What do people think about running an opened SSD?
My aging laptop has a 1.8" 64GB Samsung SSD- but it actually has room for a 2.5" drive, it just has a little 1.8"-2.5" adapter.
64GB has been quite limiting, since windows and basic apps take ~1/2 that- even 96GB would make a huge difference. With the prices we're seeing on 256GB SSDs these days I'm thinking it's time to upgrade.
The question is what to do with the 64GB SSD, which has more than plenty life left in it. I thought I'd use it as an external drive. 1.8" drives are rare, but 1.8" enclosures are even rarer, and with so little competition you end up paying $40 for a Startech USB 2-only enclosure (ick). But somebody apparently bought tons of Iomega external 1.8" USB 3 SSDs, removed the SSDs, and was selling the enclosures for $18 incl shipping on Ebay. So I got one.
Trouble is, the enclosure only takes 5mm drives, and though I thought my drive was 5mm, and a couple web pages claim it is, I should have gotten out the calipers before making a purchase. It's 7mm.
Opening it up, I found that the bulge on the top which makes this a 7mm drive only has a cushion (doesn't appear to even be a thermal pad, just a cushion) and empty space. With the top removed, this would fit comfortably in the enclosure.
Good idea? Bad idea? What caveats, precautions, etc should I be aware of?
My aging laptop has a 1.8" 64GB Samsung SSD- but it actually has room for a 2.5" drive, it just has a little 1.8"-2.5" adapter.
64GB has been quite limiting, since windows and basic apps take ~1/2 that- even 96GB would make a huge difference. With the prices we're seeing on 256GB SSDs these days I'm thinking it's time to upgrade.
The question is what to do with the 64GB SSD, which has more than plenty life left in it. I thought I'd use it as an external drive. 1.8" drives are rare, but 1.8" enclosures are even rarer, and with so little competition you end up paying $40 for a Startech USB 2-only enclosure (ick). But somebody apparently bought tons of Iomega external 1.8" USB 3 SSDs, removed the SSDs, and was selling the enclosures for $18 incl shipping on Ebay. So I got one.
Trouble is, the enclosure only takes 5mm drives, and though I thought my drive was 5mm, and a couple web pages claim it is, I should have gotten out the calipers before making a purchase. It's 7mm.
Opening it up, I found that the bulge on the top which makes this a 7mm drive only has a cushion (doesn't appear to even be a thermal pad, just a cushion) and empty space. With the top removed, this would fit comfortably in the enclosure.
Good idea? Bad idea? What caveats, precautions, etc should I be aware of?