Recommended external HDD caddy?

Ol!ver

Ol!ver

Ol!ver

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Joined
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Sheffield, S.Yorks
I'm looking for an external caddy for connecting a HDD to my MacBook. Is there a recommended caddy out there? Looking for as quiet as possible, USB 2 and one that takes 3.5in drives.

Also, is there one that I can leave turned on all the time and puts itself into some kind of power saving mode ?

Cheers
 
icybox 390

dunno about power saving, i just turn mine off when not in use (95% of the time)
 
bledd. said:
icybox 390

dunno about power saving, i just turn mine off when not in use (95% of the time)
Click to expand...

That's the one I've got my eye on. Already got a drive with all my rubbish on, so think just sticking that in this (moving from desktop solution to portable) is better than buying a whole external drive.
 
does your mac have esata? that'll give you full drive speed

usb2 is limited to ~35mb/s (still quick, but esata is noticeably faster)
 
bledd. said:
does your mac have esata? that'll give you full drive speed

usb2 is limited to ~35mb/s (still quick, but esata is noticeably faster)
Click to expand...

No it's USB only. I'm still contemplating some sort of NAS solution, as I'd like the files instantly accessible, even if the MacBook isn't sat next to the drive.
 
NAS tend to be flaky at best from what i've read on here, unless you spend a fair ammount on them

i'd rather have an Atom pc (~£100), so it's a real pc instead of a NAS
 
get the icybox instead of a external drive that way you can use multiple hdd and not be vonstricted to a set amount of space plus it will be hot swapable
 
bledd. said:
NAS tend to be flaky at best from what i've read on here, unless you spend a fair ammount on them

i'd rather have an Atom pc (~£100), so it's a real pc instead of a NAS
Click to expand...


My NAS (2TB WD Mybook WE) hasn't missed a beat in 12 months.

Even so I'm switching my NAS storage to an eeeBox and Drobo because the WD isn't fast enough.

I also have Lacie 500GB and Maxtor 750GB external USB drives and both of these go into a power saving mode if not used.
 
I've got an Akasa Integral with my Samsung 200Gb SATA drive inside. It's built very well and the ESATA interface has an impressive speed.
 
I have a 390 and the hdd will spin down if set in windows

12233963sk6.jpg


36159661sb5.jpg
 
bledd. said:
icybox 390

dunno about power saving, i just turn mine off when not in use (95% of the time)
Click to expand...

Right, all ordered. Just realised I've another question though: Does this have its won power supply or does it pull it through the USB cable ?
 
So the Icy Box turned up this morning, but it won't turn on. Had it work once then it turned itself off. There's no power getting through to it 'cos the little light's not coming on. :mad:
 
does the brick have power going to it?

i've set up over 10 of them, all flawless

might need to send it back
 
bledd. said:
does the brick have power going to it?

i've set up over 10 of them, all flawless

might need to send it back
Click to expand...

Well, I moved it while it was turned on and it sprang to life, so it looks like a connection somewhere. Been working since so I'll see how I go.
 
Ol!ver said:
Well, I moved it while it was turned on and it sprang to life, so it looks like a connection somewhere. Been working since so I'll see how I go.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you may be best to swap it in these early stages as a loose connection will come loose again.
 
try gingerly playing with the power cable when it's on, (the internal one to the hd) it should stay on even with a bit of movement..

if it goes off, send it back for replacement
 
Would someone mind emailing me (in trust) a link of where your getting an icy box 390. I must be going blind :rolleyes:

And would it work okay with this hdd Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB?
 
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