Newertech ministack HD enclosure

[traveller]

I bought Newertech's version of the M9 -- they call it the "ministack" -- from OWC for $99 ($105 with shipping), minus hard drive. I planned to put a Seagate 120gb drive in it; that was the drive that used to be in my Cube, and it has all my music on it. Guess again!

Calling it a "tight fit" would be an understatement. I've not seen an external drive box where there's so little free space. Apparently some Seagate drives -- including mine -- are a couple of millimeters longer than most, and that's enough to keep the drive from going all the way down into this case. Lucky for me I had a spare WD 120gb on the bench. But I still had to insert the end with the power connector first and then apply a little force to get the drive down far enough in the case so the screws would engage the cradle. The lid snaps on; it looks like it will take a thin screwdriver or something to pop it back off.

The WD just fit into the M9, but it fired right up the first time, and I had no trouble moving my music (and other files) from the Seagate. The M9 fits perfectly under the mini; together, they look a lot like a bookshelf stereo I used to have. Rather than use the thick, somewhat stiff cables supplied with the M9, I'd recommend buying short versions of the thin, white Firewire cables that Apple makes. Try J&R Music World.

The fan seems to be pretty quiet. I can hear a soft whir when the living room is absolutely silent, but I'm not sure if it's the M9 or the mini itself. I don't think I'll need them, given that the mini is just a music server and spare Web surfing box and not my main machine, but I don't see why the M9 couldn't have had one more USB and Firwire port each.

At $99 for an empty box, I think the manufacturer & vendor are making plenty of profit, but I guess Mac users are used to paying a little extra for style.

[bubba]

From OWC's page:

[greg]

[James T Kirk]

Let see which brands and styles there are recently for under the mini:

1. MacPower M9-DX
2. Newer Technology MiniStack
3. Iomega Minimax

1, 2 and 3 are the same, only Iomega asks 100 dollar/euro(!) for its logo on the front + a HD.

4. Micronet MiniMate
5. MacWay MiniPartner/Acom Data MiniPal
6. ADS Tech
7. LaCie mini

#1, 2 and 3 pro: switches in accord with the mini, # 1 and 2 available without HD. con: made from plastic which differs in color somewhat, uses a fan for cooling. #3 has logo and HD, expensive.
4. Pro: Same materials as Mac mini, no fan. con: Logo, not available w/h HD, HD is older and slower than nowadays available, difficult to open, a bit like the Mac mini. Price is not low.
5. Pro: 4 extra USB ports (the only one who has that!), no fan, uses heatsink and close attachement of the HD, backup button on the front and software to go with it. con: logo and ugly BIG backup button/led on the front, no version without HD, prices on their French website without VAT.
6. Pro: ? con: no hub and only USB connection
7. Pro: Made from aluminium, no fan, extra space to avoid heating issues and than looks good: space underneat looks like the diskdrive of the MM. con: not available without HD, the big LaCie logo, no hubs, only a USB or FW repeater.

I am still puzzled which one is best for me, if only the laCie had a USB/FW hub...
_________________
___________________Jim©
Now on Hackintosh in G5 case!

[homerjatmoes]

[James T Kirk]

[homerjatmoes]

[James T Kirk]

[homerjatmoes]

[James T Kirk]