unit before installing your HD) are a bit on the small side. You will need a fairly small Philips screwdriver for them. (And don't drop any of them, you might never see them again!)

Rating:
Summary: Its a 6 pin firewire enclosure
Review: Its not mentioned anywhere that this Enclosure is a 6pin/6pin. I thought I could use it for my laptop firwire port but found that the enclosure is a 6pin whereas my laptop has a 4pin firewire port. It saved me because it has a USB as well. So if your laptop has a 4pin firewire port I think you need to buy a 4pin/6pin firewire cable seperately.