Your view on subject of external hard drive vs. internal HD in an enclosure?

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by conceptualclarity, Sep 26, 2013.

  1. I have been looking for a 2TB portable external hard drive with USB 3.0 or equivalent. I'm now thinking seriously about getting a WD:
    http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1455023&CatId=4227

    I'm hearing on other threads that external drives are not built for continuous use (cooling has been mentioned as an issue) and that one needs to go the more expensive route of an internal hard drive in a separately purchased enclosure.

    I would prefer having a secondary hard drive running concurrently with my computer. I know cooling devices are available for the internal HDD + enclosure combinations. Are they available for external hard drives?

    I intend to have online backup to supplement hardware backup.

    Comments on this dispute?



    Present :Windows XP
    Home Edition
    Version 2002
    32-bit
    Service Pack 3

    Dell DIMENSION DIM2400
    Intel(R)
    Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.66GHz
    2.66 Ghz. 2.00 GB of RAM
    Hard Drive Size 111.72 GB
    Free Space 37.3 GB

    Intending to move as soon as I find one to a new laptop with state of the art home user processing, at least 1 TB hard drive, and at least 8 GB RAM.
     
  2. gman863

    gman863 MajorGeek

    Personally, I prefer buying a highly rated bare drive and placing it in a fan cooled enclosure - especially if it will be running for hours at a time.

    The best internal drives (like WD Caviar Black or RE series) have a five year warranty, versus 1-2 years for pre-built external drives. To me, it's worth a few extra bucks versus taking chances on losing data due to an overheating drive.
     
  3. Bold Eagle

    Bold Eagle MajorGeek

    External HDD can be achieved by simply using a domestic oscillating fan (keeping you and it cool during the process of "warm summer months"). My HDD enclosure (caddy) is aluminum which has a very high "overall heat transfer coefficient" http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/overall-heat-transfer-coefficient-d_434.html and should last for years!

    My internal drives have high end fans on them but I cannot readily transport the HDD and this would be a pain in the arse for movie/TV transfer.
     
  4. On another website a techie said to me :

    Your comments?
     

MajorGeeks.Com Menu

Downloads All In One Tweaks \ Android \ Anti-Malware \ Anti-Virus \ Appearance \ Backup \ Browsers \ CD\DVD\Blu-Ray \ Covert Ops \ Drive Utilities \ Drivers \ Graphics \ Internet Tools \ Multimedia \ Networking \ Office Tools \ PC Games \ System Tools \ Mac/Apple/Ipad Downloads

Other News: Top Downloads \ News (Tech) \ Off Base (Other Websites News) \ Way Off Base (Offbeat Stories and Pics)

Social: Facebook \ YouTube \ Twitter \ Tumblr \ Pintrest \ RSS Feeds