External HDD or internal HDD + external casing

[shredder]

Hi all
As the title implies I am stuck between an external iOmega 1TB HDD or an internal HDD in an external casing. I already have the external casing. I was wondering whether there is any difference between the two with regard to data transfer rate, reliability, and/or any other factors that may be important.
Thanks in advance.

 

[jadoo3]

i am using 500gb wd sata hdd in a tech.com external casing from past 6 months.no problem since.usb 2.0 supports good transfer rate.also you grt 1.tb internal hdd for 3000 range.the local external casing is not at all reliable,if you spend 2000 bucks u get transcend storejet35 u hdd casing with a cooling fan & 2yr warranty & if u pay 5000,then u get the above mentioned transcend hdd casing with a company fitted 1.tb samsung 3.5 inch hdd.choice is yours.also it have a esata port for high speed data transfer

 

[reju]

Go for external HDD as there is no real price benefit if you are buying an internal HDD.

Keep the external casing for future use when you may want to shift the HDD from your existing PC into this casing...

Moreover external HDDs are more reliable as they have better circuitry and power adapter, unless you have an equally good quality external casing, which normally is not the case.

 

[hemantwaghe]

xternal HDD quality i not so good

internal HDD + external casing quality is pathetic! { if chinese} there is frequent power supply failure. also many times ps isnot covered under warentee

btw - my wdtv was UNABLE to cope with internal HDD + external chinese casing,was hung for hours and RESETTED !

 

[vardu]

There's nothing very special about the HDD unit inside an external hard drive. Then whole idea of enclosures is that you buy your enclosure and you buy separately the hard drive you want. Then you mount one inside the other and you have an external hard drive.

The advantage of ready-to-go external hard drives is you have no assembly work to do and they often come with a CD of software to set them up, and maybe backup software. If you assemble yourself, you need to follow instructions from the HDD manufacturer about getting started - particularly, how to Partition and Format the drive once it's running and connected.

One small issue with some systems comes from the connection system. In some slightly older systems, when you chose to use an eSATA or SATA port for connecting, you may have to install the appropriate driver for Windows to be able to work with the drive. That would be on a CD of drivers that came with your motherboard, or maybe with the enclosure.

Pay attention to two details about interfaces if you buy and assemble. The first interface is between computer and enclosure. Almost all have USB2 connections available, and most have at least one other alternative - usually eSASTA or IEEE1394a (aka Firewire 400). Choose the case with the connection systems you want. If your mobo has an eSATA port, buy a case with eSATA -as simple as that. Most come with USB2 connection ports as well and you can use them with other computer with the USB2 port.

The other interface is inside the case - the connection between case and hard drive. Typically you can get either IDE or SATA (or more likely SATAII these days), but not both in one enclosure. You need to be sure you order a hard disk that will match the connection scheme inside your enclosure. I.e. If you have a Seagate HDD with SATA II then make sure the enclosure has SATA II

One last thing - some of the external drives come with fans / better ventilation than some cheap/inexpensive enclosures. Please make sure that you take that into account as well.

So, chose an enclosure that connects to your computer as you want AND has internal connections for the hard disk you want. Order enclosure and HDD, assemble (easy), set up the drive and smile.

 

[jerry53]

I think it is better to for a seagate go flex desk drive i just bought mine a few weeks ago the reasons why you should do this
1.password protection/back up software.
2.seagate has a better rep in rma and device life than iomega.
3.upgradable to usb 3.0 with a small connector and the speed bump with that.
4.The hardisk on the inside can be replaced by any seagtate 3.5 hdd.
5.transfers clock an impressive 33 mbps on average which i think is the maximum practical limit for usb 2.0.
6.built well, cheap at rs 3675 in chennai for a 1 tb.
7.if you buy a 2tb version it comes prequipped with a 3.0 connector so you are future proof without any increase in price.

cons-
1.weird standing postion.
2.3 year warranty WD offers 5 i think.
3.hassle of carrying an extra power supply compared to 2.5 portables so not completely portable.

 

[spirovious]

Upto 500GB HDD with ext casing(zappy)works gr8 for me.For 1 TB,I went for WD my book.

 

[theironhorse]

buddy if you are planning to go for HDD above 500GB do not( DO NOT) go for hdd+casing. as the casing available for HDD generally supports fine upto 500gb

beyond that it will make ur drive unusable in cpl of months..... as they arent compatible beyond that size.


also with prices now it will hardly make a diff of few hundred bucks... and the casing will have only for 6 months..

however if you buy a factory packed external HDD it will have 5 years warranty..


i would not suggest go for casing way as i have faced similar issues and i have lost data cpl of times with HDD+ casing above 500GB.. and then later on verified that they arent good for 500 and above..

 

[mechmohra]

Jerry,

Where you got this in chennai? Which shop? Please let me know I need to buy one for me.

I think it is better to for a seagate go flex desk drive i just bought mine a few weeks ago the reasons why you should do this
1.password protection/back up software.
2.seagate has a better rep in rma and device life than iomega.
3.upgradable to usb 3.0 with a small connector and the speed bump with that.
4.The hardisk on the inside can be replaced by any seagtate 3.5 hdd.
5.transfers clock an impressive 33 mbps on average which i think is the maximum practical limit for usb 2.0.
6.built well, cheap at rs 3675 in chennai for a 1 tb.
7.if you buy a 2tb version it comes prequipped with a 3.0 connector so you are future proof without any increase in price.

cons-
1.weird standing postion.
2.3 year warranty WD offers 5 i think.
3.hassle of carrying an extra power supply compared to 2.5 portables so not completely portable.

 

[GeorgeO]

I have Thermaltake USB dock with multiple internal drives,I find it works very well for me.

 

[theironhorse]

how much and where did you get a dock from. i am looking for a hdd dock as my next options.. so i can swap drives..

also if poss please post a pic..

 

[GeorgeO]

Thermaltakeusa

 

[mgdelhi]

I bought Vantec NexStar NST-D100SU from Amazon US. It supports 3Gbps (eSATA), 480Mbps (USB 2.0).

Vantec Vantec NexStar Hard Drive Dock-NST-100SU- 2.5"/3.5" SATA to USB 2.0 and eSATA Hard Drive Dock

Amazon.com: Vantec NexStar NST-D100SU 2.5-Inch/3.5-Inch SATA to USB 2.0 and eSATA Hard Drive Dock (White): Electronics

Till last week, it was price at US$25 but now they have priced it US$31.33

 

[manish26264]

I am left with only 200 GB space, my next purchase will be a docking station as the internal HDD are cheap comparatively to the external HDD