Newbie hard drive enclosure question

[engwar]

I'm not that familiar with hardware so I pardon this simple question.

I recently purchased a drive that I want to put in an external enclosure. I need to make sure I buy a compatible case.

The drive is a Maxtor 300GB, Ultra ATA/EIDE. Can I just buy any case that supports IDE or is there a benefit from purchasing a case that specifically supports EIDE?

Any recommendations for a case? There seem to be a million to choose from. I want one that is USB 2.0 and, based on the opinions of friends, I'm looking for one with a fan. This drive will be used for backups and as storage for MP3s.

Thanks.

 

[phreejak]

Just make sure the enclosure isn't a 2'5 incher. Go on Newegg and check out what the various people say about the enclosures in user comments for each product.

If it doesn't, at least, have an internal fan then make sure it is all aluminum - for heat dissipation concerns. There are good ones and there are bad ones of course. For myself, I prefer enclosures that allow for both firewire AND usb connections to my computer.

Pay attention to the products stats, though, as some of the enclosures do have drive size limitations (as in gigabytes) that they can read.

 

[engwar]

Thanks for the tips, all good points.

Any input on whether there is a benefit from purchasing a case that specifically says it supports EIDE? Do I get a speed increase or something?

 

[phreejak]

They, basically, have 2 types of internal interfaces - IDE or SATA - and there is no real distinction beyond each, other than their connection capabilities to your computer (such as eSATA, USB, Firewire or Ethernet). BUt, some actually do have size limitations from they can read. You will either be limited by the USB 2.0, 1.1,firewire or eSata speeds (which are plenty fast)