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Running an opened SSD?

J

jensend

Junior Member
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?
 
You may be risking static electricity if it's exposed and someone touches the insides.

But if it's safely tucked away, I wouldn't see a problem. Just make sure that was a cushion and somehow did not provide cooling or something?
 
I ran my Intel's open. I have one running open now in the PS3. Suggestion is to put foam weather striping along the edges on both sides of the PCB so that it takes up the same amount of height as a 7mm or 9mm drive. That will suspend the board so that you won't accidentally short something.
 
Mine is also opened too.

But as KingFatty mentioned, got to be more careful about risk of static electricity.
 
KingFatty said:
You may be risking static electricity if it's exposed and someone touches the insides.

But if it's safely tucked away, I wouldn't see a problem. Just make sure that was a cushion and somehow did not provide cooling or something?
Click to expand...

If you panic about this, get HDD static bag and tape it over it.

I'd not sweat it though.
 
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