get a external hard drive or make it yourself?

[memot]

im about to get a enclosure and a hard drive because its way cheaper than buy a external hard drive , but im not sure if its work?
:t
does it work same as a external hard drive? performance i mean

[BipolarBill]

No - the integrated drives from Western Digital and Maxtor are better and faster.

[MJCfromCT]

just think of how they are connected to the computer itself....

internal drives use IDE cables, and directly connect to the mobo....IDE = wicked fast :), around 65mbyte/s

external drives will use usb or firewire...while they may be fast, they aren't as fast as internal drives...the externals should run at about 20 mbyte/s in real life

[gjimene2]

If you already have a hard drive, just get an external enclosure.

I recomend what BpB recomended me, and I'm very thankful for it. It's the ADS external enclosure USB 2.0 It may be a bit big but it rocks. Ran me about $73 shipped to my door on the second day with Dell :)

For the 1394 (http://www.adstech.com/products/PYRO1394DriveKit/intro/API800intro.asp?pid=API-800)

for the usb 2.0 (http://www.adstech.com/products/USB_2_Drivekit/intro/USB804intro.asp?pid=USBX-804)

If you want a maxtor 40gb USB 2.0 and a usb 2.0 card bundle, I know a guy who is selling one for $80 plus shipping.

[ukulele]

With a little ingenuity it's possible to run an IDE cable and power plug out the back of the case and get the same performance as if it was in the case. I once had a Compaq with no space for a second drive in the case and that's how I did it. It makes it a breeze to swap drives without loosing any speed. Now that's making your own. It's great for someone who repairs computers and needs to test or format old drives on a fast system.

[Easy]

Related question:

I have an internal (IDE) CD / DVD-Recorder which I want to be able to use externally, hooked up to a laptop; solution looks like an enclosure, as gjimene suggests.

Laptop has Firewire, but also USB 2.0

Any advantages Firewire vs USB?

None of the desktops here (home LAN) have either USB 2.0 or Firewire at present, but may do in future...?
Easy

[BipolarBill]

Firewire is better for fast storage.

[Easy]

Thanks Bill
Looks like I can get the ADS Pyro 1394 (ADS GA03AG2) here in UK from Insight for £74 - about $120: i.e quite a lot more than in US..!!!
Anyone know of a cheaper supplier in UK, or supplier in US who'll ship to UK

Etrader and ebuyer don't stock

Amacom EZ Disk enclosure also available, about same cost...

Easy

[BipolarBill]

I don't advise going cheaper. ADS has real support and quality stuff. Besides, this is a full-sized unit supporting all types of drives.

[MrBurns]

Originally posted by MJCfromCT
just think of how they are connected to the computer itself....

internal drives use IDE cables, and directly connect to the mobo....IDE = wicked fast :), around 65mbyte/s

external drives will use usb or firewire...while they may be fast, they aren't as fast as internal drives...the externals should run at about 20 mbyte/s in real life

You wont reach more than 20 MB/s very often in normal use, not even on IDE-drives. Only in benchmark programs like hdtach.

[G]

I agree with Bill.

For your own backup use get a Maxtor, for example, as the PSU and HDD protection is better than building one using a Belkin enclosure.

As a tech tool, using a discarded HDD, the Belkin, for example, is fine.

Belkin enclosures in the UK can be found on Ebuyer.com for about £53 inc. VAT. That’s what I did.

USB 1.1 is very slow. Get a quality USB card, e.g., Adaptec, as partitioning can take hours under USB 1.1.

G

[Easy]

Originally posted by BipolarBill
I don't advise going cheaper. ADS has real support and quality stuff. Besides, this is a full-sized unit supporting all types of drives.
Thanks Bill, I'll go with the ADS then; what I meant was:
Does anyone know of a cheaper supplier (than Insight) for the ADS Pyro in the UK? or a supplier of the ADS Pyro in US who will ship to the UK, which would work out cheaper than $120...?
Thanks
Easy

[BipolarBill]

I checked Dabs and EBuyer - they run about the same price or don't have it.

Out of stock:

http://www.lynxdv.co.uk/product.php?name=ddk


No, I think that Insight is your best bet.

[BipolarBill]

Here's something:

http://www.crazypc.com/faqs.htm

http://www.crazypc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=120199&Product_Code=9520

http://www.crazypc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=120199&Product_Code=9531

Check their shipping costs.

[Easy]

Hey Bill, thanks, you're a gem...
Checked that: ok, it's not ADS, also not Firewire but it was looking good until we got to the "expedited UPS shipping costs" to UK, which added $67 to the cost!!!

Looks like Insight...

[Easy]

In case anyone else is interested, this is ADS and gives both Firewire and USB 2.0 options: http://www.lynxdv.co.uk/product.php?name=ddk
Easy