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silverlight68 · Feb 24, 2008, 01:24 PM

Hi everybody!

I just received 12Gb RAM from OWC Friday via FedEx, haven't installed it yet but they were very fast with processing the order and the subsequent shipping. I'm REALLY impressed!

So now I'm considering this: FirmTek SeriTek/2eEN4 SATA I/II HD x 4 Exter... (SATA2EEN4) at OWC.

Although I have a Mac Pro with space for 4 hard drives, I notice that it doesn't leave me with all that much room for storage, since if I reserve the first 2 drives for apps and scratch, that leaves me with just two drives for storage ex. one for video and one for photos. So I was wondering if anyone has any experience with this sort of set-up, which would be ideal for me, then I could back-up my internal drives and still have room over for storing other data. Seems to me I would need to purchase a special PCI-X card to hook it all up.

What do the rest of you think about this: anyone with some personal experience or advice?

Thanks in advance!

olePigeon · Feb 24, 2008, 02:25 PM

I don't think the MacPro has any eSATA connectors. You'll have to buy a card. Or, see if there's a FireWire version of the same case.

mduell · Feb 24, 2008, 02:51 PM

There are better options (IMO) for that type of product. I like the AMS products, which come in a 4 drive version or 5 drive version; I'd suggest the 5 drive version. They both come with a PCIe eSATA card, but I've heard some people have issues with the included card in Leopard (works fine with Tiger); new drivers are reportedly in the works, but if you can't wait for that you can buy your way out of it with this other PCIe eSATA card. The combined price of the AMS enclosure and Sonnet card is comparable with the FirmTek you were looking at.

You could just use a $2 bracket to convert one of the extra SATA ports in the Mac Pro into an eSATA port, but then you'd miss out on some the advanced functionality that SATA Port Multiplier and Hot Plug offer with the AMS enclosures.

silverlight68 · Feb 24, 2008, 03:28 PM

Hi and thanks for the tip, but unfortunately the boys at Newegg don't accept international credit cards so I'll have to see if I can locate another supplier- OWC were great as far as that was concerned.
I did read one of the reviews that the AMS chassis has noisy fans, is that a noticeable racket that it makes?

Thanks again!

mduell · Feb 24, 2008, 07:06 PM

American Media Systems - home is the company, maybe you can contact them for an international distributor.

I didn't find the fans to be that noisy, just like a normal 80mm fan.

k2director · Feb 25, 2008, 03:33 AM

I have had a great experience with my Seritek products, and you'll find they have a dedicated following in the Mac community.
But that 4 drive Seritek is old, and doesn't support the highest data speeds as possible. A better bet would be Firmtek's new 5 drive enclosure. You can read a review here:

AMUG FirmTek SeriTek/5PM 5-Bay SATA PM Enclosure Review

The Seritek is more expensive than the drive mechanisms pointed out earlier in this thread, but when you combine case design, fan noise, performance, etc., I think the Seritek is a great deal.

One more thing: if you think you're going to swap out hard drives often, I would look into tray-less drives, where the hard drives don't have to be mounted to a tray. Skipping the tray is a lot more convenient...

mduell · Feb 25, 2008, 08:43 AM

That SeriTek is based on the older version of the same chipset (SiI's SteelVine) as the product I recommended, so I'd recommend the SeriTek too if you're willing to pay the price for the design. Note you'll need to also purchase the $250 PCIe eSATA card I linked to above to use the SeriTek.

silverlight68 · Feb 26, 2008, 04:52 PM

Hmmm,
I like this Seritek gadget, but then that's typical of my expensive taste... gets me into trouble every time!
But I'm still seriously considering it just the same, and perhaps with the Sonnet PCI-e card mentioned above.
If that doesn't get the job done then I don't know what will!
Once again, you guys are fantastic thank you SO much!!

silverlight68 · Mar 4, 2008, 12:53 PM

But doesn't the SeriTek also have the port multiplier functionality? Doesn't this mean that you only need one eSATA cable to attach the enclosure to the eSATA/ PCi-e card in the Mac Pro?
(I know it's probably a no-brainer but I'm not totally sure :o)).

mduell · Mar 4, 2008, 01:45 PM

Yes, you only need one cable, but you need a PM aware/capable port if you want to do anything with it other than use it as one big array.

silverlight68 · Mar 5, 2008, 03:22 AM

Hey!
When you you mention there about a PM aware/ capable port, are you referring to the enclosure side or the computer side. The Sonnet card you recommend earlier has this functionality, doesn't it?
**Just a personal note: You know, I've been rummaging around over here in Holland for these types of enclosure but the selection is flat-out POOR- really bad. If you do find something that comes a bit close then it's easily double the price.
I'm SO happy that I can order from OWC, VERY easy and VERY fast.

mduell · Mar 5, 2008, 08:43 PM

Well, both, but we know the enclosure is PM capable.

The card that comes with the AMS products (waiting on Leopard drivers) and the Sonnet E4P are both PM capable.