Fantom/Micronet Reputation

[King of Heroes]

I saw this on Buy.com recently:

http://www.buy.com/prod/fantom-greendrive-1tb-usb-2-0-and-esata-external-hard-drive-2-year/q/loc/101/208503758.html

A 1TB external drive with eSATA for $99 looks extremely compelling. It seems to use the WD Caviar Green 1TB drive, based on the name, which I know has a good reputation. The one keeping me from pulling the trigger is that I don't know what kind of rep Fantom Drives/Micronet has. Has anyone used their products before that can give their opinion on the quality of the external drives?

[Syntax Error]

Case looks solid enough with the perforated from for airflow...in all hoensty, you're really being hesitant on buying the external case itself, which should be pretty basic enough and hard to screw up...

What's more important is their warranty; a lot of third-party vendors like to give their products the minimum Federally mandated 1 year for consumer electronics; that's why I prefer to buy an internal drive that's backed directly by the manufacturer for 3 years (or 5 if it's a Seagate), and put it in an external drive casing of my choosing (like the Antec MX-1). Sure, it may cost more in the short-run, but the specific choosing of parts and the possibility of flexibility in the future such as mounting the external drive internally if you change your mind (keep in mind most of these external drives have voided drives that are ineligible for the manufacturer's warranty) and specific choosing of exactly what you'd want in your parts.

[King of Heroes]

Case looks solid enough with the perforated from for airflow...in all hoensty, you're really being hesitant on buying the external case itself, which should be pretty basic enough and hard to screw up...

What's more important is their warranty; a lot of third-party vendors like to give their products the minimum Federally mandated 1 year for consumer electronics; that's why I prefer to buy an internal drive that's backed directly by the manufacturer for 3 years (or 5 if it's a Seagate), and put it in an external drive casing of my choosing (like the Antec MX-1). Sure, it may cost more in the short-run, but the specific choosing of parts and the possibility of flexibility in the future such as mounting the external drive internally if you change your mind (keep in mind most of these external drives have voided drives that are ineligible for the manufacturer's warranty) and specific choosing of exactly what you'd want in your parts.

Hm, you have a good point there. The Antec MX-1 looks like a sweet enclosure, and the total price isn't too much higher. The Fantom comes with a 2 year warranty at $129.99 before rebate. The MX-1 (49.99) and a Caviar Green 1TB (104.99) comes out to $154.98 with a 3 year warranty on the drive. So I'd basically be paying ~$25 for an extra year coverage and an enclosure from a more well-known brand. Thats not too bad.

EDIT:

I looked up the enclosure on Antec's site, and it looks like it comes with a vertical stand. Does this actually come with the enclosure or is it just for show?

[dizint]

check Amazon for MX-1, it's $39.99. Was a bit cheaper last week :rolleyes:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NZVR3Q/ref=s9subs_c1_23_at1-rfc_g1-frt_g1-3237_g1_si5?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-5&pf_rd_r=0WHWBD8SV9XW6FX7VYM8&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=463383431&pf_rd_i=507846