Antec MX-1 (0761345-77150-4) USB 2.0, eSATA External Drive Case

I wont cover the same things in the other review. I also have the Maddog aluminum passively cooled enclosure which gets very hot to the touch. People who say the aluminum acts as a heatsink would say - thats the point, it's supposed to get hot. A Samsung HD in it failed, so I was looking for an actively cooled case.

I got the Antec when it was on sale at Amazon at a very low price with a rebate. That's another thing, Antec rebates are among the slowest rebates around, though you do get them eventually. Ive gotten about 12 of them in the past and I did get all of them but they take about 4-6 months. Im still waiting for the rebate for this one , which is going on the 5th month.

Some people have complained the fan is noisy but I havent found it to be so. However, Im not that sensitive to noise.
Aesthetically, the case looks much better in the picture. They do try to make it look decent, by giving part of the plastic case a brushed metal texture but in general, in person it looks decent, but obviously plastic. It has a really plastic look about it. Since it does sell usually in the higher range, it comes with both eSATA and USB which is unusual rather than just USB or USB and firewire.

Ive read it works well as an add-on to many DVRs to add storage capacity with the right HD, of course.

Now to the parts I find quirky. I found the way the top slides off a bit quirky. I couldnt figure out how to take the top off after removing the screws at first. There are hooks inside and you have to slide the top off in one direction. Another thing I didnt like was the way the hard disk is attached to a sled like platform. You have to first take the sled out after removing the top. The platform is held in by screws which are deep inside the cavity of the case. I used a screw driver with sticky tape on it to take the screws out. After removing the platform you then remove the screws that hold the HD onto the platform. That seems like a lot of extra steps.

Why they didnt just have the top pop off after removing the screws I dont know. Then instead of having a separate platform have all the circuity and hard disk screwed into the case. Also it would have been nice to have the screws higher in the case so they are easily accessible. It all seems a bit oonvoluted in design. Once you get used to it and if you only have to do it once in a great while , it's not a problem at all. However I have several HDs and wanted to easily swap them in and out. Obviously the better plan for me, is to get more cases.

Other than that, it seems pretty snazzy, decent. Ideally I'd like the option of using SATA and PATA HDs since I have 4 older PATAs that I wanted to switch over to backup HD status but most people probably dont care about that. For people with old PATAs, this wont work with them.