05-16-2009, 11:28 PM | #1 |
Colorless FTW
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Portable HDDs: Pre or Home Built?
I'm thinking of picking of a small USB HDD to use while I'm away with my laptop this summer. Would you recommend a pre-built one or buying a HDD and an encloser? I would like to get one that's physically small. Maybe the 250GB+ range? Just enough to hold some videos and my music. Cheaper the better.
My portable HDD I rarely used just died (I down pull off it but can't upload to it) so I just need something simple. I'll probably also pick up a decent sized USB stick while I'm at it. I don't want to replace the internal drive on the laptop. It's not worth the costs. |
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05-17-2009, 01:13 AM | #2 |
Slayer of humans
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In general it would be cheaper to put one together yourself.
I personally like the nGear external bays. They are metal, no fans and get warm, but as long as its not on all the time then no big deal. Course I've had one on for 5 to 6 hours or more at a time and still no problems. This is the drive bay I have. Its 30 bucks CDN, I have seen it cheaper on sale. http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...nologies%20Inc. I had a couple of older grey ones for the 320gig ATA drives and I loved them because they all seem to work on every computer I have tried them on, including laptops. I like the fanless ones better because at one point I had one that used a fan and the damn thing was noisy. You can get a 250gig HD for 60 bucks CDN, But for 5 to 10 bucks more you can get a 500gig. After shipping and taxes under 100 bucks easily. |
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05-17-2009, 03:34 AM | #3 |
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05-17-2009, 10:08 PM | #4 |
Hitman 2 1 Actual
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Be VERY careful about which enclosure you choose if you decide to go the DIY route. Most of the 3.5" drives were not designed for tight spaces with little or no ventilation or the ability to transfer heat away from the drive as needed. Spend some time reading reviews on Newegg. The reviews are not foolproof and you do have some portion of morons that offer opinions but you should be able to get a sense of what works and what does not. Some of the Vantec Enclosures are worth a peek depending on drive size
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05-18-2009, 10:40 AM | #5 |
older than dirt
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We have one of these ($119.99 US):
( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136318 ) for lugging around with our laptops... a 500GB Western Digital My Passport. Small, lightweight, and works great for backup and storage. Can literally fit in your pocket. They also have a 250GB version ($79.99 US): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136247 as well as a 320GB version: ($99.99 US) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136263 There are also WD "My Books" which are phyisically bigger but somewhat cheaper. I personally prefer the lighter smaller Passport ones above for laptop and travel use. |
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05-18-2009, 07:31 PM | #6 |
Colorless FTW
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I'm liking that 250 drive. I want one as physically small as posible. That with a 8GB thumb drive should stay in my $100 budget.
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