Opinion needed on HD enclosure/dock

[Fenix]

I know I asked something similar a year or so ago, but I didnt have the spare money then. People are asking me for christmas ideas and this is all I can think of. I've found two that I think are good, but I'm not sure they are.

Vantec NexStar CX (NST-300SU-BK) 3.5" SATA to USB 2.0 and eSATA External Hard Drive Enclosure
http://www.canadacomputers.com/produ...item_id=021590

Thermaltake BlacX ST0005U External Hard Drive SATA Enclosure Docking Station 2.5” & 3.5” USB 2.0 & eSATA
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817153071

Can't decide which one to go for, the dock will be good since I got some laptop and desktop hard drives laying around.. but when I can afford to get a 1 TB the enclosure will be nicer. Can dust ruin a hard drive in the dock if left out in the open? Or is there a better enclosure for the same price that someone will know of?

Also got a question: How does hot swapping work? I read something about ADHI (or whatever), or Raid, will allow hot swapping and I switched my PC to that in the bios. Is that all I do?

Any help deciding will be greatly appreciated, and sorry if this is wrong place for something like this.

[MjW]

Both are nice. But it would be wisest to go for a USB3 enclosure.
Here are some recommendations: http://lifehacker.com/5955402/five-b...ive-enclosures

Dust wont be a problem. Assuming you will eventually clean the drive a couple of times per year like you do for every other thing in the house.

Since you are planning to use the HDDs as external storage hot swapping has nothing to do with it. Hot swapping is for internal drives.

[keefy]

Plus with hot swapping you need the option enabled in your BIOS and it need to be enabeld BEFORE you install windows there is a way around it but it didnt seem to work for me and looks like the dock you linked to has a dust cover.

Hot swapping is only needed if you will be swapping many hard drives in and out often.

[Fenix]

I'd get a USB3 Hard Drive Enclosure but I'd really rather not pay $50. Areare Rosewills any good, or should I stick with one of the two in the OP? I've been looking at this Rosewill RX-358 V2 BLK

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817173042

EDIT: On an enclosure how does a power save feature work? Such as if Im backing up the PS3 will this thing power down, or cause im backing up will it continue to work? (PS3 backups are one of the reasons I want an enclosure)

[keefy]

Power Save UsuallyThe drive only switches off if its not being used so if int he process of backign up it shouldnt power down.

But it also means if it has powered down when idle and you want to access the drive it will take an extra few seconds for the data to load up.

[Fenix]

Ended up going for a Rosewill RX358 RX-358-U3S, looks like the Rosewill RX-358 V2 BLK I was going to buy but instead of USB 2 and eSata it has USB 3. Wanted to get the model with USB 3 and eSata, but that thing was $59.99 before shipping.. this thing is only $35.

My PC only has USB 2 and eSata, but I plan to update my PC as soon as possible. I already download stuff through my net at 1 - 15 mbps, so this should be fine making backups and that till then.

(http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817182211)

[MjW]

You made the right choice.

And you can always add a $10 usb3 pcie card to take advantage of the speed.


TA-pa-TA-pa-taPAtalk

[MacP]

You can buy a HDD enclousre from ebay for chip as chips that should do the job.