External Drive Solution? - More space needed

[tallman23]

Been looking at external hard drives and then moved to the idea of an internal hard drive with an enclosure. Requirements are: 3.5" form factor, with USB and Firewire connectivity. SATA drive connection

Are there good and bad enclosures? There are almost 600 choices on Newegg with prices from $6-400. How to choose?

Customer feedback on these is positive, anyone have any experience?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153066
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817198004
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817198003
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371014

 

[epimetheus]

Don't buy the $6 enclosure...

The Antec MX-1 seems to get goods reviews, though I've not personally used one myself. As for the hard drive, you really can't beat the WD 1TB Green drives (WD10EACS or WD10EADS). They aren't quite as fast as the some of the others, but they are designed for efficiency, not blazing speed. I have 3 WD10EACS's in my WHS box. They've done me well.

 

[SockMan!]

The Antex MX-1 is a good enclosure. It's USB and eSATA - no Firewire. The internal fan works well to keep the hard drive cool and the case is reasonably sturdy.

 

[tallman23]

As for the hard drive, you really can't beat the WD 1TB Green drives (WD10EACS or WD10EADS).

Interesting that you mentioned WD10EACS or WD10EADS. This report came out a few days ago saying:
"WD’s Caviar Green (WD10EADS model) is by far the most efficient 3.5” terabyte hard drive available today. Be careful not to get the predecessor WD10EACS, as that one is rather lame compared to the latest model."

and

"We have to advise against getting the first generation Caviar Green drive—the WD10EACS—because the current model WD10EADS is just so much better. The first Caviar Green (known as Caviar GP) only reached 76 MB/s throughput, with rather slow access times and below-average application benchmark and I/O benchmark results. Even when it comes to power savings, its successor beats it with much improved idle and activity power consumption. If you want an efficient drive go for the WD Caviar Green WD10EADS, not the WD10EACS."

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/hdd-terabyte-1tb,2077-6.html

You've had no problems with the "EACS?"