Antec MX-1 USB/e-SATA 3.5-Inch Hard Drive Enclosure

Keep your data safe and cool in Antec's MX-1 portable Hard Drive enclosure. Features a patented blower fan to keep your drive running cool, and allowing you to operate the enclosure continuously. Simply install your drive, connect it to your computer and start transferring your data at blazing speeds over USB2.0 or eSATA. There's not even any need to install drivers. The MX-1 is made with a special dual-layer design that reduces noise and is lightweight for easy transporting.

the enclosure is very nice. the rubber dampeners in which the hard drive sits on really help keep the noise and the vibration down. the biggest problem is the fan. the fan is obnoxiously loud. i had to unplug the fan because it was driving me crazy. i understand this isnt the highest qualitly case but they could have put a slightly quieter fan in there. wish i got the macally usb 2.0/esata enclosure instead

I love these MX-1 enclosures - I presently have three of them and they are all working very well. The price is a little high when you consider what it is, but even that has gotten better as of late, decreasing from around $60 to $40 over the last year or so. One of my MX-1s is attached to my Tivo S3 holding an ESATA drive so it is always on and the case does a great job of keeping the drive cool, though you may want to use a higher-end ESATA cable for an application like that where keeping the connection is critical - I use a Siig (also from Amazon) and have been very happy with it.

Poor Instructions - But sooner or later you figure it out - then works very good - this one has an internal fan - the other one doesn't-eh!!

So I initially wished to purchase an external hard drive as opposed to an enclosure/internal hd but since I am planning on building a new desktop soon it made more sense to go with the latter. As I stated in the title this product is fantastic, cooling is great, the whatever sound (if any) is obliterated by the sound of my laptop fan. It currently houses a WD640gig 7200rpm drive and is doing fine.

This purchased was part of an extended troubleshooting effort for a Western Digital My Book external hard drive that suddenly bricked; I wanted to test the WD hard drive in a new enclosure to see if it was the platter or interface circuitry that was the issue. I uninstalled the WD drive out of its original case and installed it in the Antec MX-1 to complete the diagnosis.. This is a nice looking plastic/hard rubber case. Like many other hard drive enclosures, the power switch is inexplicably located on the rear of the enclosure. During the drive install, you will remove and then replace a total of seven screws (one for the top cover, one for the fan plate and four for the drive itself). Other reviews have commented on issues with the fan plate screws; I didn't find access a major PITA, but a long shaft screwdriver and tweezers (or a small item pick-up tool will make the job easier). The enclosure is very quiet, and there's no obvios disk activity light (the LED is very small and subdued). Finally: even though the instructions are text-free pictographs, they are among the best I've ever seen (a far cry from Ikea offerings!). PS: The verdict on the WD: bad drive: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3RV6CABZBFRTE/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm