What is the best eSATA enclosure?

Title changed - EDIT:

That is all I needed, thank you.

What options do I have to make the cable longer? will this cable with this adapter work?
I'm asking as I don't know how it all works, so I think maybe the adapter (or the longer cable) don't support the eSATA with Power thing.

EDIT: I will see if I can power the HDD directly and just get a SATA/ESATA cable (like this?)

 

Newegg.com - External Enclosure, External Hard Drive Enclosure, USB External Enclosure, Multimedia External Enclosure

Filter the results so you get what you are looking for, read reviews, order what you want. Chances are Newegg has the best price on whatever you decide on, but it wouldn't hurt to look elsewhere before pulling the trigger.

 

I was searching on Amazon, but I decided to get some recommendations here.

It's not a problem anyway, the more important question is, could I get it to work without an enclosure? to reduce cost. And as mentioned earlier, to avoid the problem of the HDD not fitting in the enclosure.

 

I don't think so, I think enclosures have some sort of interface for the power/SATA connectors. I don't think that somehow rigging a power supply to the HDD and a SATA connector without the enclosure in the middle would work.

Might as well just use the enclosure.

 

I found this being highest rated. Not cheap, but I want highest quality as I won't be able to RMA.

The problem: It's 3.5" and all the good ones are 3.5"

Will it work with my drive?

My drive is 2.5" 12mm.

It's OK if it has more space inside, but my priority is that I want it to plug in and work.


EDIT: By the way, If I use this: Newegg Link with this: Newegg Link, will it work?
I know the price will be higher, etc...
But, basically, will it work? And will I have full eSATA speed?

 

Welland ME-580J - in my opinion best value for money. Not the cheapest out there, but supports 2 HDDs in RAID (0,1, JBOD), has a built in power supply with a standard PSU cable, and active cooling. It also has SATA port multiplier, which allows to use 2 HDDs independently through one eSATA connection. SATA2 compatible.

For 2.5 inch drives I would recommend Vantec NexStar 3 eSATA/USB 2.0. I use one myself, it works great, however to work in eSATA mode it needs additional USB connection for power, or an external power supply (I use a 5V 2000mA PSU).

I know that there are enclosures which support power-over-eSATA, for laptops with an eSATA/USB combo port, You would have to search the thread here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...-enclosure-supports-power-combo-usb-port.html

 

The Welland ME-580J are also 3.5"

And it's all over my budget, 100$ is way too much for me. And I don't need the extra bay (tho it would me kool, but I have low budget.)

 

I would give it even 2 USB2s I will check now I hope it has moderate price.

I have a eSATA/USB2 combo. I just want to use something recommended, I'll go with yours.
EDIT: There are many models, can you give me the specific model number? I'm talking about the Vantec NexStar 3.

 

I had the Vantec NexStar 3 (model NST-260SU-BL or NST-260SU-BK) in mind.

http://www.vantecusa.com/en/product/view_detail/214
http://www.vantecusa.com/en/product/view_detail/177

You mentioned that Your HDD is 12.5mm thick, the NexStar enclosure supports only 9.5mm drives.

As for Welland solutions, there is also a dual bay eSATA 2.5 inch HDD enclosure, which supports 12.5mm drives and RAID 0, 1, JBOD modes: ME-280J

http://www.welland.com.tw/html/2bay/280j.html

 

eSATA is just a SATA pass-through. There should be no performance difference at all because the system is natively accessing the drive.

 

I can't put the drive in my laptop. There is no space, unless if I managed to put it in place of the optical drive.

@Marecki_clf
I couldn't find* any ME-280j seller, there are 3 Australian sellers, 1 Pakistani, and I think 1 Chinese.

Any suggestions? Won't any 3.5" enclosure work for me? Is it a connectivity issue or just a "holding the drive in place" issue?

 

SATA connectors are supposed to be of the same size in 3.5 inch and in 2.5 inch drives, so it's more likely a "holding the drive in place" issue.

 

+1 for Vantec NexStars.

I will *only* ever buy Vantec NexStar drive enclosures. I've bought less expensive drive enclosures in the past. Yes, they save you money, but they also tend to have a much higher chance of being DOA, or failing after time. When I buy a Vantec, it works the first time and every time. That kind of reliability is worth every additional penny.

