Difficult question. I was in the same position and spend some time looking for a small, adequate case, without sufficient success, i might add. Without looking for design i would first suggest going for a case with usb 2.0, firewire 400 and 800. This may be a little more expensive then usb or fw 400 only, but is very future proof and you can connect it to virtually every modern cpu without any hassle. Comes in handy on the road too.You can get a style similar to today´s mac with some cases of macpower, look for pleiades or taurus:http://www.macpower.com.tw/products/hdd3/or at miglia, dualdisk or media bank:http://www.miglia.com/products/storage/index.htmlAt least they are made of alu, but don´t expect a finish similar to apple´s g5/mp or even b&o. Other options would be the d2 series from lacie or hard drive pro from freecom, both also made of alu. But the freecoms got a nasty glossy black plastic front and back cover and some people are not this convinced of lacie´s built quality. And i don´t know, if these models are available case-only.Years ago there was a (danish-based!) company named googiedrives, who made some very cool cases and harddisks, but unfortunately they are now out of the market and i didn´t buy one of their fabulous products in time.Regards, beoberlin