11. Antec eSata Hard Disk Enclosure MX-1 HDD

By Ed Tittel and Toby Digby

In a market crowded with options, how can the Antec MX-1 HDD disk enclosure stand out? It’s simple: this unit is compact, well-designed and even better ventilated, and supports both USB 2.0 and eSATA connections. It’s so well-ventilated in fact, that the Seagate 7200.10 760 GB drive we used inside this enclosure routinely and constantly ran at 37° C (98.6° F aka "body heat"). That might not sound like much, but it used to run at about 48° C (a whopping 118.4° F) inside a well-ventilated case before we made this switch. On the front of its box, Antec claims the MX-1 "keeps hard drives up to 15° C cooler"—based on our own experience, this claim has merit, though our results were a couple of degrees less.

The front of the MX-1 presents a handsome, black-and-grey exterior; fan vents are at top rear.

Antec is known for quiet, solid and attractive PC cases, and gives this drive enclosure similar treatment. Its dimensions are 5.79" x 8.82" x 2.28" / 147mm x 224mm x 58mm, and it weighs 17.2 oz / 490 g empty, and 41.6 oz / 1180 g with a Seagate 7200.10 750 GB drive installed. The MX-1 uses an external brick to convert AC power into the DC, which makes the enclosure and its contents run. This 29.1 W PSU is also small: its dimensions are 1.85" x 4.21" x 1.18" / 47mm x 107mm x 30mm, and it weighs 8.8 oz / 250 g (not including its standard 120V North American AC power cord; other cords for different sockets are supplied elsewhere). All this combines to make the MX-1 supremely portable.

The sturdy, all-plastic enclosure draws in air at the bottom rear, then circulates it across the bottom of the drive, up the front, and across the top, before exhausting out the top rear. This explains the MX-1’s cooling ability; a quiet 60-mm squirrel cage fan beneath the drive moves lots of air almost inaudibly. A single screw secures the top panel to the housing, while two more screws secure a drive cage inside the case. The drive mounts onto the cage from below, using four special screws; drive installation is absurdly easy. Mount points of 4-mm thick silicon not only cushion the drive, but eliminate vibration. Antec includes eSATA and USB cables, as well an internal adapter and cable to supply an eSATA external connection for your PC when one is lacking.

The price for this gem is around $60. We can’t think of too many Dads or grads who wouldn’t be glad to put any SATA drive to work inside it, especially bigger ones (500 GB+) that tend to run hot. For more information on the MX-1, check out the product pageonline.