Customer Reviews

Icy Dock MB559UEA-1S USB2.0/Firewire400 3.5-Inch SATA I/II Hard Drive Enclosure (White)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This unit's great all around. It requires no drivers for Mac or Windows, and using Firewire it's about as speedy as LaCie products - I didn't test the USB 2.0 port's speed. The unit includes a Firewire pass-through so you can chain it with other Firewire devices you might have without investing ain a Firewire hub. It's fanless with an external power supply, so it doesn't heat up much at all and it's dead silent. If you put a fluid bearing drive inside, the drive is the only thing you'll hear. It's as quiet as a MacBook Pro at rest.

The drive is aesthetically pleasing, although the one LED is obnoxiously bright. You'll want the LED out of your peripheral view (no pun intended), or you may wish to sticker it over. The manufacturer really ought to look at a more tasteful, darker blue LED.

A big plus is that they also don't skimp on cables or screws. You've got everything you need out of the box but a hard drive. Of note, the packaging is very attractive. Not quite Apple, but they're obviously working toward that, and it's appreciated.

I've had one of these little guys for more than 3 years - got it whenI got my powerpc mac-mini (then 10.3.9), put in a 320GB WD SATA drive and used it for backup and added storage. Basically, it sat next the the mini, connected via Firewire, and was on all the time. In that time its been completely trouble-free. The unit is actually two parts - an enclosure with electronics and connectors and a removable tray that holds the drive.

I recently acquired a (free) 160 GB SATA from a recycled DVR. At first, I was going to just get another tray, but discovered that for just a little bit more (factoring in the rebate) I could get a second unit. I now have a new iMac and though it would have been nice to have the speed of the faster FW800 version, its a perfect box for my Time Machine backups.

Not only would I buy this again, I just did!

This one is awesome for FW use. The difference between FW and USB 2.0 can be researched...but its absolutely undeniable that FW kills USB when you work with large files, so this drive is absolutely necessary for me. I love the looks of it. It keeps the drive cool even without a fan. The retractable legs are neat and work great. The light is very bright and helps to keep me from leaving it on too long. The only thing I wish it did was to turn off and on with the computer. But the on/off switch isn't hard to get handle...so this isn't a huge issue. Its a great enclosure, and the drive is secure. Lots of cables as mentioned in the other review, really helps out. Its an awesome enclosure and my seagate 500gb works flawlessly every time I power it up.

The Firewire interface failed upon second use.

I returned it, & bought a 3rd Vantec NexStar 3.

All 3 of my NexStars perform without a hitch.

Does what you expect, firewire, etc. Perfect for mac-mini + time machine. Only strange thing is how bright the light is.

I bought this unit specifically for the removable tray because I'm using the case for video editing. Runs great on my MacBook Pro (2.4 GHz), Final Cut Pro 6, and FireWire 400.

The LED is very bright but if this isn't in your bedroom it shouldn't matter.

I wish they had a product with USB 2.0 and FireWire 400/800 as do many other manufacturers. They offer a USB/FW800 case as a separate product.

I will definitely buy again.

This design is very good but I have had two units fail. Hope the problem is resolved.