Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Cannedkoala

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 8, 2009
33
0
Hey,

I recently got a few external HDD, and for the life of me couldn't find any Firewire equipped enclosures. Seems eSata and USB have taken the standard.

So I decided to just suck it up and use USB.

Now apple has taken away the express card slot, is there any way to utilise eSata on a MBP? The only conceivable way would be through firewire.


I found this but it's a bit overkill,
http://www.firmtek.com/seritek/seritek-spyder/

Something like this would be nicer. This is only Sata though. And converts the wrong way.
http://www.cooldrives.com/satofimiad2x.html


Anyone used/heard of something similar?
 
Humm - there are plenty of Firewire enclosures. Did you check NewEgg and OWC (those are the top two I use these days)? I've bought several from both companies over the years, both for 3.5 and 2.5".

edit: sorry. Got stuck on the availability of FW enclosures and missed you want to add eSATA capability. I've bought cases from CoolDrives, so would feel comfortable buying the adapter from them. I don't have any experience with it, though. You could get a SATA<>eSATA cable adapter, but that does sound a bit combersome.
 
Yeah I found a few online, and perhaps I could have been more patient and bought from there hahah :D.

But in Australia there wern't any available from the places I shop. (MSY and CPL for the locals..). 2.5" was what I was looking at which may have also contributed to that.
 
No prob. I understand the "I need/want it yesterday bit".

OT: I like your handle - a bit on the "ewwie" side, but I got a smile out of it. Reminds me of the movie "Welcome to Woop-Woop" ;)
 
Yeah I found a few online, and perhaps I could have been more patient and bought from there hahah :D.

But in Australia there wern't any available from the places I shop. (MSY and CPL for the locals..). 2.5" was what I was looking at which may have also contributed to that.

I found that the enlosures ended up costing more than the WD MyBook Studio ext HDs with a 500gb drive inside so I ended up buying one of those. Lucky for me, JB Hi-Fi listed the price wrong (lower) so I got it cheap but even at normal price they are cheaper than most of the enclosure only options I found.
 
sorry to bring back this thread. but im in a similar scenario. im looking to purchase an enclosure (either dual bay or quad bay) and its esata + usb only (its only $185Aus!). having an esata -> fw800 converter would be awsome so that it could fit on the end of my daisy chain.

any ideas?
 
Re: the FirmTek SpyderHUB. Bear in mind this only works with what is called "direct connect" enclosures, which from what the manufacturer says, rules out any of the enclosures that sport USB AND eSATA connectivity. Search these forums for SpyderHUB and you'll see some previous posts on this matter.
 
Re: the FirmTek SpyderHUB. Bear in mind this only works with what is called "direct connect" enclosures, which from what the manufacturer says, rules out any of the enclosures that sport USB AND eSATA connectivity. Search these forums for SpyderHUB and you'll see some previous posts on this matter.

ok great thanks heaps :D i appreciate that :)

that means that i wont be able to use it on the devices that i intend on purchasing :( im was looking at a eSata+USB combo 4 bay drive, and get a converter to FW800.. but that clearly wont work. ill just pay the $200Aus extra for the FW800 model lol
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.