AnimeSuki Forums

Deathkillz · 2006-06-27, 18:08

hey guys my comp memory is running low (due to anime ofc) and im in need of some opinions about hard drives...wht is better? external or internal? and would it be hard to install an internal hard drive into your computer...im not too fond of taking my computer appart and messing with it (i break things easily and wont want my precious anime collection going to hell

) but i also dnt want a big external hard drive taking up desk space and i have an impression that an external hard drive would be slower than an internal one (wrong or right?)...any advice?

Shiryuu · 2006-06-27, 18:18

Internal ones are cheaper and can give you more space that you want. It's not that hard to install, you just have to make sure that you have the space in your case for it (an empty slot to mount it in). If you don't have that, then either buy a new case or just go for an external.

An external would only be really slow if you have an USB1.1 port. And it probably won't be a good idea to put\play games on an external.

RaistlinMajere · 2006-06-27, 18:34

Internal. Samsung.

Stxopher · 2006-06-27, 20:07

Internal is generally faster and somewhat cheaper than external (plus takes up less room on the desk) but as mentioned you have to make sure you have a free cage slot for it. Another thing to consider is do you have a free IDE or SATA slot as well. I've seen many prebuilt systems that have all the ports already filled.

As for the external being slower....not really that big a deal for most purposes. I have several and can play direct from them without any lag. (USB2 since they are old drives in recently bought external cases. Always nice to reuse old drives!) External drives really show how slow they are when your transfer a lot of data between them but not so much when viewing files from them (such as, oh, videos).

External size? Not much bigger than a couple manga when placed on the side instead of lying flat on the table. They can operate either way.

Another option is to buy an internal drive AND an external case. This can give you a cheaper external drive than what you could buy (since you can pick up medium sized internal drives fairly cheap now if you look), a lot more storage room and you won't have to mess around inside your case if you are less than comfortable with it.

I've been in the tech game long enough that I currently have 5 external drives ranging from 20gigs to 250gigs. Two of them are old drives, 3 are internal drives that went on sale that were slapped into external cases. Most of my shows and music are on them and I have no problem playing any of it.

(Ahhh, isn't it nice to have options?)

Deathkillz · 2006-06-27, 20:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stxopher

Another option is to buy an internal drive AND an external case. This can give you a cheaper external drive than what you could buy (since you can pick up medium sized internal drives fairly cheap now if you look), a lot more storage room and you won't have to mess around inside your case if you are less than comfortable with it.

I've been in the tech game long enough that I currently have 5 external drives ranging from 20gigs to 250gigs. Two of them are old drives, 3 are internal drives that went on sale that were slapped into external cases. Most of my shows and music are on them and I have no problem playing any of it.

(Ahhh, isn't it nice to have options?)

thats another thing i dnt really get...how can you have an internal drive but have it in an external case? how does the drive get connected to the comp then if its build for internal but is located outside...(sorry to sound like a noob

)

bayoab · 2006-06-27, 21:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deathkillz

thats another thing i dnt really get...how can you have an internal drive but have it in an external case? how does the drive get connected to the comp then if its build for internal but is located outside...(sorry to sound like a noob

)

You buy what is called a Hard drive enclosure or a Hard disc enclosure: New egg listing and you buy a hard drive and put it in there. It is basically a case with a logic board inside that acts as an adapter for either USB2 or Fireware. There are 2 sizes of enclosures: 2.5inch and 3.5inch corresponding to laptop and desktop harddrives respectively. The advantage of these is that you can swap the HD inside of them if you need to. You can also buy more cabling and do other bizzare things like chain harddrives onto the enclosure. (Note: Not recommended on most enclosures because of the power draw! Only some of them have power supplies which can support more than one harddrive.) The disadvantage is there are temperature issues with some of them that can be bad for your harddrive.

Tursiops_G · 2006-06-27, 21:31

The External case has a built-in Adapter board, that allows you to plug in a Standard IDE (or SATA) Hard Drive, and converts it to a USB 2.0 or IEEE-1394 (FireWire) cable.

Most External cases also come with their own AC Power Adaptors to provide the necessary DC voltages for the drive.

