External HDD or Internal + enclosure

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Kblavkalash

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Sup guys

I need a 1TB+ HDD for video storage, i just want to keep those videos safe, and prolly not gonna use them too often. Also i will be sometimes transporting the drive.

So i need either external HDD or internal HDD + enclosure. For example:

a) WD Elements Portable SE 1TB USB3 OR HDD Samsung M3 Portable 2.5'' 1TB USB3
OR
b) WD Green 3.5'' 1TB SATA3 IntelliPower 64MB AFT + Enclosure

Which would you suggest? I know external drive is more convenient and it will be much smaller and compact, but I am afraid of its reliability. A lot of users report external drives failing after 1 years or even less usage.

Thanks in advance
 
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Or, if you have an extra 1TB drive laying around, get an Enclosure that you can put it into.

That way you'll have an enclosure that you can change out the drive if needed.

I'd make sure it supports USB3.0 and/or eSata if possible to give you 2 great and speedy interface options.
 
sawk said:
Or, if you have an extra 1TB drive laying around, get an Enclosure that you can put it into.

That way you'll have an enclosure that you can change out the drive if needed.

I'd make sure it supports USB3.0 and/or eSata if possible to give you 2 great and speedy interface options.
Click to expand...

All i have is one 640Gb drive, which is already 4 years old, so i want to backup all the data into new drive.

One more option is to put this old drive into enclosure and get normal internal drive for my PC. But the problem with that is that i will be going abroad and i'll need that data and having 4 year old drive does not feel very reliable :D
 
So i need either external HDD or internal HDD + enclosure.
Click to expand...
The second option is a no-brainer.

There's usually better warranty coverage and you can remove the drives from the case for testing without voiding it.

It's a no-brainer.
 
How much data are you thinking of taking with you?

If you are traveling you may not want to use a traditional Hard Drive.
 
Old Hippie said:
The second option is a no-brainer.

There's usually better warranty coverage and you can remove the drives from the case for testing without voiding it.

It's a no-brainer.
Click to expand...

Both options have 2 years of warranty, or what do you mean?

But external is 2.5 inch and will be very small and compact, just plug usb and you are ready. The internal + enclose usually need even a extra power for enclosure.

sawk said:
How much data are you thinking of taking with you?

If you are traveling you may not want to use a traditional Hard Drive.
Click to expand...

Not traveling, i will be going to live abroad only with my laptop, so i will take 1 extra HDD with all my movies and music, etc. I'd say around 600 Gb at least.
 
Both options have 2 years of warranty, or what do you mean?
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Depends on what drive you purchase.

The ability to remove the drive from the case without voiding the warranty alone makes it a no-brainer.
 
Old Hippie said:
Depends on what drive you purchase.

The ability to remove the drive from the case without voiding the warranty alone makes it a no-brainer.
Click to expand...

For what purpose exactly i would want to remove it from enclosure?

It looks for me that as a backup drive, small compact HDD with easy USB plug is a better choice. That said, my main worries are reliability, i have a feeling that internal drives are more reliable overall, and i heard tons of bad feedback of external drives failing after year or so.
 
Kblavkalash said:
For what purpose exactly i would want to remove it from enclosure?

It looks for me that as a backup drive, small compact HDD with easy USB plug is a better choice. That said, my main worries are reliability, i have a feeling that internal drives are more reliable overall, and i heard tons of bad feedback of external drives failing after year or so.
Click to expand...

Internal Vs. External.

You do know that they are the same... When it comes down to the mechanical portion of the drive.

An External Hard Drive or Portable Hard Drive both use the same type of drive. Be it 2.5" or 3.5" form factor.

If a Portable Drive is left sitting on a desk it should be as reliable as a Internally mounted drive. The reason you hear of External drives failing isn't' because they are less reliable, it is that these drives have moving parts. If an external drive is bumped hard enough the read/write heads have a chance of touching the platters and causing data corruption. Heck if it is bumped Hard enough the platters could touch which is even worse.

Why would you want to remove the drive?

Scenario 1) Perhaps you want to place it into a desktop to copy a large amount of data using the native SATA connection because it is way faster than using USB. For Terabytes of data this could save you hours, maybe not so bad now that USB 3.0 is here, but it would be faster.

Scenario 2) Your friend calls you saying his PC died and it won't boot up. You could use this enclosure to take his hard drive and connect it to another PC to try and recover any files before re-installing the operating system.

