External USB 3 enclosure 3.5"

torana355 said:

Epowermac.com.au

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Same as me, I have always found them very helpful, ring them up and ask what the problem may be.

Qonix said:

[url=http://imageshack.us/a/img266/9962/img0695kx.jpg]Image[/URL]

this is my hdd. is this sata I, II or III or whatever?
cause i saw on newegg there are different enclosures for different sata types

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WD10EARS is a SATA II drive. 3Gbps. 64MB cache.
http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/SpecSheet/ENG/2879-701229.pdf

Google is your friend!

Do any of these USB 3.0 enclosures abide by the OS Energy Saver settings to NOT put the drive to sleep? I just sent one back that spun down every 3 minutes ignoring the OS settings. Kind of slows everything down when you're working on a project, and have to wait for the spinning beachball every time the work is auto saved. I know my iMac only has USB 2.0. But, I'm looking for one to install an existing drive into for my wife's upcoming imac purchase.

OS version 10.8.2, iMac 12,2

Qonix said:

I'm looking for an USB 3.0 compatible enclosure..
I gived a look on amazon but in some reviews I found that some on OSX works only on usb 2.0 (cause of the firmware of that enclosures).

Can you suggest me one? I would spend not more than 40$ thx

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Get either:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00APP6694...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00APP6694
or
http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Dock...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B003UI62AG

Either one will give you all the speed that the drive you have can deliver when connected via USB3.

"i don't like them. i want a closed enclosure :/"

If you don't like them, don't buy them.

But you ASKED FOR recommendations on something that would work at USB3 and deliver full speeds.

The two docks I mentioned above will do exactly that.

I've 3 enclosures fail on 2 different Macs, so it would be nice to know what's out there of higher quality. The internal drives were all ok and able to be transplanted.

Hey guys - first post here. While researching External enclosures for a client that uses Lightroom/Raw and requires big space, I ran into something very interesting about the late 2012 macs and IvyBridge.
They now support UASP or USB Assisted SCSI protocal. You can google it and research, but it's a huge bump in transfer speed for USB3. It requires the external and system have a bridge that supports UAS.

The Caldigit AV Pro has it and I think the BlacX 5G Dock does as well. Lacie has a new portable that complies.

The client opted for a set of 4TB AV Pros and a few extra Drive modules for redundant backup.
These are exceptional enclosures BTW.
The 4TB drives (and likely all sizes) are Hitachi GST Deskstar & vetted at Caldigit. USB3 only or a model with FW800 which we don't need with new macs.

Barefeats did a review with an SSD loaded model and a 2012 i7 iMac here - http://www.barefeats.com/hard162.html

Interesting that Apple makes no noise about this new protocal, but I suppose it might have something to do with the fact that they have no external product to sell. Still, the noise about fusion and they leave out this "Near to equal Thunderbolt" speed which might be important to people who use something other than raid. Why?

Happy Shopping Guys!
E

"Hey guys - first post here. While researching External enclosures for a client that uses Lightroom/Raw and requires big space, I ran into something very interesting about the late 2012 macs and IvyBridge.
They now support UASP or USB Assisted SCSI protocal. You can google it and research, but it's a huge bump in transfer speed for USB3. It requires the external and system have a bridge that supports UAS."

Both of the plugable.com docks I mentioned in reply #32 above support UASP.

I have the plugable "lay-flat" dock connected to my 2012 Mac Mini. In it I use an Intel 520 series SSD, as my "external boot drive". I get read speeds of 410mbps and write speeds of 247mbps.

For an external USB3 drive enclosure or dock, look for either an
ASMedia 1051e controller chip
or an
ASMedia 1053 controller chip.

Either of these should support UASP.

Fishrrman said:

Get either:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00APP6694...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00APP6694
or
http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Dock...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B003UI62AG

Either one will give you all the speed that the drive you have can deliver when connected via USB3.

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I'm a bit skeptical of these open plug-in drive for everyday use. Isn't there a potential ESD issue with the drive open and exposed like that? It is fine on MY workbench, they look very convenient for occasional use and great for setting up drives. But I would be worried about keeping one on my desk for daily use, people just come by, pickup and touch the strangest things.

The Hard Drive in my iMac 24" 2008 failed. I already installed a new one. I placed the old HD in an external enclosure, but nothing happened. After reading on forums, I replaced the card on the HD and now at least I know it is running because I can feel the movement on the enclosure something it did not do before. I connected it to my computer and I get this message: " The disk you installed was not readable by this machine". I tried disk utility and it only shows the USB icon and the info it shows is this: DISK DESCRIPTION: Media
CONNECTION BUS: USB
TOTAL CAPACITY: 0 Bytes
S.M.A.R.T. STATUS: Not Supported
PARTITION MAP SCHEDULE: Unformatted
WRITE STATUS: Read/Write
Any help?

sefosdad said:

The Hard Drive in my iMac 24" 2008 failed. I already installed a new one. I placed the old HD in an external enclosure, but nothing happened. After reading on forums, I replaced the card on the HD and now at least I know it is running because I can feel the movement on the enclosure something it did not do before. I connected it to my computer and I get this message: " The disk you installed was not readable by this machine". I tried disk utility and it only shows the USB icon and the info it shows is this: DISK DESCRIPTION: Media
CONNECTION BUS: USB
TOTAL CAPACITY: 0 Bytes
S.M.A.R.T. STATUS: Not Supported
PARTITION MAP SCHEDULE: Unformatted
WRITE STATUS: Read/Write
Any help?

