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Inateck FE2003 2.5" USB 3.0 HDD Aluminum External Enclosure w/ASM1053E Chipset $16.48 USD (~$22 AUD) Delivered from Amazon.com

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Inateck FE2003 2.5" USB 3.0 HDD Aluminum External Enclosure w/ASM1053E Chipset $16.48 USD (~$22 AUD) Delivered from Amazon.comAffiliate
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mshanann on 27/07/2016 - 10:03 amazon.com (264 clicks)
Last edited 27/07/2016 - 10:24 by 1 other user
TNX3GPLO
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I've been searching for a half-decent USB-powered external 2.5" aluminium USB enclosure with ASMEDIA chipset, and stumbled across this Inateck FE2003 model. Whilst you can get cheap 2.5 HDD enclosures locally (e.g. ORICO 2588US3 for $15 from umart), these will generally use jmicron chipset. The Orico 2588S3 (S3 not US3) leverages however a ASM1153E chipset, but is hard to find here in Australia.

Anyway, I plan to use this Inateck enclosure with an old sata laptop hard drive and connect it to the $28 WII from the ebgames deal.

Whilst the Wii only ships with a couple of USB 2.0 ports, this enclosure is USB 3.0.

The USB 3 spec requires that a port can deliver 4.5 watts (0.9 Amps x 5 Volts).
Whilst the USB 2 spec requires that a port can deliver 2.5 watts (0.5 Amps x 5 Volts).

Depending on draw from the hard drive and enclosure, a single USB 2 port may not be sufficient to power the combination.
This enclosure ships with both a USB3.0 Data Cable along with a secondary USB Power Cable. (Essentially the same as using a Y-Cable)
So both USB connectors on the wii can be leveraged to provide up to 5w which should be more than enough.

I was planning to get a cheap 120GB Sandisk SSD to put in the enclosure, but stumbled across some useful information with regards to TRIM support and USB external enclosures. Specifically you need an enclosure that has a firmware that will pass TRIM commands to SSD drive to enable it do to proper wear leveling. There is beta firmwars out there for ASM1153e that support this.
See this guys review for more info …

https://www.amazon.com/review/R2MRJOYKZUYTUH/ref=cm_cr_rev_d…

breakdown of deal

Inatek FE2003: $16.99 USD
Coupon for discount: TNX3GPLO (-$7 USD)
Global Standard Shipping: $6.49 USD

$16.48 USD delivered = $22.73 AUD

Price History at C CamelCamelCamel.
Computing Hard Drive Enclosure

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closed Comments

  • guidedlight on 27/07/2016 - 10:06
    +1

    Good post, OP.
    You've clearly done your research.

  • DrDuck on 27/07/2016 - 10:14

    Thanks, just bought one.

    Came to AUD $22.73 as OP said it would.

  • REDALERT on 27/07/2016 - 10:23

    So will this work with an SSD? Or do I need to find an enclosure with better firmware to benefit the SSD speed?

    • mshanann on 27/07/2016 - 10:37
      -1

      It will work pefectly fine with an SSD. However you will be relying on the SSD alone to perform the wear leveling. Read the review link above where this is described in more detail.

      Pretty much this is how all USB enclosures that support SSD have worked to date, such that, NO trim support.

      Assuming you have an operating system that can pass TRIM (Windows / Linux / Mac OS), then you will want to utilize an enclosure with a firmware that can pass this info on to the SSD from your operating system.

      There is definitely beta firmware out there for the ASM1153E chipset; however this enclosure is using ASM1053E.
      So you would need to look for a beta ASM1053E firmware with TRIM support and reflash the device if it is important to you.

      The latest inateck fe2010 has switched to a Jmicron JMS578 chipset that supposedly supports TRIM pass.
      See http://www.legitreviews.com/inateck-fe2010-usb-3-0-portable-…
      However this enclosure is not currently available for sale in Australia.

      For my use-case, I was looking for a decent enclosure that would also work seamlessly with a USB 2.0 machine (Nintendo Wii) without any additional purchases. The Wii would not be doing TRIM. So it was irrelevant for me whether the enclosure's firmware supports it or not.
      I can still use an SSD in the enclosure, just not getting the best possible wear leveling experience.

      • bargainshooter on 27/07/2016 - 11:02

        Not having done any reasearch please forgive my ignorance, however what does Trim support and wear leveling have to do with Ssds? There are no platters or heads in ssd drives, so what kind of wear are you referring to?

      • ShatGPT on 27/07/2016 - 16:44

        Hey mate, thanks heaps for the detailed analysis. I've been looking for a decent USB 3.0 2.5 inch enclosure for a while too. Just a heads up this place http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/111809442845 seems to sell the ASM1153E version of the Orico for a fairly reasonable price.

  • Frankieei on 27/07/2016 - 11:33

    I ve had a 5 or 6 dollar USB2 case bought from ebay for few years and it works fine with Wii. the cable is not Y, so I guess a single port is enough juice for drive.

  • abb on 27/07/2016 - 11:50

    Shame about the non-standard (i.e. doesn't comply with the USB standard) plug though. Means you need a special dedicated cable (not a deal breaker necessarily if you plan to leave it plugged in).

    BTW, has anyone seen USB HDD enclosures with a USB-C connection yet?

    • CVonC on 02/08/2016 - 14:30

      What do you mean it doesn't comply with the USB standard?

      • abb on 05/08/2016 - 09:33

        Only USB hosts are allowed to have a female USB-A connector.

  • Nilfunds on 27/07/2016 - 12:57

    interesting to read amazon reviews for this.
    tell me what does ASMedia chipset offer? why ?

    thanks

    • mshanann on 27/07/2016 - 13:39

      I've always looked out for external enclosures with their chipsets (based on reviews read over the years) - particularly when using the device in non-typical environments. For example with appliances such as a PVR, or Gen 1 Apple TV. Capabilities that one may take for granted with an internal drive often are not available once interfaced through a USB enclosure due to the chipset - things like S.M.A.R.T , power management etc
      Asmedia seem to always have the right blend of performance, functionality and compatibility. Their chipsets can also be reflashed with firmware updates, which may give the enclosure a longer life. TRIM support for example was not available at original ASM1153E release, but is now available for beta if one is willing to reflash. In the past I've updated the firmware to add support for larger drive capacity. Anyway, that's just my experience. Search amazon for asmedia, and it is generally a selling point.

      • Nilfunds on 27/07/2016 - 14:10

        thanks!

  • jebozb on 27/07/2016 - 14:11

    Thanks, I've tried to look for a good one online (with UASP etc…) but got bogged down and gave up, so your research and find were great!!

  • mshanann on 03/08/2016 - 12:03
    -1

    My enclosure just arrived, looking at the tiny chip, it is actually an Asmedia 1153E rather than the 1053E which was unexpected but welcome!

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