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View Full Version : is it better getting a new internal harddrive or external drive?

ThE SnAkE
03-28-2005, 10:02 AM
at the moment i only have a 40gb harddrive and i save alot of dvd images but have to delete them as soon as i have read them....i do require more space but i dont like the idea of installing a new harddrive and having to install xp and all my programmes again.

a way to combat this would be to get an external harddrive??? this would be ok right to store data such as mp3, dvd images ...
polarstar
03-28-2005, 10:11 AM
you can install a 2nd internal hard drive
AndyR
03-28-2005, 10:30 AM
Doesn't matter if it's internal or external - you can store exactly the same things on both be it mp3's, disc images or whatever.

It's really easy to install an internal HD and for me, it's the tidier option. Conversely, you can just disconnect an external one when-ever you feel like it and attach it to another system with ease.

You do pay a premium for buying a dedicated external though but you can also buy external housings for internal drives - either connected through USB or Firewire...

http://www.planetmicro.co.uk/product_info.asp?stockcode=M000642
Neo
03-28-2005, 03:20 PM
Internal hard drives are also going to have a small performance and reliability advantage as it doesn't work through the USB/Firewire bus.
PhilEnfield
03-28-2005, 04:45 PM
One point to bear in mind is .... if you are considering an external USB drive ... you will need to have USB2 ports. If not, it will be painfully slow.

I have a few USB2 external drives and a USB2 DVD Burner. I haven't noticed any noticeable difference in performance, between these and my internal drives.
In fact I can burn a DVDR on the external Burner, from the External HDD.
But like I said ... USB2 is an absolute must.

HTH
Neo
03-28-2005, 08:52 PM
Burning a DVD does not completly saturate the USB2 bus. Try copying a file from one external hard drive to another external hard drive. Then take those two and install them internally. There is going to be a difference. Not to mention that your latency would be slightly lower.
PhilEnfield
03-29-2005, 10:56 AM
Burning a DVD does not completly saturate the USB2 bus. Try copying a file from one external hard drive to another external hard drive. Then take those two and install them internally. There is going to be a difference. Not to mention that your latency would be slightly lower.

Yeah you may be right in that situation, although I dont normally have 2 external HDD's plugged in at once .... usually just use them for storage etc.
Copying between an Internal drive to the External one, normally works as fast as copying between my Internal drives, which is good enough for me ;)

WTF is latency ? .... sounds painful :D