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The 0 bytes is a clue.

Almost all modern drives have minimal firmware on the actual controller board of the hard drive mechanism.

At power up, this bootstrap loader on the controller goes to a special region on the hard drive that loads complete firmware in order to make the drive functional. This special firmware is stored on the drive platters and reports the topology of the drive, and the info necessary for proper operation. Only the drive manufacturer and recovery specialists can access this special control track on the drive.

Inability to load that firmware will make your drive look like this.

If the data is important, give some consideration to professional data recovery.

g4cube said:

The 0 bytes is a clue.

Almost all modern drives have minimal firmware on the actual controller board of the hard drive mechanism.

At power up, this bootstrap loader on the controller goes to a special region on the hard drive that loads complete firmware in order to make the drive functional. This special firmware is stored on the drive platters and reports the topology of the drive, and the info necessary for proper operation. Only the drive manufacturer and recovery specialists can access this special control track on the drive.

Inability to load that firmware will make your drive look like this.

If the data is important, give some consideration to professional data recovery.

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Thank you!

USB3.0 to eSATA JBOB mode

How about just get ANY low cost eSATA with multiple drive (port multiplier) then connect to USB3.0 to eSATA adapter, like i do

Now you can have up to five hot swap SATA drives. Remember USB3.0 is 5Gb/s port use for a single 3.5" drive, kind of wasting the bandwith

Fishrrman said:

"Hey guys - first post here. While researching External enclosures for a client that uses Lightroom/Raw and requires big space, I ran into something very interesting about the late 2012 macs and IvyBridge.
They now support UASP or USB Assisted SCSI protocal. You can google it and research, but it's a huge bump in transfer speed for USB3. It requires the external and system have a bridge that supports UAS."

Both of the plugable.com docks I mentioned in reply #32 above support UASP.

I have the plugable "lay-flat" dock connected to my 2012 Mac Mini. In it I use an Intel 520 series SSD, as my "external boot drive". I get read speeds of 410mbps and write speeds of 247mbps.

For an external USB3 drive enclosure or dock, look for either an
ASMedia 1051e controller chip
or an
ASMedia 1053 controller chip.

Either of these should support UASP.

Click to expand...

Very Nice speed. I love docks. My current Voyager Q gets a workout every day. Never have issues with mine, but many complain about quality control on most models.

A little late but I really suggest the WD My Book Essential 3TB.
Couple days ago they had a sale for 109USD.
It has USB3.0 so its blazing fast.

New Macally USB 3.0 Enclosures

FWIW:
I just spoke with Macally Tech Support and their new USB 3.0 SuperDrive Enclosure (w/o Firewire) [G-S350SU3] will be available in a couple of days.
The Firewire version [G-S350SU3B2] will be available within the next 30 days.

I need one... I research a lot and I think 2 of the best ones are this ones:

Vantec NexStar HX 3.5-Inch SATA to USB 3.0/eSATA HDD Enclosure with Fan NST-330SU3-BK
http://www.amazon.com/Vantec-NexSta...9818394&sr=1-1&keywords=NexStar+HX+SuperSpeed

StarTech.com 3.5in SuperSpeed USB 3.0 SATA Hard Drive Enclosure w/ Fan
http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-...817224&sr=8-1&keywords=startech.com+enclosure

both are good looking, looks solid... I prefer enclousures that external harddrives...

any review on that 2... which are the best? or exist other better that 2?
I see other popular brand "Rosewill" but that 2 looks better... I just say...

any help? thanks

umbilical said:

any help? thanks

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I have a Masscool enclosure that houses the HD from my iMac. Works great and I've had it for over a year. I only run it at USB 2 speeds though, since my iMac is a 2010 model.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817388035

toddzrx said:

I have a Masscool enclosure that houses the HD from my iMac. Works great and I've had it for over a year. I only run it at USB 2 speeds though, since my iMac is a 2010 model.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817388035

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nice looking
but I think the 2 options that I post are better in this days, more recent... have fan, more sells, more reviews... I just say Im not an expert

this looks ugly but maybe good, but more expensive!
http://www.amazon.com/Icy-Dock-MB08...ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1389834195&sr=1-6

Fishrrman said:

Get either:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00APP6694...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00APP6694
or
http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Dock...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B003UI62AG

Either one will give you all the speed that the drive you have can deliver when connected via USB3.

Click to expand...

those are awesome