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2.5 laptop HD

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  • 30-10-2008 8:18pm
    #1
    Ten Tenths
    Closed Accounts Posts: 23 ✭


    My MacBook needs a new hard drive. 2.5" sata. There is fantastic value in external hard drives these days, much cheaper than buying a replacement internal drive on its own. Has anyone ever bought one of these external drives then taken out its enclosure and fitted it into a laptop?
    Tagged:


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    #2
    AlmightyCushion
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,060 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    Internal drives should work out cheaper. A 320GB 2.5" western digital scorpio works out at about €70 on dabs. You'd be hard pushed to find an external 320GB 2.5" drive at that price. It should work though.


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    #3
    swingking
    Registered Users Posts: 4,258 ✭✭✭swingking


    I thought the connection of an external hard drive is USB. I didn't think putting an external HD into a laptop was actually possible :confused::confused:


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    #4
    charlesD
    Closed Accounts Posts: 194 ✭✭charlesD


    I don't know about taking an external hard drive apart and putting it in your laptop. This is probably not a good idea. If your hard drive is broken, like AlmightyCushion said, you would probably be better off just buying an internal hard drive.

    If on the other hand you are upgrading because you need more space, there is tremendous value in having an external hard drive when you own a laptop. For one, it makes it much easier to share files between computers.

    You can buy an external terabyte drive for cheap now, so if you simply need some more space, this is what I would do.


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    #5
    testicle
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,430 ✭✭✭testicle


    Some of the USB external hard drives are IDE on the inside.


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    #6
    kikel
    Users Awaiting Email Confirmation Posts: 2,584 ✭✭✭kikel


    It will work, but as pointed out whats the point. Internal drives should be cheaper. One thing to note is how difficult the enclosure will be to open. I'd to open a 3.5" HDD enclosure once. The customer didn't care about the enclosure. He just wanted the drive out of it as the unit had died. It was very difficult to open. It was a seagate external drive.

    Another point that I'd consider. What is the warrenty on a drive removed from its enclosure?


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    #7
    Ten Tenths
    Closed Accounts Posts: 23 ✭Ten Tenths


    I hear you all. They are all good points. The cheap internals are only available online. I cant wait that long. I need a new one in the morning. PC World have a Seagate 2.5 external 1TB for €99 while they charge €181 for a 320GB internal!!!
    But hey. Thanks everyone


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    #8
    MunsterCycling
    Registered Users Posts: 4,864 ✭✭✭MunsterCycling


    Just make sure the drive inside is SATA and not IDE.


    MC


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    #9
    kikel
    Users Awaiting Email Confirmation Posts: 2,584 ✭✭✭kikel


    Ten Tenths wrote: »
    I hear you all. They are all good points. The cheap internals are only available online. I cant wait that long. I need a new one in the morning. PC World have a Seagate 2.5 external 1TB for €99 while they charge €181 for a 320GB internal!!!
    But hey. Thanks everyone

    thats a good price


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    #10
    Ten Tenths
    Closed Accounts Posts: 23 ✭Ten Tenths


    I know. Some manufactures dont state


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    #11
    AlmightyCushion
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,060 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    Ten Tenths wrote: »
    I hear you all. They are all good points. The cheap internals are only available online. I cant wait that long. I need a new one in the morning. PC World have a Seagate 2.5 external 1TB for €99 while they charge €181 for a 320GB internal!!!
    But hey. Thanks everyone

    That isn't a 2.5" drive if it's 1TB, the biggest you can get is a 500GB in 2.5" and they are very expensive.


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    #12
    charlesD
    Closed Accounts Posts: 194 ✭✭charlesD


    AlmightyCushion wrote: »
    That isn't a 2.5" drive if it's 1TB, the biggest you can get is a 500GB in 2.5" and they are very expensive.

    Looks like you are right about that AlmightyCushion.

    Ten Tenths, if you do end up buying a drive and removing the enclosure, take some pictures. It would be interesting and while I still would not recommend it, you could end up helping someone else out.


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    #13
    AlmightyCushion
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,060 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    charlesD wrote: »
    Ten Tenths, if you do end up buying a drive and removing the enclosure, take some pictures. It would be interesting and while I still would not recommend it, you could end up helping someone else out.

    It will work as long as it's the right size and connection. Hardest part would be ripping the drive out of the casing.


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    #14
    Voodu Child
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,706 ✭✭✭Voodu Child


    Another thing to watch out for, is that some of the current generation of external 2.5" sata drives are built using 12.5mm high drives. The first 500Gb 2.5" drive to hit the market was a 12.5mm high Hitachi, so a lot of the external drives you find will use this. (WD and Samsung now make standard 9.5mm 500Gb drives)

    Anyway, I don't see the point, as AC mentioned the standalone drives are cheaper than the external variants. Compare the WD 320Gb Passport, and the WD 320GB Scorpio 2.5". Something like €20 cheaper on Komplett.


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