[vja4him]

I just purchased a Maxtor MaXLine III 7L300RO 300GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA133 Hard Drive, and a Rosewill RX30-U2FA External Enclosure USB/FireWire. Still waiting for the shipment to arrive.

My question: Will I need to purchase additional wires/cables or other equipment, in order to install the hard drive?

The hard drive will be connected to my G4 iBook, presently running OS X 10.3.9. I would also like to install Tiger on the external hard drive, and be able to boot from the external hard drive. Will that be a problem? Thanks.

-- vjamacaddict

[mduell]

You won't need to buy anything extra. The picture from Newegg below shows that it comes with all the cables you need.

Yes, you should be able to boot from it.

[vja4him]

Originally Posted by mduell

You won't need to buy anything extra. The picture from Newegg below shows that it comes with all the cables you need.

Yes, you should be able to boot from it.

Thanks for your quick reply! I've never installed an internal HD inside of an enclosure. I'm hoping that the procedure will be fairly straightforward! I was tempted to purchase the 500GB HD instead, but I remember reading somewhere that the HD larger than 300GB are not stable.

-- vjamacaddict

[mduell]

Originally Posted by vja4him

I was tempted to purchase the 500GB HD instead, but I remember reading somewhere that the HD larger than 300GB are not stable.

Who fed you that line of FUD?

[hallvard]

Please post more when you've received the enclosure and installed everything.
....or anyone else using the same enclosure.

I'm trying to decide on which external (Firewire) enclosure to go for, but it's hard to find something that looks good and works well at the same time. It'll be used with the newest 15" Powerbook for video and audio, so I need to find a good combination of enclosure and hard drive (hopefully as quiet running as possible!)

The Rosewill enclosure (also goes under several other names, such as Macpower ) is one that I'm seriously considering, but it doesn't have a fan which makes me worried. Also, I've been told that its design (probably because of cooling the drive) makes it "amplify" any drive noise. I have no idea if this is due to mechanical noise from the drive itself, or vibration in the enclosure.

I recently found a summary of several enclosures with similar designs as the above. I'm leaning towards the Macpower Pleiades/Rosewill, although the OWC Mercury elite series looks great as well! As you can see from the animated image at the bottom left hand side of that page they can be stacked on top of each other as well. I suppose the Rosewill/Macpower can too.
Oh, that link (for OWC) I just gave is for complete drives. The enclosures alone are here and here . Actually just go here to get a full overview of their 3.5" Firewire enclosures to see them all.

Comments/suggestions/experiences highly appreciated

[mad cow disease]

If you feel like shelling out the cash for it, the AMS Venus DS3 USB2/Firewire drive is probably the best enclosure on the market. It's relatively quiet when paired with a good drive like a Seagate, is a snap to install, keeps the drive very cool with a 80mm fan.

I bought the USB2 version and couldn't be happier.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817145657

[nuggetman]

just remember, OS X will only boot off firewire, it won't boot off USB
linux will boot from USB

[vja4him]

Is it possible for me to add a fan to the Roswill enclosure? And how would I do that/which fan to buy? I'd like to take care of that issue as soon as possible. Thanks.

-- vjamacaddict

Originally Posted by hallvard

Please post more when you've received the enclosure and installed everything.
....or anyone else using the same enclosure.

I'm trying to decide on which external (Firewire) enclosure to go for, but it's hard to find something that looks good and works well at the same time. It'll be used with the newest 15" Powerbook for video and audio, so I need to find a good combination of enclosure and hard drive (hopefully as quiet running as possible!)

The Rosewill enclosure (also goes under several other names, such as Macpower ) is one that I'm seriously considering, but it doesn't have a fan which makes me worried. Also, I've been told that its design (probably because of cooling the drive) makes it "amplify" any drive noise. I have no idea if this is due to mechanical noise from the drive itself, or vibration in the enclosure.

I recently found a summary of several enclosures with similar designs as the above. I'm leaning towards the Macpower Pleiades/Rosewill, although the OWC Mercury elite series looks great as well! As you can see from the animated image at the bottom left hand side of that page they can be stacked on top of each other as well. I suppose the Rosewill/Macpower can too.
Oh, that link (for OWC) I just gave is for complete drives. The enclosures alone are here and here . Actually just go here to get a full overview of their 3.5" Firewire enclosures to see them all.

