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External USB 3 enclosure 3.5"

Q

Qonix

macrumors member
Original poster
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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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
Click to expand...

Yeah i already had a Stardom USB3 enclosure it it does not work with my new iMac, im also looking for a decent enclosure that actually works with the new iMac.
 
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well if the HDD heats do much doesn't it risk to break?
btw the one you linked to me works fine and at usb3.0 speed?
 
Qonix said:
well if the HDD heats do much doesn't it risk to break?
btw the one you linked to me works fine and at usb3.0 speed?
Click to expand...

Sure, but the drives now run MUCH cooler than drives of 5 years ago. Again really depends on what you are using it for if heat would be an issue. If you are worried about heat and don't mind the noise, then go with a case with a fan.

I'm getting ~200MB/s read and write using a 3TB Seagate drive, which is more than twice as fast the internal 2.5" 1TB 5400RPM drive. Both connected to 2.3ghz i7 Mac mini. I haven't tested on my 2012 21.5" iMac yet, but expect about the same.
 
torana355 said:
Yes that is my exact enclosure 🙁 Let us know if yours works, yours may have updated firmware.
Click to expand...
If they cannot guarantee it to work I will cancel the order, cant be bothered with having to return it. Now I have to wait til the 14th when they come back to work🙁
Thanks for your reply....when did you buy yours?
 
davsv1 said:
If they cannot guarantee it to work I will cancel the order, cant be bothered with having to return it. Now I have to wait til the 14th when they come back to work🙁
Thanks for your reply....when did you buy yours?
Click to expand...

About 7 months ago, its a really good enclosure, it just needs a firmware update to work with the mac on usb3.
 
torana355 said:
About 7 months ago, its a really good enclosure, it just needs a firmware update to work with the mac on usb3.
Click to expand...

Thanks, will let you know how I go.

I have two usb2 esata firewire ones with several (6) caddies so I hope usb3 works, if not I have a usb3-esata hub ordered and will see how that works on the older ones.

On a side note, I see your name is torana as in Holden, mine is sv1 as in Valiant 1962😀
 
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
Click to expand...
Is it the firmware of the enclosure or the fact that the description of the item was written before Macs had USB 3.0 support?

It could be the firmware of course, but that would mean it was poorly written firmware.
 
I have a Macally USB 3.0 enclosure. Looks pretty nice. You can read my review here on MacRumor. A little beyond your budget I guess ($50) but works natively with my new iMac including sleep function.
 
azentropy said:
I ordered one of each of the Mediasonic ProBox's (for 3.5 and 2.5). Not much too them, but work well and suit my needs.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0065DUJ0C
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007X4TGXI
Click to expand...

this was one of the first reviews..

"Needing a way to convert my drives to USB 3.0 for a new Macbook Pro, I did a little research on enclosures and decided to give this a try. I installed a bare drive into the enclosure (easy), plugged in the USB 3.0 cord (supplied) to my computer's USB 3.0 port and it worked like a charm. Almost. After seeing how slow my data transfer was going, I took another look at Amazon's description and then at the very small type on the package. It turns out that USB 3.0 only works with PCs. Mac users get the pleasure of seeing their data stream along at a max of USB 2.0 speed. If you have a Mac, stay away from this enclosure."
 
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Qonix said:
this was one of the first reviews..

"Needing a way to convert my drives to USB 3.0 for a new Macbook Pro, I did a little research on enclosures and decided to give this a try. I installed a bare drive into the enclosure (easy), plugged in the USB 3.0 cord (supplied) to my computer's USB 3.0 port and it worked like a charm. Almost. After seeing how slow my data transfer was going, I took another look at Amazon's description and then at the very small type on the package. It turns out that USB 3.0 only works with PCs. Mac users get the pleasure of seeing their data stream along at a max of USB 2.0 speed. If you have a Mac, stay away from this enclosure."
Click to expand...

Interesting, but as stated above I'm definitely getting USB 3.0 speeds on my Mac mini. I'll take it over and try it on my iMac later tonight.

Edit: Also getting USB 3.0 speeds on my iMac.... ~200MB/sec... vs. ~95MB/sec on the internal 2.5" 5400rpm drive.
 
Last edited:
I think I also made a similar mistake. I ripped open my Western Digital My Book Essential 1TB Enclosure convincing myself that my new imac didn't have a firewire port and I should instead buy a USB 3.0 enclosure. I bought a Century USB 3.0 Enclosure here in Tokyo (http://www.century.co.jp/products/pc/hdd-case/35satahddusb30/cls35eu3bf.html) and inserted in the WD hdd.

I immediately found out that although the enclosure works fine on my USB 2.0 port (my apple keyboard), usb 3.0 ports wouldn't recognize it at all. I tried plugging it in and out a bunch of times and finally it would mount the drive. The enclosure worked fine afterwards and I could get a speed of around 80 MBPS. (USB 2 speed was around 35 MBPS though). I am assuming its the driver issue as you mentioned above.
 
torana355 said:
About 7 months ago, its a really good enclosure, it just needs a firmware update to work with the mac on usb3.
Click to expand...

Ok, so I got my itank today, it works ok on the iMac but is not as fast as I was expecting, maybe the old WD green hard drive I installed. I managed to get just 75mbs read & 78mbs write usb2 was ~30mbs. esata was the same as usb3 but on the old itank esata managed to get 95mbs. So i assume the hard drive plays a significant part even thought they are both WD greens one is 1tb the other (faster one) is 2tb. Now I swapped hds over and the 2tb in the new tank gets 95mbs on usb3, same as it did on esata on the old itank. Firewire was ~50mbs
I am using a thunderbolt to firewire cable and a usb3 - esata converter.
Any comments on the speeds?
 
davsv1 said:
Ok, so I got my itank today, it works ok on the iMac but is not as fast as I was expecting, maybe the old WD green hard drive I installed. I managed to get just 75mbs read & 78mbs write usb2 was ~30mbs. esata was the same as usb3 but on the old itank esata managed to get 95mbs. So i assume the hard drive plays a significant part even thought they are both WD greens one is 1tb the other (faster one) is 2tb. Now I swapped hds over and the 2tb in the new tank gets 95mbs on usb3, same as it did on esata on the old itank. Firewire was ~50mbs
I am using a thunderbolt to firewire cable and a usb3 - esata converter.
Any comments on the speeds?
Click to expand...

95MB is about right for a WD Green drive. I guess mine has old firmware as my iTank does not work.
 
torana355 said:
95MB is about right for a WD Green drive. I guess mine has old firmware as my iTank does not work.
Click to expand...

According to my system report the version mine is running is 1.00, I assume that is the firmware version. My older usb2 itank says version 0.00.
Anyway thanks for confirming that speed is normal.
Where did you get yours from? Maybe they will help you.
 
daisy chain

is there an external drive supports both usb3 and thunderbolt also in daisy chain?

I found only lacie d2 usb3 thunderbolt but daisy chain isn't supported
 
davsv1 said:
According to my system report the version mine is running is 1.00, I assume that is the firmware version. My older usb2 itank says version 0.00.
Anyway thanks for confirming that speed is normal.
Where did you get yours from? Maybe they will help you.
Click to expand...

Epowermac.com.au
 
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