AppleNova Forums

drewprops · 2014-09-10, 20:28

I'm on an early-2011 MBP with Firewire 800, USB 2.0 and Thunderbolt.

All the affordable external drives now use a zippy fast USB 3.0 connector and I don't want to spend the extra cash on a Thunderbolt external or any more Firewire drives.

What would YOU do? (You're not allowed to buy a new computer in this exercise)

You ARE allowed to use this ungainly beast: the Kanex Thunderbolt to eSATA + USB 3.0 Adapter priced at $79.95.

But, can you do better?

How???

I'm ever so curious.

...

torifile · 2014-09-10, 22:02

Internal drive in an external FireWire enclosure. Is that an option?

drewprops · 2014-09-10, 23:07

Yeah, I'd rather not buy any more FireWire enclosures.

I'm going to repurpose existing ones.

This is what happens when you get trapped between real standards and Apple's "hopeful" standards.

...

PB PM · 2014-09-11, 01:08

I have looked into the Kanex and was thinking of getting one myself until I found out that any drive attached to it is not bootable. Would useful for storage drives though.

Dorian Gray · 2014-09-11, 12:27

I would skip the Kanex adaptor. It’s the price of a good hard drive, which may be more useful in the long run, and it looks like a kludge in more ways than one (worth reading the reviews too, if you haven’t already).

What I would do (and what I did before getting my USB 3.0-equipped MacBook Pro with Retina display) is buy bare 2.5-inch disks (I got four 7200 RPM Travelstars, the biggest I could find – two 750 GB and two 1 TB) and use them in your existing mishmash of enclosures or new USB 3.0 enclosures (used at USB 2.0 speeds for now).

When you get a new computer with USB 3.0, replace any old enclosures with USB 3.0 ones.

Naturally this won’t work if you need greater than USB 2.0 speed right now.

709 · 2014-09-12, 19:54

I hate adapters, but I love hubs. Me, I'd probably spend not much extra (relatively) and go with a Belkin TB Dock. Three USB 3.0 ports and an extra FW800 for legacy. Plus it's a hub, so it's not dead-ending in an adapter - you can chain another 5 TB devices out of if you absolutely have to.

drewprops · 2014-09-12, 20:31

Thanks guys, this is very helpful.

...

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torifile Less than Stellar Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Durham, NC	2014-09-10, 22:02 Internal drive in an external FireWire enclosure. Is that an option?
	quote

drewprops Space Pirate Join Date: May 2004 Location: Atlanta	2014-09-10, 23:07 Yeah, I'd rather not buy any more FireWire enclosures. I'm going to repurpose existing ones. This is what happens when you get trapped between real standards and Apple's "hopeful" standards. ... Steve Jobs ate my cat's watermelon. Captain Drew on Twitter
	quote

PB PM Sneaky Punk Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Vancouver, BC	2014-09-11, 01:08 I have looked into the Kanex and was thinking of getting one myself until I found out that any drive attached to it is not bootable. Would useful for storage drives though. Website
	quote

709 ¡Damned! Join Date: May 2004 Location: Purgatory	2014-09-12, 19:54 I hate adapters, but I love hubs. Me, I'd probably spend not much extra (relatively) and go with a Belkin TB Dock. Three USB 3.0 ports and an extra FW800 for legacy. Plus it's a hub, so it's not dead-ending in an adapter - you can chain another 5 TB devices out of if you absolutely have to. So it goes.
	quote

drewprops Space Pirate Join Date: May 2004 Location: Atlanta	2014-09-12, 20:31 Thanks guys, this is very helpful. ...
	quote

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#kanex Personal Mobile Hard Drive Roadmap: Firewire <> Thunderbolt <> USB 3.0