internal hdd vs external hdd

[hasan_889]

I just cannot decide which type of hard disk is more reliable as I am planning to buy another 500GB hard disk.

Already I have 250GB internal and 500GB external hard drive and both are working fine. Usually internal hard drives are cheaper than external ones, but some of my friends suggesting me that external hard disks are more reliable ... is it true?

One more thing ... how much difference an internal hard drive may have if I buy a cheaper ATA hard drive instead of SATA ones?

[TnT]

I would have thought this would be dependent on the drive and make - external drives can be affected by forces and an environment your internal one wouldn’t be subjected to - examples are spilt drinks – falling off a desk, falling over (dependent on the way it sits) cables pulled out, being knocked down.

Advantages are obvious - if it's fire wire - it'll be fast - easily transferable from one PC to another - it does take up more space though – however, at least with an internal one - it's out the way - should be more reliable depending on the manufacturer (just get one with at least a 5yr on it), easy to install, hidden out of site, no trailing cables – and much cheaper. It’s 50-50 really – if you want movable data, and wish to transfer your data about – get an external one, if you’re not fussed, and if you have adequate space and the cooling requirements inside your case – then stick one in! or

As for SATA ATA - you'll find that the prices in some places are neck and neck - and in most cases SATA drives are now cheaper (supply and demand) more people are using SATA than the ATA. Most new motherboards now have SATA only with no IDE interface.

[tb987]

I have had problem with external disks with passive cooling overheating. Have you considered getting one that you can connect to your network then you can shre your data with multiple PCs?

TNT - are you on a boat?

[xhan]

in my experience external are much less reliable.
Just dont get a maxtor!! :S

[JagoanNeon]

i have external hdd sata 250 GB ...

@xhan
why don't get a maxtor ?

[davcheong]

It will be adviceble to have 250GB for external, since it uses less power than the 500GB. Some external case or enclosure's power are not so stable enough to hold the 500GB especially some from China facturer(some of it does not have enough power). While using the 500GB for internal, this way you have more space, just store important data in the 250GB.

SATA or IDE?
Technically, between SATA and ide, SATA, yes is faster, but once plugin as external it will go back to 480mbps if use USB 2.0, only if you are using the e-sata, then only from there you can enjoy the speed transfer rate. Price not much difference now between SATA and IDE in Malaysia here. Some size of SATA are much cheaper than the same size IDE.

[hasan_889]

Finally I bought 500 GB internel HDD, and started saving all downloaded movie.

[xhan]

Originally Posted by JagoanNeon

i have external hdd sata 250 GB ...

@xhan
why don't get a maxtor ?

They crash and burnnn. I've lost one maxtor, my friends lost 2. