Large External Hard Drive

[Oldspook]

I want to get an external USB 2.0 hard drive. I would like at least 400 GB
to store large video files. Would it be better to get the drive and
enclosure separately? Would there be any problems with a drive this large in
an enclosure?

Newegg has a SimpleTech 400GB USB drive for $349, not a bad price but I have
never heard of SimpleTech. The say it has a 3 year warranty. Any ideas about
this drive?

Anon

 

[J. Clarke]

I want to get an external USB 2.0 hard drive. I would like at least 400 GB
to store large video files. Would it be better to get the drive and
enclosure separately? Would there be any problems with a drive this large
in an enclosure?

Newegg has a SimpleTech 400GB USB drive for $349, not a bad price but I
have never heard of SimpleTech. The say it has a 3 year warranty. Any
ideas about this drive?

It's a Seagate/Maxtor/WD/Samsung/whoeverIforgot in a SimpleTech case with a
bridgeboard, just like every other external drive. SimpleTech's been
around a long time (they used to be "Simple Technology"--not sure why the
name changed) and while I don't have a lot of their stuff what I've got has
worked reliably. Their main line for a long time was CF, but now they seem
to be branching out.

 

[CWatters]

I want to get an external USB 2.0 hard drive. I would like at least 400 GB
to store large video files. Would it be better to get the drive and
enclosure separately?

That's what I did.

Would there be any problems with a drive this large in
an enclosure?

I used an all metal USB 2.0 enclosure designed for 5.25" drives (has a small
fan). Fitted the 3.5" HD using standard adaptor rails.

http://www.stardom.com.tw/web/pro-sohotank.htm
from these people
http://www.stardom.com.tw/web/index_e.htm

 

[CWatters]

I should add that these have a brick-in-the-cable type power supply and that
I also drilled extra cooling holes on the bottom to improve airflow.

 

[Rod Speed]

I want to get an external USB 2.0 hard drive. I would like at least 400 GB to
store large video files. Would it be better to get the drive and enclosure
separately?

I do, in fact dont bother with external drives currently.

Would there be any problems with a drive this large in an enclosure?

Yes, external enclosures are often quite marginal for
cooling with rather smaller drives and the 400G drives are
more of a problem in that area than the smaller drives.

 

[Oldspook]

I want to thank all who responded for their help. I think I will go with the
SimpleTech since I would be unlikely to have setup problems and the price is
good. I have read that some drives don't work properly in some enclosures.

I doubt that heat will be a problem for me since I will not leave the drive
running all the time. I will only turn it on when I want to access the
files, videos that are stored on the drive. It will be more like an archive
than an operating drive.