Geekanoids: Lindy HD Enclosure - Save yourself some cash

Lindy HD Enclosure - Save yourself some cash
Tuesday, February 27, 2007

If you need to add extra storage to your computer an external hard drive is the easy and relatively cheap option, with large hard drives available at really good prices. However, if you already have an old IDE hard drive, it would be a shame to waste it, when it could be put to good use. Also, bare IDE hard drives are so cheap nowadays that the product I am looking at today could be right up your street.

The Lindy USB2 & FireWire Combo Hard Disk Box is an enclosure that is styled to match the Apple Mac Mini. It is made of plastic, that is sprayed silver, with an internal metal shielding that is coated with white plastic on the top. It really does look like a Mac Mini and would be ideal for stacking. The front of the casing sports a small activity LED and round the back there is two FireWire 400 ports and a USB 2.0 port, as well as the on/off switch and power connector.

Inside there is a standard molex power connector and an IDE cable and plug. The plastic mounting sled can accommodate a 3.5-inch IDE hard drive, which can be picked up for bargain prices if you shop around. Mounting screws are provided and within about five minutes I had a drive installed, the enclosure casing back together and was plugged in to my Mac. Performance is certainly on par with a other external hard drive of this nature and I personally think that the plastic construction helps dampen the hard drive noise, so it is nice and quiet. Their is no fan in the enclosure, so cooling is purely achieved via the vents on the back and underside.

Although this case is obviously designed for Mac Mini users, due to the standard FireWire and USB connectivity, it can be used with any PC or Mac. It looks nice and swish, so it wouldn't look out of place on any desk. The Lindy USB2 & FireWire Combo Hard Disk Box is well constructed, easy to set-up and offers great value for money. It'll give you a sense of achievement if you re-use an old hard drive. Even you if buy one just to put in this enclosure, you will be happy that you saved some pennies.

Product: Lindy USB2 & FireWire Combo Hard Disk Box
Price: £39.99
Supplied by: Lindy UK
Contact: +44 (0) 1642 754000

Labels: Mac Peripherals, PC Peripherals

posted 13:43,

2 Comments:

At 1:59 am, Unknown said...: What chipset does it use for Firewire?
At 11:23 am, DavoMrMac said...: The FireWire chipset used in the housing is Prolific PL-3507. I hope this helps.

The Authors

Dave

Dave has been in the graphic design industry for 14 years. Long time reviewer of technology related products, he is Owner/Editor of Geekanoids.

Guest Contributors

We will occasionally feature guest articles and reviews. If you have interesting content, please feel free to email us.

About This Website

This site covers all the latest Macintosh, technology & gadget related news. We also bring our readers thorough, unbiased reviews of computer software, hardware & peripherals, with some alternative products thrown into the mix.