-Tursiops_G.

(Edit): bayoab beat me to it...

Shiryuu · 2006-06-28, 03:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deathkillz

thats another thing i dnt really get...how can you have an internal drive but have it in an external case? how does the drive get connected to the comp then if its build for internal but is located outside...(sorry to sound like a noob

)

That's basically what external is if you open it up.

Cloudnine · 2006-06-28, 04:11

You can also consider archiving your anime on DVDs. It's much cheaper per GB than archiving on a harddrive and it's stored on a portable media.

Other than that, you can consider getting an external harddrive like everyone else has noted. If you don't want to deal with alot of wires, you can get a 2.5 external drive that powers off of USB.

2006-06-27, 18:08	Link #1
Deathkillz ~ You're dead ^__^* ~ Graphic Designer Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: uk, England Age: 34	What kind of hard drive?? hey guys my comp memory is running low (due to anime ofc) and im in need of some opinions about hard drives...wht is better? external or internal? and would it be hard to install an internal hard drive into your computer...im not too fond of taking my computer appart and messing with it (i break things easily and wont want my precious anime collection going to hell ) but i also dnt want a big external hard drive taking up desk space and i have an impression that an external hard drive would be slower than an internal one (wrong or right?)...any advice? __________________ Siggy: hohohohoho~ \| AnimeHistory welcome to our blog ~ \| Summer2009 early review Under the radar series Summer2009: Kanamemo, GA Geijutsuka Art, NEEDLESS

2006-06-27, 18:18	Link #2
Shiryuu Magical Boy Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Hiding... don't try to find me. Age: 20	Internal ones are cheaper and can give you more space that you want. It's not that hard to install, you just have to make sure that you have the space in your case for it (an empty slot to mount it in). If you don't have that, then either buy a new case or just go for an external. An external would only be really slow if you have an USB1.1 port. And it probably won't be a good idea to put\play games on an external.

2006-06-27, 18:34	Link #3
RaistlinMajere Now in MHD! Fansubber Join Date: Dec 2003	Internal. Samsung.

2006-06-27, 20:07	Link #4
Stxopher Confused but useless.... Join Date: Dec 2005	Internal is generally faster and somewhat cheaper than external (plus takes up less room on the desk) but as mentioned you have to make sure you have a free cage slot for it. Another thing to consider is do you have a free IDE or SATA slot as well. I've seen many prebuilt systems that have all the ports already filled. As for the external being slower....not really that big a deal for most purposes. I have several and can play direct from them without any lag. (USB2 since they are old drives in recently bought external cases. Always nice to reuse old drives!) External drives really show how slow they are when your transfer a lot of data between them but not so much when viewing files from them (such as, oh, videos). External size? Not much bigger than a couple manga when placed on the side instead of lying flat on the table. They can operate either way. Another option is to buy an internal drive AND an external case. This can give you a cheaper external drive than what you could buy (since you can pick up medium sized internal drives fairly cheap now if you look), a lot more storage room and you won't have to mess around inside your case if you are less than comfortable with it. I've been in the tech game long enough that I currently have 5 external drives ranging from 20gigs to 250gigs. Two of them are old drives, 3 are internal drives that went on sale that were slapped into external cases. Most of my shows and music are on them and I have no problem playing any of it. (Ahhh, isn't it nice to have options?)

2006-06-27, 21:31	Link #7
Tursiops_G Technoid Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Connecticut, USA Age: 66	The External case has a built-in Adapter board, that allows you to plug in a Standard IDE (or SATA) Hard Drive, and converts it to a USB 2.0 or IEEE-1394 (FireWire) cable. Most External cases also come with their own AC Power Adaptors to provide the necessary DC voltages for the drive. -Tursiops_G. (Edit): bayoab beat me to it...

2006-06-28, 04:11	Link #9
Cloudnine ロリ is life~ Join Date: Dec 2005	You can also consider archiving your anime on DVDs. It's much cheaper per GB than archiving on a harddrive and it's stored on a portable media. Other than that, you can consider getting an external harddrive like everyone else has noted. If you don't want to deal with alot of wires, you can get a 2.5 external drive that powers off of USB.