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Difference in hard drive enclosure manufacturers?

W

warvanov

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 13, 2011
504
12
I'm going to upgrade the internal hard drive on my MBP and I'm looking at getting an external enclosure to encase my old hard drive. I'm browsing newegg.com and there's quite a variety of drive enclosures with a great variety in price. Is there any difference in quality (or performance) between a $10 enclosure and a $30+ enclosure? Any brands to favor or avoid?
 
I've bought 2 from Amazon..different brands and can't remember who. I don't think I spent over $15..both had 4-5 star reviews. I'd buy them again..
 
OWC enclosures are working fine for me. I'm using the Mercury On The Go Pro USB 3.0/2.0 and the FW 800/400/USB 2.0 for TM backups, storage for cloned copies of my drives, and an app store download of 10.7.2.

They are sturdy, well built, little to no noise, no vibration, with very good heat dissipation. IMO, they are kind of pricy, but worth it. I did find them to be cheaper here http://www.bhphotovideo.com
 
Some differences will be weather they are USB 2 or 3 and/or have FireWire.

Personally i would spend a little extra to get FireWire as it will be faster then the USB 2 that current macs have.

Otherwise go by the reviews.
 
Although popular, I wouldn't recommend Icy Box. The USB connector on mine became loose and pushed it's way into the enclosure (although I did only pay £20 for it).

I don't see the point in spending a fortune on an enclosure, I just wanted one similar to the current WD Passport in size, so have just purchased a Cremax ICY DOCK MB663UB-1S for it's slim profile and screwless design.
 
If you buy a Seagate GoFlex FW800 adapter it will connect straight to a 2.5" SATA drive. It is not pretty but it works and you can also use it as a dock.

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-FreeAgent-GoFlex-Upgrade-FireWire/dp/B003IT6PHC

The 3.5" Seagate Goflex Fw800 desktop adapter will mount both 2.5 and 3.5" drives. I've tried numerous 2.5" drives on the portable and Hitachi 7200 2TB, 2TB WD Green on the 3.5"
 
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nippyjun said:
Some differences will be weather they are USB 2 or 3 and/or have FireWire.

Personally i would spend a little extra to get FireWire as it will be faster then the USB 2 that current macs have.

Otherwise go by the reviews.
Click to expand...

I wonder whether the weather will be nice today.
 
Thanks for all you're help. I was having a hard time deciding witch to choose.
 
jekyl said:
I've bought a couple of these and like them a lot. A little more money but the quality is there and they look great with a Mac.
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Those do look sweet. I was actually just looking at them earlier tonight. However, I need an enclosure for a 2.5" drive.
 
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