NewEgg NEC3500A and Bytecc enclosure

[bill]

NEC3500A OEM $78.00
http://cdrlabs.pricegrabber.com/search_ ... 7a54f439c3

New Egg one day sale, ends 10/25
BYTECC 5.25" USB 2.0 External Enclosure, Model "ME-320U2 $29.99

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductde ... 314&DEPA=1

[beach-hobo]

NEC3500A OEM $78.00
http://cdrlabs.pricegrabber.com/search_ ... 7a54f439c3

New Egg one day sale, ends 10/25
BYTECC 5.25" USB 2.0 External Enclosure, Model "ME-320U2 $29.99

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductde ... 314&DEPA=1

Just a NOTE for everyone !!!

The 3500AG will NOT burn at 16X with a USB2 connection...

Regards,

[uknown1234]

Just a NOTE for everyone !!!

The 3500AG will NOT burn at 16X with a USB2 connection...

Regards,

will it burn 16x with firewire enclosure?

[beach-hobo]

Just a NOTE for everyone !!!

The 3500AG will NOT burn at 16X with a USB2 connection...

Regards,

will it burn 16x with firewire enclosure?

That all depends on the BridgeBoard used and the ChipSet on the BB.

I use a CHEAP Plumax Case from Dealsonic ($32) that had the Prolific PL-3507 ChipSet fot both USB2 and Firewire. My transfer speed is 24MB/s on Firewire and 19 MB/s on USB2. Firewire does support my 3500A at 16X. The best I can get with USB2 is 12X. Please note I had major problems with this combo until I obtained the 9/7/2004 firmware release for the 3507. All my problems went away with 9/7/2004.

Most people recommend the Oxford 911 ChipSet. I have a Belkin Case and can't get over 13 MB/s with it !!! Belkin is no help... Oxford Semi doesn't respond back !!! I feel the problem is that Oxford doesn't know that the 3500A is an UltraDMA-2 device and stays in PIO mode. I do have the latest firware installed and it's configured correctly...

So what ever you buy make sure you can return it if it desn't WORK !!!

[Intimidator]

Is this BYTECC 5.25" USB 2.0 External Enclosure pretty good? What material is used to make this enclosure?

The price is very nice at $29.99

I just never heard of BYTECC.

Is it better to have a small fan in the back if using an 80GB 7200RPM drive? Or does that really matter.

Thanks!

[bill]

Is this BYTECC 5.25" USB 2.0 External Enclosure pretty good? What material is used to make this enclosure?

The price is very nice at $29.99

I just never heard of BYTECC.

Is it better to have a small fan in the back if using an 80GB 7200RPM drive? Or does that really matter.

Thanks!

Hoxlund recommended the Bytec some time ago when I was looking for a decent enclosure. I have a hard drive inside and it works fine. A feature that I like is that it doesn't have an external transformer.

- The enclosure is all plastic except for the back plate. It feels fairly sturdy, assembles and disassembles well.
- The fan cant hurt and probably extends the installed drives lifetime.

Other users- http://secure.newegg.com/app/Custrating ... 17-145-314

[kingofheck]

The enclosure is made of plastic. It seems a little flimsy, but it's adequate. The enclosure snaps together instead of being screwed together, which is the main reason it feels flimsy. It has a small fan and an internal power supply (no wall-wart needed). It's always a good idea to keep things cool, but I'm not sure how big a difference the small fan makes in this enclosure. I think the fan is mainly there to keep the power supply cool. So far, it works fine.

[dodecahedron]

1. does anyone know if this Bytecc ME-320 does indeed use the Oxford 911 chipset?

2. has anyone used/bought one of the Bytecc ME-340 enclosures?
and anyone know if this one is Oxford 911 chipset ?
pics from newegg:







http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... 341&depa=1

looks nicer IMO. and it's aluminum. but it's only for 5.25" drives (optical), not hard drives (3.5").

(available, as usual, in USB2, FireWire, USB2+FireWire combo, silver or black).

[bill]

Dodec,

Good timing... I called Bytec earlier today to get similar info because their website wasn't very clear. The tech support person said they use the following chipsets for all of their enclosures.

USB/Firewire combo units, use Prolific chipsets.

Firewire only units, use Oxford 911 chipsets.

USB only units, use Ali chipsets.

Hope that helps.

That 340 unit does look good. Funny, I can't tell from the pics how to get the thing apart?

[dodecahedron]

too bad, i was thinking of getting one of the combo FireWire/USB units. but i want the Oxford chipset

[Lugnut]

Just figured id leave an update on my experience with this enclosure and my nec 3500a,

It has the 911 oxford chipset ( firewire only)

On my home computer with a generic pci firewire card, It works fine, However on my laptop i have a pcmcia 2usb( nec) and 2 firewire (TI chipset) card and the laptop has a ti 1410 cardbus. When i try to burn dvd with stomp recordnow, it tells me for 4 gigs it will take 126 minutes, Have no idea whats wrong guess i'll have to try a usb 2.0 setup for the laptop.

[ruderacer]

dodec,

take a look at these Bytecc enclosures: Only Fire Wire

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... 339&depa=0

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... 335&depa=0

This one is both, but it does not specify Oxford

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... 350&depa=0

too expensive

[dodecahedron]

check out BigMonkey's last post.
the FireWire only ones are Oxford.
the FireWire/USB combos are Prolific.

anyway, those are 3.5" cases, i want a 5.25" for a DVD drive.

[ruderacer]

dodec,

then take a look at these:

http://www.adstech.com/products/PYRO139 ... id=API-800

[dodecahedron]

yep.
just that i wanted a FireWire/USB combo.

appears that there are no such cases with Oxford chipset.