Hello, am using a 640GB 2.5" SAMSUNG HM641JI in the following HDD enclosure: SHE072, made by SSK, Shenzhen, China (http://www.ssk.cn/en/en/productshow.asp?id=409&proid=30) My first disk (same type) became inaccessible after 3 months and I had it replaced with a new one. I wouldn't like to have the same problem. Can an enclosure damage a hard disk and make it inaccessible or the problem was with the disk itself? Moreover just today I read about a similar problem at http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/263081-32-external-inconsistency. The transfer rate of my disk measured by HDTune is about 21MBs, while the disk rate with SATA should be at least 138MB/sec (http://www.samsung.com/global/business/hdd/productmodel.do?type=94&subtype=99&model_cd=514). USB 2.0 is 60MB/sec. So why this poor performance? Is there any rule about connecting a SATA 3Gbs 640GB HDD to USB 2.0? Should I make an eSATA connection?
USB 2 performance is, at best, 30MB/s. 21MB/s is pretty normal, depending on the PC/notebook you're using. Cheap enclosures tend to fail readily, or worse, kill the drive entirely. I'd personally stay away from the unbranded Chinese stuff and buy a brand you trust. eSATA will unlock the full potential of the drive (you won't get 138MB/s - it'll top out at around ~80/100 depending on file type), but it won't power it so it'll need either a power drive or USB adapter for power. Alternatively go for USB 3, which is a single cable for power+data and will give almost the same performance as eSATA, but the enclosures cost more and you'll need USB 3 on your PC/laptop too.
http://forums.bit-tech.net/images/smilies/bit-thumbsup.gif You have been very helpful - thanks a lot. Although I live in China, this is the last time I buy a product from a Chinese company.http://forums.bit-tech.net/images/smilies/bit-smilie-cry.gif Now I care more about the drive health than the transfer rate. Do you happen to know a trustworthy brand for reliable enclosures, in my case SATA to USB 2.0?
you can buy a sata to esata adapter like this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812200501 there's really no reason to run usb 2.. it's so slow the only thing with running the adapter is you won't get to hotswap.. so you have to reboot and have the bios pick up the drive when you turn it on- but it works fine
