PCA Forums

Looking for external hard drive , maybe one of those Maxtor one touch back-up drives .

http://www.salescircular.com/la/computer/hdiskp.shtml

If you have one of those stores near you anyway.

Another idea is to get en external enclosure. Actually, they are better than a external usb/firewire hd. Because with an external enclosure you can put in any size drive you want, and if one dies you can replace it easily. And switch hd's. With an external hd once it dies, you need to either rma it, or buy another.

Something like this:
http://www.pcabusers.com/reviews/bytecc ... u2/p1.html

Cheaper <a href="http://www.dealsonic.com/stalidetousb.html">here</a>

Then there are other externals that work via usb/firewire that accept a hard drive, or a cdrw/dvd. Very nifty and useful.

I have one of these and it works very well:
http://www.dealsonic.com/usb20enfor52.html

External enclosures are very easy to use. If you need some tips on them, just pm me.

I bought a dead external USB 2.0 CD-RW on anand, ripped the CD-RW out of it and put in a DVD+/-RW. Total cost for 8x external, ~$60. I did have a 120GB HDD in it before that.

I think I will try one of those external enclosures . Probably would be best to get one with a fan right ? Is heat a that big of a factor on those ?

I am not familar with that dealsonic site , have you bought from them before ?

Thanks guys

I never had heat issues with mine but it was 5.25" in size, so there was some breathing room. I could have probably mounted a 40mm or so fan in there but I never intended on keeping it as a HDD enclosure. I wanted a DVD Burner in there!

BTW, I saw this over at anand:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview ... id=1365444

The aluminum one that accepts only a 3.5" hard drive cools by being made of aluminum, and does so very well.

The larger enclosure I linked to at dealsonic can accept either a hard drive, or a cdrw/dvd drive does have a fan.

Which one you get depends if you think you may need an external cdrw/dvd sometime.

Dealsonic has always done me right. Cheap shipping and delivery usually withing a few days to a week.


One thing, if you use a new hard drive, it first must be formatted before using in an enclosure.


*These enclosures are darned cool. You'll see.

USb or Firewire?

I just need USB . I plan on using it kinda like a huge jump drive .

Originally posted by nitro237
I just need USB . I plan on using it kinda like a huge jump drive .

I have an IOmega External CD-RW enclosure that I use as my external. And I always carry a spare burner with me in case I need to burn something for a client that doesn't have a burner. If I had the extra cash I'd go to Best Buy in shreve. and get one of those external seagates for $40 lol

eGo

Hey , they are having the computer show in Shreveport Saturday . I think I might drive over there .

I have a 80Gb WD JB HD in a USB 2.0 enclosure. What you got in trade? I also have a matching 8X Lite-On DVD+/-RW usb 2.0 encolure. Really nice set.

EDITED

If I had the extra cash I'd go to Best Buy in shreve. and get one of those external seagates for $40

That one for $40 after rebate is an internal. The cheapest external is $70, after 2 rebates.


Phil, maybe comp shows are different there than they have been recently here. But here they charge 8-$10 to get in, more for parking (unless you park elsewhere). And I can always get things cheaper on the net. They seem to rely on people who aren't computer or net smart.

But it is fun to browse and look. And sometimes they do have deals.

Originally posted by blade
Phil, maybe comp shows are different there than they have been recently here. But here they charge 8-$10 to get in, more for parking (unless you park elsewhere). And I can always get things cheaper on the net. They seem to rely on people who aren't computer or net smart.

But it is fun to browse and look. And sometimes they do have deals.

Yeah, I went to one in the area and it was ok. The only thing that they had there that helped me out was inventory on hand. Sometimes you go into a computer store because you need it now, and they are out of something, and you can go to one of these and almost always find somebody there with something you need.