Gaming Looking into a New External HDD Case

[suppachipmunk]

Hello all.
Just needed some help picking out a good brand of external HDD case. I currently have a maxtor 300GB HDD placed in a generic case which totally sucks monkey balls! This is the second HDD that I have used in this particular case, and I am pretty sure that the case is the problem. It will automatically disconnect itself, or I will have to powercycle the case about 5 times for the computer to even recognize it as a drive.

My current case is a generic 3.5" USB2.0 + IEEE1394a case. It is an EIDE/ATA/PATA case.
It is housing a Maxtor 300GB HDD EIDE, of course.

I am looking for a case that is of excellent build quality, is EIDE/ATA/PATA and has USB2.0.
Firewire is not a MUST, but is recommended.
I am not too worried bout price, just not more than $45 or so.
I have a Macally for my 2.5" and I love it. WIll I get the same great service out of a 3.5" macally?

Thanks in advance.
suppachipmunk

---On a side note, I am looking to replace my laptop optical drive. Any recommendations? I am looking at a Pioneer K-17. Anything I need to know about them?

 

[ndsdave]

Check out Cooler Master External HDD Cases. Highly recommended, reasonably good quality. I has 2 x HDD's in generic cases that gave me so much trouble it's not funny. They were useless. Now the HDD's work a treat.

 

[suppachipmunk]

@ ndsdave.

Thanks for the response. I looked into Cooler Master on Newegg, but only found one casewhich was USB only.
I read on another forum and someone told me about AMS.

So I did some research and this one
AMS VENUS DS-2316CBK Aluminum 3.5" USB & 1394 Black External Enclosure - Retail
had some awesome reviews. It was alittle expensive, but has both a Cypress Chipset and the Oxford 911 Chipset.

So far, three days later, no problems as of yet. Hope to give an update after a month and let other people know.

You should check it out, this is the link for USB plus Firewire
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817145657

but they also have em with just USB.

Thanks again.

 

[Kiljaeden]

I've got a Vantec Nexstar 3. It's not too bad. Only problem is it doesn't have an inbuilt cooler. They have most connections to suit your preference though.

 

[ndsdave]

I hope your new AMS case does the trick. I tried to put my external drives together on the cheap - and really payed for it. There was only $10-$15 between the crappy cases and the Cooler Master cases. I really regret not getting a decent case to start with, and had so many problems. Keep us updated!

 

[suppachipmunk]

Hello all.

Almost a month now (22 days) and the AMS case seems to run fine. I haven't had any problems and the transfer speeds seem to be pretty good. I don't have an actual program to test it, so I don't have benchmarks.

As it stands, I can recommend this case to anyone who wants a good USB/Firewire Enclosure.

The case's built in 80mm fan cuts on as soon as the HDD is turned on, and you would barely notice that it is even there. It is very quiet, yet very effective. The case becomes slightly warm after a couple hours of operation, but nothing to concern yourself with.

So far, I don't have any dropped connections either. With my old case, it would drop the signal in the middle of a transfer or in the middle of me burning information to DVD.

AMS VENUS DS-2316CBK Aluminum 3.5" USB & 1394 Black External Enclosure - Retail
Expensive, but good. As long as I don't have to buy any more enclosures, then the price is well worth it.

-Suppachipmunk