Comments/suggestions/experiences highly appreciated

[hallvard]

Originally Posted by vja4him

Is it possible for me to add a fan to the Roswill enclosure? And how would I do that/which fan to buy? I'd like to take care of that issue as soon as possible. Thanks.

-- vjamacaddict

I've been trying to find more information about all these enclosures and came across some reviews, but unfortunately not of the single-drive enclosures discussed here. However, a review of the G-RAID dual drive enclosure talks about fan-noise at the bottom of the page (here's G-tech's website where they also have a slim, single-drive enclosure called the G-drive (without a fan) -they're all available in silver or black. Unfortunately I think they only sell them complete with drives, and not just the enclosures):

"because unlike its competitor the LaCie Bigger Disk Extreme, this unit has a cooling fan inside that’s not exactly quiet. The makers of G- RAID , G-Tech Inc., see their products’ cooling fans as a virtue, decrying the lack of such in their competitors’ models.

G-Tech asserts that those fan-less disks won’t last as long as theirs will without proper cooling. But through extensive testing over a few months so far, we haven’t noticed failures with those disks not including fans inside.
It’s too bad such a beautiful disk as this makes such a noise, because its splendor can’t be fully appreciated deep in our server closet to which all cacophonous machines are banished. Granted, it doesn’t sound like a vacuum cleaner, but it’s not something you would want sitting right next to you all day long, either.
To this statement I must add a caveat: In these parts we are extraordinarily noise-sensitive, and have all of our computers out of earshot from our work areas in a central computer room. This way, we can edit video at our desks, peacefully contemplate the affairs of the day, and even create audio mixes and voiceovers in serene quietude. Soon, all work areas will be designed this way."

So in conclusion it sounds (no pun intended) like enclosures without fans won't cause problems but personally I think it depends on each individual enclosure, which is why I've been searching around for a review of the Pleiades (or one of the similar looking enclosures with other brand names) without any luck so far. I too value the data on my drives and don't have cash to replace a damaged drive every 6 months because of possible heat problems.


Oh, another thing!
Having had a closer look at the Pleiades and the OWC enclosures I've noticed that they do indeed look a little different, so obviously they're not the same!
The MacPower Pleiades and the Rosewill RX-30 however looks similar. Here are some comparison photos. Note how the front-panel of the Macpower/Rosewill enclosures are compared to the OWC (click on the the close-up photo links):

MacPower Pleiades Firewire 400/800/USB enclosure (Close-up comparison photo here.)
Rosewill RX-30 Firewire 400/800/USB enclosures (Close-up comparison photo here.)
NOTE: the Rosewill is available in black or silver, unlike the other drives which I've only seen in silver).
NOTE: In Australia, these enclosures seem to go under the name of Icecube.

and then there's the OWC with a slightly different front-panel as well as a different stand:

OWC Mercury Elite-AL enclosure (Close-up comparison photo here.)
NOTE: these drives can also be stacked on top of each other (see photo) and not just sideways like the other ones (that is, I've never seen any photos or claims of the Pleiades/Rosewill/Icecube drives stacked, assuming they're not meant for doing that).

I think the OWC enclosure looks pretty cool!
Anyone have any experience with that one? And can they be bought from anywhere else than just OWC's webstore?

[Moon Potato]

Originally Posted by hallvard

I'm trying to decide on which external (Firewire) enclosure to go for, but it's hard to find something that looks good and works well at the same time. It'll be used with the newest 15" Powerbook for video and audio, so I need to find a good combination of enclosure and hard drive (hopefully as quiet running as possible!)

I've owned several firewire enclosures over the past few years, and the only ones i've never had any trouble with are the ones from Other World Computing (though there are several on the market I haven't tried that may be just as good).
Here's their selection:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-...al-Enclosures/

[hallvard]

Originally Posted by Moon Potato

I've owned several firewire enclosures over the past few years, and the only ones i've never had any trouble with are the ones from Other World Computing (though there are several on the market I haven't tried that may be just as good).
Here's their selection:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-...al-Enclosures/

Yes, I'm seriously considering OWC's Mercury Elite-AL pro or their Mercury Elite-AL pro RAID.

