External Hard Drive/enclosure Choice Options

[keybie]

I've decided to get a 15" Powerbook and am awaiting to see if Apple will be releasing an updated version next week in case I'll probably get a better machine for the same price as now

The machine will be used for everyday stuff like email, web etc. but also for video editing (iMovie, Final cut express or whatever I find to be usable for editing home videos in a respectable manner). And since I'm a serious hobby musician I'd like to use it for audio/MIDI as well, with internal soft-samplers (possibly also some soft-synths even though I suffice with my external MIDI gear), effects etc. Haven't decided what kind of software to settle for as I'm very new to all of this, but have been suggested to try out the various demo versions when I finally get my Mac.

But getting to the point of this posting: I most likely need a large and fast external hard drive for this, so I need to figure out:

1) Which hard drive should I buy?
and
2) Which external enclosure should I buy?

I don't know anything about which specs I should be looking for, but I do definitely want a silent running drive, that's for sure! I've had computers in the past which sould like vacuum cleaners, and I assure you: it's not much fun trying to be creative with that sort of environment!

As for the enclosure. Apart from ventilating the drive well enough (I've read that some enclosures have no fan, even though they claim that their design is uniquely made and do give sufficent cooling I'm a little sceptical, though still open to the idea if it proves to be correct) it should look good.

Having searched around the web almost in vain (most enclosures look pretty cheesy, tacky and geeky in my opinion. I'm looking for something that looks a little more stylish and "pro") I believe I've found something that is usable:

Macpower 'Pleiades' drive enclosure

Anyone know of other "pro looking" drive enclosures?


Although I'll probably buy the "Superdrive" version of the Powerbook I might actually get an external DVD-writer later on, to save on tear and wear, and possibly higher specs as well, so getting an enclosure for the hard drive that'll match one for the DVD writer would be great!
Perhaps there's an enclosure style that is delivered for both devices?
If possible, I'd like to stack them on top of each other.

As for interfacing, what should I go for? Firewire 400? 800? USB?
What about for the external DVD-writer?

A practial issue: it would be nice not to have an external power supply ("wall wart"), but a built-in power supply in the enclosure itself, but this seems not to be the trend, so I might have to give in here.

Suggestions, comments?

[keybie]

Well they did it again, and it was worth waiting for: Apple released new Powerbooks with better specs at a lower price! I noticed among many features that the 15" model now has optical audio ports as well, which will come in handy for use with my Minidisc recorder.
So this is the one I'm going for -the 15" Powerbook that is
But like with any brand new electronic item I'm going to wait a few weeks to see if there are any production faults or shortcomings that need to be adressed.

Back to hard-drive enclosure: does the enclosure vibrate, thus causing the additional noise? Could the drive be fastened with special screws instead of the normal ones? I've heard of screws (or some sort of fastening solution) made of vibration-damping rubber etc.

The blue LED sounds irritating. Like I said earlier, I'm looking for an enclosure that gives a professional look, and a "Christmas tree" decoration isn't it. I'm sure I can easily exchange it to another LED with less intensity (and another colour if needed), or remove it altogether.

The Roctor drives seem good. I like that they have internal power supplies (are they the only ones that do?), but I don't quite their looks, and I'd like to pick my own drive (once I figure out which one to go for).

Ce message a été modifié par keybie - mer. 19 oct. 2005, 21:08.