macally PHRS250CC Aluminum 2.5" USB 2.0 & 1394 External Enclosure

Pros: Cheap Price

Cons: Poorly made. Stripped screws. Poor finish, just looks cheap.

Pros: Assembled easily, but see cons. Works well with my MacBook Pro, taking all required power from the FireWire cable. Comes with FireWire, USB, and USB to Power cable.

Compatible with Time Machine on Mac Snow Leopard

Extremely responsive manufacturer, who responded quickly to pre-sales inquiry.

Cons: Could not close the case with mounting screws installed; screws were too long (- 1 egg for this). Disk clearance is extremely tight, so cabinet pressure held the disk in place well enough without mounting screws.

Make sure your drive will fit before you buy.

Instructions were in French (which I can read with difficulty).

Other Thoughts: Manufacturer claims to have tested the enclosure with drives up to 1 Tb, and that a power supply, if used, should supply 5V, 2A, center positive. Since the disk can be completely powered by a single FireWire cable, I will not buy a wall wart for it.

Pros: i have two of these little guys and i have gotten a couple for family members as well...no complaints full circle! this enclosure is really rock solid. nice sturdy aluminum chasis...holds the drive nice and snug. haven't had the issue of "too tight of a fit" as others have. tend to use the wd 320gb 7200rpm drive with these. i do field recording with my macbook pro and this enclosure is the perfect companion to my rig. connection of choice is firewire, as i need the speed...plus it is bus-powered. great, speedy storage in a small footprint...kudos maccally!

Cons: the only thing i could possibly think to say as a "con" would be that the led is pretty bright, so if you are in an area where the activity blinking would be considered a distraction...put a piece of duct tape over it! :)

Pros: Small, comes with all cables. The enclosure itself seems sturdy and well-made. USB connection works as expected.

Cons: I bought it for faster firewire speeds, which disappoint. Occasionally it works fine, but usually it chokes on large files and is slower than USB. I don't use it enough to make getting a replacement worthwhile.
Once in a while, in the middle of a transfer, the light will turn red and the computer will no longer recognise it. Turning it off and back on fixes it.
Also, as noted elsewhere, the fit is tight. Scratched the label on the two WD drives I have used with it. Doesn't bother me though.

Other Thoughts: If you're looking for something cheap to use occasionally, this should be good enough. If you're looking for something that will get a lot of use, I would be wary.

Pros: All the good things reported here
are found to be true in my experience
of owning 3 of these and installing for
clients.

Cons: The screws holding the drive to the
tray are soft aluminum going into
plastic. If you find that one or the
other strips, it can be got out by
grasping the head with ridged needle
nose pliers and pulling while twisting.

Other Thoughts: I like the no nonsense design. Once you pick
it up it practically sticks in your hand no matter
how it's oriented. It sets down on rubber bumpers
- both sides. Inspires confidence that stiff cables
won't drag it off the table, etc.

Pros: FW400 & USB 2.0 interface works with a variety of machines, power on/off is reassuring so you don't short out your FW port connecting/disconnecting with it live. Works beautifully on Firewire power.

Cons: Have to use the USB power most of the time when using USB connection with the seagate I have installed. Oh well.

Other Thoughts: I have this partitioned into 4 as a backup/diagnostic/install drive to work on macs with, it does a brilliant job. Thinking about buying a couple more for the shop.

Pros: I bought this external enclosure to upgrade a Macbook to a 500GB drive... I put the new drive in this enclosure, cloned the internal drive to the Firewire connected drive, and then swapped the drives. Worked like a charm.

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: Haven't tried the USB port yet, but the 1394 connection works as expected.

Pros: Nice rugged/sturdy enclosure

Cons: Drives fit so tightly in the enclosure that the drive label is scratched as it and the board are seated into the enclosure. Doesn't come with a cable for the smaller 1394 connector used on most laptops.

Other Thoughts: Hard to give a good or bad review when the product arrives dead.

Pros: My previous one works fine.

Cons: Does not work, at all

Pros: The case is nice, and easy to put in a hard drive. Once the drive is installed, it feels sturdy and does a good job keeping it cool under heavy use.

Cons: I bought this for use as a backup drive for my Macbook Pro. When under heavy use, the drive needs more power than is supplied by the USB data cable, so you'll need to use the USB power cable that comes with it as well. To use two USB ports for a laptop for a backup drive is rough. I would have preferred a power plug vs a power USB cable.

Other Thoughts: The power usage is typical for drives heavily used (as with backups). A single USB cable is nice, and fine for light use, but not a possibility for backups.