HELP! Would like to build an external HD...

[drummerboy03]

Hi,
I currently have two 400gb seagate external hd's daisy chained by firewire, with one firewire 400 cable connecting them to my MBP.

I do a lot of video editing and I am in need of more HD space (want to expand to 1TB, possibly 2TB), but don't want to have multiple HD cables/power cables to worry about. I will be selling my two 400gb externals to my sister.

I have been told that building a hd with an enclosure and SATA drive is easy and would be the best option for my backup needs.. what are the advantages to this? cost/speed?

I am looking at these HD options:
Seagate 1TB
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Seagate/ST31000340AS/

Samsung 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152102


and these enclosures:

Rosewill(one drive):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182123

Macally(one drive):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...A-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-N82E16817347017

OWC Mercury Elite(dual drive):
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/MEFW924AL2K/

does anyone have any recommendations? If i decide to go with two 1TB drives I would choose the dual drive enclosure. Otherwise I will most likely just build a 1TB drive with the Rosewill or Macally enclosure.

Any input is greatly appreciated, thanks,
Jason

 

[drummerboy03]

also what connection should i use on my MBP? the USB 2.0 or the Firewire 400?

 

[old-wiz]

Firewire is faster than USB, hands down.

 

[gr8tfly]

I have the FW800 Rosewill with a Seagate 750GB SATA in it. Works great.

I liked it enough to also buy their FW800 2.5" case.

 

[drummerboy03]

Firewire is faster than USB, hands down.

my MBP only has a FW400 port... is FW400 faster than USB2.0?
or just FW800 is faster than USB2.0?

 

[drummerboy03]

is it pretty straightforward to connect a SATA drive up to the enclosure? I've never done it before, but consider myself a fast learner... will i have any trouble hooking it up?

i am leaning towards the macally enclosure (becuase it's $30 cheaper than the Rosewill) and the 1TB Seagate drive. any thoughts?

 

[dmmcintyre3]

A FW 400 will beat USB 2

 

[-SD-]

I have an IcyDock MB561US-4S connected to the Mac Mini media server: the iServe and iRaid. It's a very well built enclosure with eSATA and USB2.0 interfaces. I use it for streaming my media to the PS3.

 

[J the Ninja]

is it pretty straightforward to connect a SATA drive up to the enclosure? I've never done it before, but consider myself a fast learner... will i have any trouble hooking it up?

i am leaning towards the macally enclosure (becuase it's $30 cheaper than the Rosewill) and the 1TB Seagate drive. any thoughts?

Rosewill is garbage, don't buy their stuff. They have a reputation for not lasting very long.

Hooking the drive up is simple, there are a pair of connectors, "signal" and "power". They are roughly the same shape, but different sizes. They are both keyed, and will only fit in one way. You just line them up, and snap them together. It will be pretty obvious what goes where when you look at the drive and the connector in the enclosure.

 

[drummerboy03]

just ordered:

one, dual bay enclosure (1.5TB x2):
OWC Mercury Elite - AL Pro Dual Bay"Triple Interface" Performance RAID Enclosure
https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/MEFW934AL2/

and one, two pack of 1.5TB Seagate HD($270 - 70 off coupon = $200):
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...=CJ&cid=24471&lid=566643&acd=10550055-683153-

Total: $310 including shipping for a 3.0TB external.

I'm going to use FW400(since my MB pro has no 800 port) and partition this into two 1.5TB partitions. one for storage, and one for time machine backup