Results 1 to 14 of 14

Thread: Using an external HDD, internally

  1. #1
    Dark side super agent
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Nirvana
    Posts
    1,895
    Thanks
    72
    Thanked
    99 times in 89 posts

    Using an external HDD, internally

    Slightly misleading title but the gist of it's there... What's to stop people from buying an external hard drive, opening it up, taking out the drive that's in it and popping it into their PC? Given the continued high cost of internal drives I was entertaining the thought of doing just that but surely there's a trip up somewhere?
    An Atlantean Triumvirate, Ghosts of the Past, The Centre Cannot Hold
    The Pillars of Britain, Foundations of the Reich, Cracks in the Pillars.

    My books are available here for Amazon Kindle. Feedback always welcome!

  2. #2
    SUMMONER
    Guest

    Re: Using an external HDD, internally

    With 90% of drives available on sale that is not a problem. There are however a few drives (only 2.5" portable ones as far as I know), that don't have the usual SATA connectors on them that would allow you to install them into a normal computer. These are "native USB", with the USB plug built straight into the hard drive's PCB.

    The other factor is that you might void your warrant if you cause damage to the enclosure during disassembly, as you will have to return the whole thing for warranty replacement, not just the internal drive.


  3. #3
    Pancake
    Guest

    Re: Using an external HDD, internally

    No warranty, and alot of the new 2.5" ones are USB only.

  4. #4
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    43
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    2 times in 2 posts

    Re: Using an external HDD, internally

    I dont get it.HDD prices are cheap anyway.

    Would work though,just plug into usb header.

  5. #5
    Pancake
    Guest

    Re: Using an external HDD, internally

    Quote Originally Posted by tieran7890 View Post
    I dont get it.HDD prices are cheap anyway.

    Would work though,just plug into usb header.
    No they are not... And that would be vvveerryy slow.

  6. #6
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    43
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    2 times in 2 posts

    Re: Using an external HDD, internally

    Maybe you could use one of these;

    http://www.google.co.uk/products/cat...biw=1024&bih=6

  7. #7
    Pancake
    Guest

    Re: Using an external HDD, internally

    lol it would still be just as slow... and btw your link doesnt work

  8. #8
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    43
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    2 times in 2 posts

    Re: Using an external HDD, internally

    Quote Originally Posted by Pancake View Post
    lol it would still be just as slow... and btw your link doesnt work
    So its not possible to speed it up then?as the sata always be limited by the usb 2.0.
    Was interesting concept though.

  9. #9
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    43
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    2 times in 2 posts

    Re: Using an external HDD, internally


  10. #10
    <<== UT3 Player spoon_'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    London
    Posts
    2,071
    Thanks
    113
    Thanked
    139 times in 131 posts

    Re: Using an external HDD, internally

    ~30MB/s is what you can expect from USB 2.0 plus the adapter you've linked to will bottleneck the HDD as its SATA I (not that it matters)

  11. #11
    Kendoka - Kendo For Life! IronWarrior's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Posts
    931
    Thanks
    63
    Thanked
    60 times in 49 posts

    Re: Using an external HDD, internally

    Quote Originally Posted by tieran7890 View Post
    I dont get it.HDD prices are cheap anyway.

    Would work though,just plug into usb header.
    Cheap? Have you been living under a rock or some remote place without access to the Internet/News for the last year or so since the floods in Thailand made HDD prices double and triple in price?

    An 2TB's HDD today costs £98, last year they used to cost £47+.

  12. #12
    p5-
    p5- is offline
    Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    London, UK
    Posts
    101
    Thanks
    1
    Thanked
    5 times in 5 posts

    Re: Using an external HDD, internally

    Due to getting better deals on storage drives, lots of people these days appear to be buying external HD's and just ripping them out of their enclosures to be used internally.

  13. #13
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    21
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: Using an external HDD, internally

    Is there a resource to find which 2.5" drives have SATA and which native USB?

  14. #14
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Posts
    977
    Thanks
    5
    Thanked
    48 times in 39 posts
    • GeorgeStorm's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI Z77IA-E53
      • CPU:
      • i5 3450
      • Memory:
      • 8gb DDR3 1866mhz C10
      • Storage:
      • 256gb SSD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • GTX780
      • PSU:
      • Silverstone 450W SFX
      • Case:
      • Parvum mitx
      • Operating System:
      • W10
      • Monitor(s):
      • U2711 + U2311H

    Re: Using an external HDD, internally

    I recently bought 2 new Hitachi 2tb externals and just took the drives out.

    Was pleasantly surprised to see they were 7200rpm models

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •