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<blockquote data-quote="bobtomay" data-source="post: 392430" data-attributes="member: 24160">Well, here it is 2 months after starting my investigations.&nbsp; You can tell I don't do anything in a rush when it's something I don't need right away.&nbsp; Finally took the plunge with what appears (at least to me) to be the best options at this time.Went with the OWC Mercury Elite &quot;Quad&quot; Interface eSATA, FW800, FW400 and USB for best compatibility now and in the future.&nbsp; This is one of the few multiple interface enclosures that takes SATA drives and not IDE drives.&nbsp; Price $110 - very reasonable for what it offers.For hard drive, have gone with the WD SE16 WD5000AAKS - $119.&nbsp; This is their 3 platter design, which has reduced temps, sound and power usage, while providing a higher areal density, thus resulting in benchmarks and transfer speeds meeting and surpassing the Raptor drives.&nbsp; Really wanted to go with a Seagate primarily just for it's 5 yr warranty.&nbsp; But, I plan on this drive being kept in the LR and there were just too many reviews mentioning how loud they were for HTPC use and being returned for other drives due to this one issue.&nbsp; Meanwhile, the loudness of this WD drive was mentioned relatively infrequently and almost no one returning the drive due to this.Can't wait to get 'em now and test it out with my EyeTV Hybrid and some video editing.&nbsp; Once I get it, will try to do some tests comparing USB, FW400 and FW800 speeds and post back the results.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="bobtomay, post: 392430, member: 24160"] Well, here it is 2 months after starting my investigations. You can tell I don't do anything in a rush when it's something I don't need right away. Finally took the plunge with what appears (at least to me) to be the best options at this time. Went with the OWC Mercury Elite "Quad" Interface eSATA, FW800, FW400 and USB for best compatibility now and in the future. This is one of the few multiple interface enclosures that takes SATA drives and not IDE drives. Price $110 - very reasonable for what it offers. For hard drive, have gone with the WD SE16 WD5000AAKS - $119. This is their 3 platter design, which has reduced temps, sound and power usage, while providing a higher areal density, thus resulting in benchmarks and transfer speeds meeting and surpassing the Raptor drives. Really wanted to go with a Seagate primarily just for it's 5 yr warranty. But, I plan on this drive being kept in the LR and there were just too many reviews mentioning how loud they were for HTPC use and being returned for other drives due to this one issue. Meanwhile, the loudness of this WD drive was mentioned relatively infrequently and almost no one returning the drive due to this. Can't wait to get 'em now and test it out with my EyeTV Hybrid and some video editing. Once I get it, will try to do some tests comparing USB, FW400 and FW800 speeds and post back the results. [/QUOTE]

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