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    Which enclosure?: please recommend

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by puter1, Jan 16, 2009.

  1. puter1

    puter1 Notebook Deity

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    Hello, I'm shopping for two enclosures but, I just want an idea of what to look for and which ones are the most recommended.

    Do you think it should have a fan or is it okay to be fan-less because of the aluminum shell? In the past, many critics emphasized getting one with a fan but maybe now it's not essential? I have been using a Vantec Nexstar 3 enclosure that has the eSATA and USB interface for connections and so far it's been fine. But, I want to make sure I am getting a decent one and I just discovered there are a few makes and models that come with a built-in fan. I thought it might be a good idea. However, some of the newer terabyte drives are these 'green' models and don't produce a lot of heat for a hard drive. I might not need an enclosure that has a fan for such drives. However, if I wanted to house a drive I ALREADY have, should I bother with an enclosure that has a built-in fan?

    Please recommend and suggest an enclosure. I thought external drives and enclosures would be pretty popular with laptop owners at least until solid state drives come down in price. I think it is the best way to store data and increase the storage capacity for your laptop. It's also useful for desktops as well if you store a lot of data.

    I did try to google for choices and did a search of the forums to no avail. If you think a fan-less enclosure is sufficient, please suggest a brand/model but if you think I should get one with a fan, please state why and suggest a model! Thanks!

    Oh yeah, these are the only ones with fans that I know of that might be good and are available in my area:

    Antec MX-1 Actively Cooled External Hard Drive Enclosure USB2.0 eSATA Black

    Thermaltake MAX4

    If I don't need one with a fan, I am thinking the one I have is sufficient. What do you think?:
    Vantec NexStar3 NST-360SU
     
    puter1, Jan 16, 2009
    #1
  2. K-TRON

    K-TRON Hi, I'm Jimmy Diesel ^_^

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    back about 3 years ago harddrives were pretty power inefficient, which meant that they got pretty hot. At that point, it was good measure to have an enclosure with a fan in it.
    Now harddrives have become pretty efficient, so even if you use yours for an hour a day, it is fine

    I do not like the look of current enclosures, so I built my own.
    It has two 80mm fans in it to keep my harddrive cool :D

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, Jan 16, 2009
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