Internal SATA 1TB drive vs External eSATA 1TB drive

[cmdrdredd]

Both around the same price now, which is better. Generally I'm wondering which would have a longer lifespan because I do not have any drive cooling inside my case, but external boxes have some airflow.

Anyone have an opinion or something?

I always bought internal HDDs but external would be more convenient. Price is same either way when looking at the WD 1TB Black and an external 1TB drive from newegg (haven't looked at any brand specifically but prices seem similar).

My current Seagate is FUBAR and need a replacement. I will RMA but will not use seagate drives again, seems to be many problems lately.

 

[Elixer]

You can't use a external as a boot device, unless your motherboard supports that, and even if it did, if it is a USB interface, then it would be pretty slow. eSata would be better.

Since you only have 1 HD now, I would go with the internal drive, and then when the seagate RMA comes back, you can stick that in a external unit if you want.

For longer lifespan, it is a toss up as well. I have seen external units fail in less than a month with very little use, and I have seen internal units fail in less than a month.

Basically, you always need to have backups.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Elixer
You can't use a external as a boot device, unless your motherboard supports that, and even if it did, if it is a USB interface, then it would be pretty slow. eSata would be better.

Since you only have 1 HD now, I would go with the internal drive, and then when the seagate RMA comes back, you can stick that in a external unit if you want.

For longer lifespan, it is a toss up as well. I have seen external units fail in less than a month with very little use, and I have seen internal units fail in less than a month.

Basically, you always need to have backups.

Actually I have 2 HDDs, I don't RAID because I do not need that functionality.

My seagate went bad so that leaves my 2 WD 250GB drives.

I think you have a good idea to just swap the internal out and toss the seagate into an external box.