external enclosures -seeking buying advice

I'm considering buying an external enclosure (EE) primarily for HD diagnostics and data rescue. Any tips on buying one? Are EEs essentially all the same or do they have significant differences in features and capability?

Thanks for reading and any suggestions.

 

I bought only one that was cheapest from Newegg: Newegg.com - Rosewill RX81U-AT-25A Rigid aluminum 2.5" SATA to USB 2.0 Ext. Enclosure and I have to say it's great. It also comes with a nice leather pouch. It feels really good and well... it works. It cost me $12. It just needs two USB ports to work, if it doesn't get enough current from one. (In my case - I use it on Thinkpad X200 - it doesn't get, so it needs two.)

I don't know what else to add - it has one button that I never used. I just go to safely remove hardware when I am taking it out. That button glows nice blue when it's working. It feels sturdy enough and well ... if you like to touch leather, you'll love it. I guess that's all... after all... it's just an enclosure.

 

Are you looking for a 3.5" or 2.5" form factor EE?

Micro Center - Vantec NexStar CX 3.5" SATA to USB/eSATA Hard Drive Enclosure NST-300SU-BK

I like this enclosure, and Vantec is a trusted name for EE.

Micro Center - Antec MX-1 3.5" SATA to USB/eSATA Hard Drive Enclosure 77150

Very nice Antec enclosure with E-SATA but a little pricey. You can typically find this on sale for 30-40ish

Micro Center - Antec MX-25 2.5" SATA to USB / eSATA Hard Drive Enclosure 77154

Or if you are looking for a 2.5 with E-SATA this one is recommended.

 

Just get whatever is CHEAP with the right size and connectors for you.

 

I greatly appreciate the responses and advice, they were helpful. I should have added I'm looking for an EE for 2.5" (notebook) internal drives. What are the different arrays of connectors I should be aware of?

Thanks again,

 

If you only plan on using it for HD diagnostics and data rescue, you might want to consider using just a dock or a SATA adaptor cable. These forgo the case, and just have you plug the bare hard drive into the dock, or attach the adaptor cable to the SATA pins. This configuration is easier to change out hard drives as needed, although the hard drives will obviously be exposed, which is why I only suggest this because of your stated uses (another good use is for backups where you want to use several/separate hard drives). As well, you'll probably want eSATA if possible, or even an extended SATA cable you can connect to an existing SATA port (if available). This is because eSATA is more likely to pass through certain diagnostic data like SMART values, which USB does not always do.

Edit - you posted while I was typing. The common connections are eSATA, USB (2.0/3.0) and Firewire. Which one you use will depend largely depend on the connections you have available to you on your host system, and how fast you worry about your transfers. It's worth noting that USB and (some) Firewire will allow you to power your hard disk from the connector itself, while the rest will require either a separate USB powering cable, or a wall plug. One exception to this is eSATAp, or the combo USB/eSATA port. These can often provide power given an appropriate cable/enclosure.

 

You can go more advanced and get one with ethernet, that way is connected to your router and not directly to your PC.

 

Thanks much for the additional responses and all responses in general. I'll keep your recommendations/suggestions in mind as I shop for an external enclosure.