Differences between Ministack v1 and v2?

[livingfortoday]

I've been looking at getting a ministack for my new Mini, and other than the layout of the ports, I can't seem to figure out what the difference is between the v1 and the v2 Ministack. OWC is selling the v1 for about $30 less, so I'm leaning that way, but is there a good reason I should go for the v2 over it? Something I'm missing?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

 

[DrFrankTM]

Fw400, 750gb...

The v2 adds FireWire 400 and allows you to install a 750GB HDD. The v1 sold by OWC seems to be limited to 500GB. (Or, at least, they don't seem to offer a 750GB option with the v1.) There might be some technical issue preventing the latter. I honestly have no clue.

Personally, I think that 750GB in such a small enclosure is a pretty cool thing. Also, the FireWire connector can come in handy if you want to bring your multimedia library to a friend's house. Some computers - like my old iBook G3 - have FW400 connectors but no USB 2.0. Let me tell you, using an external hardrive over USB 1.1 can be quite painful when you're used to seeing your drive fly on your regular machine.

Go with what fits your needs, but if you are spending big bucks for a giant drive, I would recommend that you keep your options open.

 

[livingfortoday]

But the v1 does actually have three FW400 ports on the back. That's why I'm confused. They seem to have the same amount of USB and FW400 ports, only the v2 has two on the side for some reason. Both use the same chipset, I'm pretty sure, so there should be no limit on putting a 750GB drive in the v1 either. I'm not planning on getting a drive that large either way, so that's not much of an issue, though.

Here's a pic of the back of the v1:
http://eshop.macsales.com/images/Items/newertechministacked/back700.jpg

So, I really don't understand if it's worth the extra $30 for the newer one.

 

[DrFrankTM]

Hmmm... This is confusing. I am not 100% sure whether or not we are talking about the same product, but I think the confusion comes from the pictures on the page of the v1.

I hadn't really noticed before, but on this page - http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/U2MS500GB8/ - the pictures in the "Cooling Fan" and "Extra Ports & Added Security" sections show the three FW400 ports that you mentioned. However, if you scroll down to the "Rear View" section, you'll notice that it doesn't show the three FW ports. My guess is that you should trust that picture rather than the other two as the page doesn't mention FireWire anywhere. I don't recall precisely how the MiniStack evolved, but I think there might have been a v1 with FW at some point (but now replaced by the v2). Maybe that's where the first two pictures come from.

If you want to know for sure though, I suggest that you e-mail OWC. They'll probably clear up this thing pretty fast. But as far as I'm concerned, the technical details of the v1 seem to make it pretty clear that it's a USB-only drive. If it supported FW, I think they'd say it a bit more clearly. My two cents. ;-)

 

[livingfortoday]

Ooookay, I see where the confusion is coming from. I'm looking specifically at this one:
http://eshop.macsales.com/Item_Specials.cfm?ID=7926&Item=NWTFWU2MS

It's listed as the "NewerTech miniStack FireWire/USB2.0 Kit w/Integrated FW/USB Hubs". I guess we were seeing two different products. I don't know if maybe the one you linked to was the original ministack, and then they released the v1 and then the v2?

The v2 is here, for comparison:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ministack/

Thanks for your replies!

 

[jeremy.king]

Looks to me like V2 added ports on the side of the enclosure (#6 and #8) and a connection switch (#2 - whatever that is)...and thats about it my V1 has Firewire - so maybe I have a v1.5

v1

v2

 

[DrFrankTM]

I was not looking at the same product you were. The v1 comes in a USB2-only version, and in a FW/USB2 version as well. OWC offers both v1 as enclosures, but only the USB2 v1 when you look at enclosures+HDD combos.

There is a note on the v1 FW/USB page saying: "*Some Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 and 7200.8 drives will not physically fit into the enclosure. We recommend Hitachi, Western Digital, and Maxtor drives for this enclosure." The v2 FW/USB doesn't have that comment. They probably moved two of the ports to the side to get the newer mega drives to physically fit into the ministack. My guess is that that's the main difference between the v1 and the v2: the v2 will accept larger drives. I couldn't find anything else.

You can write them and ask.

 

[livingfortoday]

Alright, cool, I didn't know there were two versions. Hence this thread! I will in fact write to them and try to sort this out, because if the only difference is slightly larger drives will fit, and there are now two ports on the side... I'm not shelling out the extra $30.

Thanks for all your help!

Edit: In case anyone's interested still, their live support told me that the difference is the two ports on the side, and "better hard drive support". I asked for clarification of that, but they went offline as soon as they typed the first bit up. Hmm. I'm guessing that just means it'll fit better drives, as was noted above. Ok then! v1 it is!

 

[kgarner]

How quiet are these drives (before the fans kick in) I have an older 40GB in an enclosure that I have been using with my Mini, but it is so loud in comparison that I only use it when necessary. I would like a larger external for stroing my media on instead of the internal, but I want one that is quiet. Thanks.

 

[livingfortoday]

How quiet are these drives (before the fans kick in) I have an older 40GB in an enclosure that I have been using with my Mini, but it is so loud in comparison that I only use it when necessary. I would like a larger external for stroing my media on instead of the internal, but I want one that is quiet. Thanks.

Well, these have variable fan control settings, and I think you can totally turn off the fans, so you should be OK. Right now I use two external Rosewill cases that are fanless, and while my one drive is ok in them, the other one tends to get too hot.