I personally use a Vantec NexStar that has 2x 3.5" SATA drives in a RAID-1 mirrored array (eSATA and USB), and a little 1x 2.5" SATA drive via USB 2.0. I've owned both enclosures for years with absolutely no problem.

I would highly recommend that you stick with Vantec NexStars, with whatever model you eventually choose.

 

Couldn't disagree more. I've owned 3 Vantecs, including straight USB and USB/eSATA and every last one of them either 1) didn't work out of the box or 2) failed within a couple weeks. I like Thermaltake enclosures.

It's the OP's choice, but I would suggest making sure the place you bought it from has a good return policy. Of all the hardware I've ever worked with in the last 15 years, external enclosures tend to break bad sooner rather than later.

 

I'm sorry to hear that you have had problems with Vantec's. I still stand by them as a brand, and will continue to buy only their enclosures as long as they have the features that I need when I am making a buying decision.

In any case, I agree with the alternative recommendation to buy Thermaltake brand enclosures as another option. I own one of their Thermaltake BlackX External SATA drive docks, for purposes of easily cloning drives. Thermaltake is also a highly reputed computer peripheral manufacturer that has been around for quite a long time. I would vouch for their reliability as well.

My point is, look beyond just what is cheapest. You will own your enclosure for a long time. Spend a little extra money up front, to make sure that you buy a drive enclosure that will be reliable, and last you for a few years.

 

Now that I will completely agree with. There's no need for the OP to go nuts and spend a ton of money, but it's always best to steer well clear of the cheapest units.

 

Cheap, good?

Rocketfish RF-AH25D enclosures. They are sold on ebay from $8-$12 shipped. I have about 10 of these. Perfect. Come with everything you need. USB cable, eSATA cable, power supply(in case you don't use USB to power it), two covers (Black/Silver), and a pleather carry case.

 

I'm confused as to what exactly the OP wants. Does he want something portable because the fact that he asks for something that works WITHOUT an enclosure seems to imply he just wants a way to get an extra HDD/storage space to his laptop.

If that's the case, wouldn't an HDD dock be a better recommendation?

 

I will see the Thermaltake ones. And I'll see Rocketfish RF-AH25D.

The problem is I simply can't return anything. To return a product back (and then getting it to me again) will cost me even more than simply buying a new one and shipping it.

Yes, I don't care about enclosures. I will use any USB2 enclosure (and I already have ones) for when I go out.

What I want is a means to transfer data from my laptop to the 1TB 2.5" drive.

Won't simply buying a eSATA - SATA cable work?
What is there in the dock/enclosure other than power and eSATA/SATA connection?

 

Nah you can just make a nice sock for your hdd and use a seagate goflex esata cable if you have a usb/esata combo port. Check it out, well worth it!

 

Antec MX-1 is pretty good, eSATA and actively cooled.

 

That is all I needed, thank you.

What options do I have to make the cable longer? will this cable with this adapter work?
I'm asking as I don't know how it all works, so I think maybe the adapter (or the longer cable) don't support the eSATA with Power thing.

 

@PlatinuM195

I'll go with what widezu69 suggested, it's what I needed, I just didn't know it exists.

 

I agree with this. Vantec makes a no BS enclosure that works, and they won't break the bank either. I also recommend the Antec 2.5" that also has e-SATA though they are expensive (duh, it's Antec).

Avoid those cheapo ones for 5 dollars, ask yourself is it worth losing your precious data to a crappy made enclosure worth it? I have seen cheap enclosures fry hard drives.

 

I should have edited the question. I will go with what widezu69 suggested.
I just need something to make it longer.

I edited the original post

 

i got acomdata usb2/esata enclosures from amazon for 19 usd.
it runs amazing and pcb design is nice.
overall i am happy with it.

 

Your first option will not work; standard eSATA does not support power natively, so you would need an eSATAp to SATA cable. Neither the eSATA cable your listed nor the adaptor would pass through power.

Your second option would work, or alternatively, what you want is something like this, which is essentially the same as the GoFlex. Or, if you don't mind losing a USB port, there is this product which is a male eSATA connector and male USB connector that combine into a single female eSATAp connector.

 

i guess this is a esatap product

Power Over eSATA USB eSATAp 2.5" HDD Enclosure USB2.0 - eBay (item 270697641883 end time Feb-24-11 20:11:20 PST)