Most bang for my buck on usb2 storage?

[Al Puzzuoli]

Hi,

I'm looking for an usb2 external storage solution. Basically, I just
want to hook a big drive to one of my computers to serve as a storage
vault for all my media files, and other downloads. I would then stream
those files from that drive to the other computers on my home network.
I'm looking to spend anywere up to $300, and just want to insure that I
get the most bang for my buck. i've checked out some of the big maxtor
200+ gb drives and they seem pretty nice. I'm just wondering though what
the pros and cons are of going with one of these vs buying an enclosure?
Could I get more value out of sticking a drive into an enclosure or does
the total cost work out to be about the same?

Thanks in advance for any experiences and/or product suggestions.

 

[Dave Hau]

If you want to get the most bang for your buck, I would recommend
getting the cheapest Maxtor external drive you can find, like 60GB or
even less. Be sure to check out the clearance section of your local
office store like Office Depot. They often have good deals on some
Maxtor external drive.

Then open up the enclosure, take out the original drive in there, go get
a really big drive like 200GB, stick it in. There you have a Maxtor
external 200GB drive. Don't forget to sell the original drive on ebay too.

HTH,
Dave

 

[Glenn]

You could also get a USB 2.0 external enclosure and put a internal hard
drive in it, which saves on having to buy a drive you don't want. I
hear that ADI enclosures are good, and some of the enclosures on Newegg
get good reviews.

http://www.newegg.com/app/manufactory.asp?catalog=92&DEPA=1