External Hard Drive Question

Kitsune · Post by **Kitsune** » 2008-09-12 03:56pm

In the next couple of months, Christmas on the outside, I want to get an external 500 Gig hard drive for my laptop.

Curious, which is a better idea, buying an inclusive external hard drive or buying the enclosure and a 500 Gig hard drive?

Ryushikaze · Post by **Ryushikaze** » 2008-09-12 05:02pm

Drive + enclosure is cheaper, and you can always reuse the enclosure for another drive if you shift the drive into a desktop.

You might be able to use the actual drive in an inclusive external drive, but it depends on the size of the drive and the case used. Some are all but impossible to get open, and the smaller ones use Laptop HDDs and would need a particular adapter to be used outside of the enclosure.

Braedley · Post by **Braedley** » 2008-09-12 05:45pm

Not only is it cheaper to by the HDD and enclosure separately, but you don't have to worry about voiding any warranties if you want to swap out the drive later.

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2008-09-12 05:48pm

It's not necessarily cheaper at all; I got my 500gb + enclosure for the same price as a 500gb drive by the same manufacturer. The 'better' enclosures - the ones with sharing, better features, etc - cost more, but if you just want to plug it in, drop shit on it and unplug it you don't need any of that shit.

If I want to change the drive I'll just buy a new one and pay the $10 premium. My time is worth more than that.