If you buy a Retail External or Portable Hard Drive, opening it up voids your warranty.

At the moment the Portable drives offered by Western Digital top out at 2TB's.

Western Digital also offers External Desktop Hard Drives up to 4TB's. These require a external power supply where as the Portable drives I believe get enough power via their USB interfaces.

All of these drives all use the same base mechanical hard drives...

If you are truly concerned about reliability while having the drives portable you need to look at a Portable SSD.
 
Thanks for great explanation sawk :)

Now i really don't know which one to choose :D I guess both are good choices.. Although i am leaning more towards internal + enclosure because for higher functionality.

Now last question, what about enclosures? Do i need one with fan or it's not must? There are tons of different ones, and will i be fine with cheap one, or maybe there are certain good brands to look for?
 
Whatever you choose, what you need is not one drive but two. One to backup the other. That's the cost of peace of mind (for some, it's 3).

edit : piece of mine, wow I was tired !
 
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For a Single Bay enclosure a fan isn't "required".

If you go to a 2Bay one to setup a mirror to help protect your data, I believe they come with small fans.

A 2 Bay enclosure will be bigger and not as convenient to travel around with.

Here's an example: http://ain.mediasonic.ca/store/product_info.php?products_id=242

Toss 2 x 3TB drives in there and you have plenty of portable storage that can be mirrored for some protection.
 
Old Hippie said:
The second option is a no-brainer.

There's usually better warranty coverage and you can remove the drives from the case for testing without voiding it.

It's a no-brainer.
Click to expand...

That. The immediate advantages to me...

Firstly, you can find an internal drive with, say, a 5 year warranty easily.
Secondly, you get to choose your enclosure and, by extension, the interface (usb2/usb3/esata).
Thirdly, you aren't risking having to literally break the enclosure to remove the drive, and there is no pre-installed partition of bloat.
 
sawk said:
For a Single Bay enclosure a fan isn't "required".

If you go to a 2Bay one to setup a mirror to help protect your data, I believe they come with small fans.

A 2 Bay enclosure will be bigger and not as convenient to travel around with.

Here's an example: http://ain.mediasonic.ca/store/product_info.php?products_id=242

Toss 2 x 3TB drives in there and you have plenty of portable storage that can be mirrored for some protection.
Click to expand...

I think i'll gonna go with 1 drive :) Thanks!

Highwind said:
That. The immediate advantages to me...

Firstly, you can find an internal drive with, say, a 5 year warranty easily.
Secondly, you get to choose your enclosure and, by extension, the interface (usb2/usb3/esata).
Thirdly, you aren't risking having to literally break the enclosure to remove the drive, and there is no pre-installed partition of bloat.
Click to expand...

Hmm my local store give 24 months warranty no matter what, even for WD blacks, so strange.

Either way i'll prolly gonna go with internal + enclosure like you guys adviced.
 
If it were me and I was traveling around with a laptop I'd be sure my laptop had room for 2 hard drives if I needed to have that much storage or a backup drive.

Anything external / extra when traveling is a hassle.

Judging by your req. and thoughts honestly you'd probably be fine or not fine with either equally :)
 
ToddW2 said:
If it were me and I was traveling around with a laptop I'd be sure my laptop had room for 2 hard drives if I needed to have that much storage or a backup drive.

Anything external / extra when traveling is a hassle.

Judging by your req. and thoughts honestly you'd probably be fine or not fine with either equally :)
Click to expand...

A 1TB 2-1/2" hard drive and USB cable takes up very little space and complements a small laptop.

The above is much easier to deal with than a larger notebook with an internal second hard drive.

But whatever gets the job done is ok with me.
 
portable 1TB - $99

desktop 3TB - $129

no need for enclosures these days.
 
Kblavkalash said:
Hmm my local store give 24 months warranty no matter what, even for WD blacks, so strange.

Either way i'll prolly gonna go with internal + enclosure like you guys adviced.
Click to expand...

I glazed over the part where you said both had 2 yrs warranty :eek:. You are saying warrantied by the store itself, right? I was referring to warranty by the manufacturer, and I was thinking you were looking online like I did. If you mean the store will replace your drive for two years, that is a pretty nice store policy (then again I haven't looked in a B&M store for computer stuff in years). Anyway, glad to be of some help.
 
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