On Thu, 10 Feb 2005, Tamas K Papp wrote:
If you have specific models which are working with your linux, I would appreciate if you shared that. I am looking for a cable-powered one.
I've had really good luck with an external case with Oxford's 911 chips, and housing an IBM 20 G laptop drive. If you're in the US (which I am guessing you are, from your email, take a look at OWC's site for some options). If you want something powered by the USB or firewire port, you'll be restricted to enclosures that house 2.5" (laptop) hard drives. Some cases even have both ports, so you can hook the drive up to whatever is available on the computer in front of you.
As to the type of cable, I don't think it really matters, as with the laptop hard drives, you probably aren't going to reach the performance difference between 480 Mb/s USB and firewire. There is a difference, but only close to the limits of the transfer rates. The only thing to be aware of is that if you plug your drive into a USB chain with even a single 11 Mb/s USB device, the entire chain drops to that speed. If I understand the specs correctly, in a firewire chain, each device will "negotiate" with the bus to run at its own speed, while not slowing down the rest. With USB, everything drops to the speed of the slowest device.
cheers vinai