Since you mention having good experiences with OWC's enclosures, have you used any of these? The first one would be ideal for a single drive, but I'm a little unsure of the fact that it doesn't have a fan, worrying that it might shorten the hard drive's life in the long run because of overheating, and that I've been told that because of its design it "amplifies" any drive noise. If you have this enclosure I would like to hear your comments on this.

[Moon Potato]

Originally Posted by hallvard

Yes, I'm seriously considering OWC's Mercury Elite-AL pro or their Mercury Elite-AL pro RAID.

Since you mention having good experiences with OWC's enclosures, have you used any of these? The first one would be ideal for a single drive, but I'm a little unsure of the fact that it doesn't have a fan, worrying that it might shorten the hard drive's life in the long run because of overheating, and that I've been told that because of its design it "amplifies" any drive noise. If you have this enclosure I would like to hear your comments on this.

I have one Mercury Elite Pro FireWire case that's been running strong since 2001, and a Mercury Elite Pro FireWire/USB that I purchased earlier this year, neither of which have had any quirks or failures.
Since, at the moment, I'm mostly just working with DV, I haven't tried any of the FW800 enclosures from OWC (although I did buy a dual-drive FW800 enclosure from firewire depot at one point, which died right after the warranty expired), and will probably invest in an external SATA setup once I move my projects over to low-compression HD.

[hallvard]

Originally Posted by Moon Potato

I have one Mercury Elite Pro FireWire case that's been running strong since 2001, and a Mercury Elite Pro FireWire/USB that I purchased earlier this year, neither of which have had any quirks or failures.

Is that the same metal enclosure I linked in my previous message?
I'm very interested in hearing if it's a quiet enclosure (I've been told from others that the "Pleiades" enclosure from Macpower are built in such a way to cool the drives without fans that they "amplify" any drive noise, so they're not very quiet). Now, from what I can tell, the OWC Mercury elite-AL Pro is the same enclosure apart from the front-panel, but I could be wrong.

Since, at the moment, I'm mostly just working with DV, I haven't tried any of the FW800 enclosures from OWC (although I did buy a dual-drive FW800 enclosure from firewire depot at one point, which died right after the warranty expired), and will probably invest in an external SATA setup once I move my projects over to low-compression HD.

So you're saying that Firewire 400 is actually good enough for video? Would using Firewire 800 make a difference?
And what about the capacity of the drive? I've been unsuccessful in finding out how to determine how I can figure out how much space I would need for this. Naturally I want a big enough drive, but I'm not going to throw money out the window for drive space that I'll never end up using

[ginoledesma]

I was in the market a couple of weeks back for an external USB/FW enclosure to house my 300GB Seagate drive. I settled for the Acomdata 3.5" FW/USB 2.0 Enclsoure as it had the Oxford 911 chipset and was available in our local CompUSA. It's made of aluminum, has a single, rear fan, and feels a little bit clunky. Last year I got myself a Vantec Nexstar 2 from Fry's. It's made of plastic, feels cheap, and comes with the Prolific PL3507 chipset.

I was eyeing the Apricorn EZ-BUS-DTC-KIT which seems to have gotten quite good reviews (the enclosure remains cool even after a long duration). However, shipping + tax and availability turned me off. I found it at the FatWallet list of external enclosures where they list the chipset of the different enclosures being sold.

[metrocon]

I'm also looking at the Mercury Elito Pro AL enclosures, specifically the FW800 single drive one. One question I have that I can't seem to get a definitive answer on is: if I have it connected to my 15" Al Powerbook and I put the PB to sleep, will the external drive spin down?

I have a Macally FW400 enclosure that doesn't, and I also have a Western Digital FW drive that does spin down when the computer sleeps. It's much more convenient for me to have the drive spin up/down as the computer wakes/sleeps. Tech support at OWC mentioned Apple's CHUD tools to me, but when I looked in them all I found was controls for drive spin down when idle, not when the computer goes to sleep.