Pro Z-RAID hard drive enclosure thoughts

[Alan Dague-Greene]

I searched around quite a while before settling on the Pro Z-RAID enclosure for two 750GB Seagate hard drives. My criteria were: FireWire 800, support for 750GB drives, sufficient cooling power, and something not entirely hideous would be nice.

Product page: http://www.firewiredirect.com/product/131/ (that page has the description, but it's not the exact product that I purchased)

I took a chance on the Pro Z-RAID, because I couldn't find any reviews. So far, I'm pleased with it, and would like to get a second one (and two more drives) for backup when finances allow.

A couple of points:

The fan sucks air through the cheese grater in the front and out the back. After the drives have been running for a while, I can run my hand along the enclosure and feel the case getting warmer as it gets toward the back. But the case and the air coming out are not hot in the least, so I think it's doing a pretty good job of keeping things cool. I makes a constant whoosh sound, but it's not irritating at all, quite quiet.

The enclosure does not do RAID 1 (mirroring). I have it set to RAID 0 (striping) for video editing. There is also a non-RAID option.

Assembly and putting the plugs in the right places is a chore. (Isn't it always?) The instructions are very skimpy and somewhat confusing. (Aren't they always?) They mention something about the first drive needing to be in master mode, and the other set to slave, but I have no idea how to set that, and it doesn't seem to be a problem.

It comes with two little parts that serve as a stand, but they do not attach to the enclosure in anyway, it just sits on top. I guess that's fine, as long as it doesn't get bumped or knocked over (bad news, with or without a stand).

I thought I shopped around enough, but I didn't see this one: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other...g/MEFW924AL2K/

That one looks very similar, though the back plate is slightly different.

I've only had it a week, so I can't say much more. I just wanted to get something down for other people who might be searching for info on this product. Anyone else bought one of these that has some thoughts?

Alan