HD Enclosure Question

[VirtualLarry]

so should i get 3.5" or 2.5"?

It depends on the size of the HDD. Desktop drives are 3.5", laptop drives are 2.5".

 

[nisryus]

If you plan to use the HDD while you travel, then a 2.5" enclosure is easier to carry. However, 3.5" HDD are cheaper in most cases. So if you plan to leave it on the desk for backup, then a 3.5" would make sense. Now if you plan to leave the drive on for a long period of time, i would get a 3.5" enclosure with a fan to cool the drive.

This is the one i have been using and has served me well.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...20%20%20%20%20

 

[Gemler]

OK I'm going to get 3.5" since its going to be connected to my PC. One more thing it says on the link u gave me (WinXP Not supported 3TB) Will 1 TB work then on my XP?

 

[Cerb]

XP will support up to 2TB just fine. Above 2TB, it takes some clever tricks.

 

[Gemler]

ok thx ,as for the HD which one is the best 1TB drive? [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I picked a few from western digital but im not sure if they r good quality.

Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 6GB/S 7200RPM 64MB Cache 3.5IN Hard Drive OEM $67.99CAD

[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 3.5" 1TB 7200RPM - 3.5" Desktop - SATA 6.0Gbps - 150MB/s Max. Sustained Speed - 64MB Cache - 2 Year Depot Carry-In Mfg. Warranty
$77.25 CAD

[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" SATA 1TB 7200RPM - 3.5" Desktop - SATA 6.0Gbps - 126MB/s Max. Sustained Speed - 64MB Cache - 4.2ms Avg. Latency - 5 Year Depot Carry-In Mfg. Warranty
[/FONT]$94.76 CAD
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 3.5" 1TB 7200RPM - 3.5" Desktop - SATA 6.0Gbps - 150MB/s Max. Sustained Speed - 64MB Cache - 2 Year Depot Carry-In Mfg. Warranty
$77.25
http://atic.ca/index.php?page=details&psku=100512[/FONT]

 

[Elixer]

There is no best HD. I tend to go with a HD that has a good warranty, but that don't mean you won't have issues on day 1. There is just no guarantee on these, no matter the brand.
As has been said many times, you need backups if you want your data safe. You need multiple backups if you want it really safe. You need multiple backups + offsite backups to be really, really safe.

 

[Cerb]

Yup. The cheaper one means more money for another one.

Between being external, being beat up more, and that HDDs are failing in various ways at a similar rate per data volume (but it's not 1 random ignorable bit every X PB, but generally 1 FUBARed file every so often, or totaled HDD), but our data volume has been going up at a greater-than-linear rate, worrying overly much about what HDD is better or worse is getting to be fruitless.

 

[Gemler]

ok i will pick WD or Seagate

 

[Chipfiref]

so should i get 3.5" or 2.5"?

First pick the drive - is it 3.5" or 2.5"?

Then match the enclosure size to the size of your drive.

Desktop drives are usually 3.5" from factor, except that SSD drives are all 2.5".

Laptop drives are always 2.5" - so they would take a 2.5" enclosure.

The default "best choice for a 3.5" drive is a 1TB Western Digital Caviar Black.

If you are going mobile, I would get a 2.5" drive and enclosure for convenience.

 

[Gemler]

First pick the drive - is it 3.5" or 2.5"?

Then match the enclosure size to the size of your drive.

Desktop drives are usually 3.5" from factor, except that SSD drives are all 2.5".

Laptop drives are always 2.5" - so they would take a 2.5" enclosure.

The default "best choice for a 3.5" drive is a 1TB Western Digital Caviar Black.

If you are going mobile, I would get a 2.5" drive and enclosure for convenience.

Thanks a lot. Really appreciated