Anyone use this enclosure

B.Lehman · Jan 28, 2005

I did STF, but came up empty. http://www.cooldrives.com/koulfiusb20c.html

I kind of like the design of this one, but want to see if anyone has any experience good or bad with this particular enclosure. I have one enclosure now that I absolutely hate. Its huge, loud, and just generally a pain to deal with.

Also... are all FW enclosures bus powered? Looking around at different enclosures out there, some will mention it, others don't. I'm not sure if that is enclosure specific, or whether that is just across the line with Firewire enclosures? The enclosure that I have currently is hooked to my win 2k server, and I've never actually tried to see if it would power up without the adapter.

-- Brad

ravenvii · Jan 28, 2005

I think the HD needs more power than FireWire could deliver. I could be wrong though.

I really like the design of that one too! Since you already have a enclosure, I'm wondering... how do you fit a HD in there? Do you "plug" it in inside the case? Or do you put a cable on the HD and the other end into the plug in the enclosure? Basically the reason I'm asking is because I have a SATA drive that I'd like to en-enclosure, but I can't find a SATA HD enclosure, so I'm wondering if I can use a SATA->PATA converter to connect it to the enclosure?

Daveway · Jan 28, 2005

I'm a bit curious as to why they think they can get by with no fan. Big hard drives need lots of cooling and I don't think the aluminum is enough. I think its a bit on the expensive side for an enclosure.

B.Lehman · Jan 28, 2005

Raven VII said:
I think the HD needs more power than FireWire could deliver. I could be wrong though.

I really like the design of that one too! Since you already have a enclosure, I'm wondering... how do you fit a HD in there? Do you "plug" it in inside the case? Or do you put a cable on the HD and the other end into the plug in the enclosure? Basically the reason I'm asking is because I have a SATA drive that I'd like to en-enclosure, but I can't find a SATA HD enclosure, so I'm wondering if I can use a SATA->PATA converter to connect it to the enclosure?

I gotta be honest with you, the enclosure that I am presently using... I bought preassebled, so I really can't answer your question with any authority. From my understanding though... the HD plugs directly into a bridgeboard inside the enclosure.

I know that I have seen some SATA enclosures out there, but I'm not sure if they are being labeled as SATA because you run a SATA cable into them, or if they are SATA all the way through. Actually, check out this page: http://www.macgurus.com/productpages/sata/satakits.php maybe you can infer a bit more info from there. Personally, I need something that I can move between my PCs (yuck) and my Powerbook -- none of which are SATA machines, so I really haven't done much research in this area.

I know that there are at least some FW enclosures out there that get all of their power from the FW port. When I was at the AppleStore last week, one of the geniuses was using one. I'm just not sure if all FW enclosures are capable of doing that, or if its just some of them.

maya · Jan 28, 2005

That enclosure looks neat, too bad I don't need one at present. Might get it when I need it down the road.

Chip NoVaMac · Jan 28, 2005

Very nice looking and uses the Oxford chipset also! Price doesn't seem too bad either.

expergo · Jan 28, 2005

that fw only has one fw port which isn't great if you want to daisychain.

also, it doesn't look like tis' well vented. the macally enclosure i have has big vents on the back and on the side so i feel very comfortable using it. before, i bought another fw enclousre that had no vents and it got really hot whenever i used it or even if i captured minidv onto it. i didn't dare use it again.

maya · Jan 28, 2005

expergo said:
that fw only has one fw port which isn't great if you want to daisychain.

also, it doesn't look like tis' well vented. the macally enclosure i have has big vents on the back and on the side so i feel very comfortable using it. before, i bought another fw enclousre that had no vents and it got really hot whenever i used it or even if i captured minidv onto it. i didn't dare use it again.

It uses Al, and he LaCie d2 design also has hardly any ventilation, no fans and since its Al its is all that is needed. I presume this case follows the same logic.

expergo · Jan 28, 2005

oh...heh..i duno then.

i just remembered when i had my all alu enclosure with no vents, it got extremely hot.

maybe lacie puts special hd's in there...or osmething...or some thermal paste oro smething. .haha..i duno.

maya · Jan 28, 2005

expergo said:
oh...heh..i duno then.

i just remembered when i had my all alu enclosure with no vents, it got extremely hot.

maybe lacie puts special hd's in there...or osmething...or some thermal paste oro smething. .haha..i duno.

I have opened the LaCie d2 enclosure and I can tell you there is no thermal paste or special HDD used.

Its a 3.5" Maxtor, WD, Seagate HDD in a metal frame to hold it in place and it slides into the case. Its best to use the d2 in a vertical stand and not horizontal for obvious reason same as is illustrated with this case.

I FORGOT TO ADD THAT IT IS A 7200 RPM DRIVE.

B.Lehman · Jan 29, 2005

Thanks for the replies so far, its been helpful.

Can anyone answer the bus power question though? Is this a function of FW drive enclosures in general, a specific chipset, or a feature of *some* but not all enclosures?

I tried calling cooldrives, but they are closed for the weekend.

-- Brad

rickvanr · Jan 29, 2005

the enclosure looks great, BUT it only has one firewire port. Most drives have 2, so you can use a FW drive and not lose an open port

For instance, I have a tibook -> one firewire port, yet I have 2 FW HD's (1 plugged into the computer, the other plugged into the other HD), then a FW DL DVD-/+RW plugged into the HD, with an iPod plugged into the DVD burner.

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Anyone use this enclosure

B.Lehman

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ravenvii

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Daveway

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B.Lehman

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maya

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Chip NoVaMac

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expergo

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maya

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expergo

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maya

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B.Lehman

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rickvanr

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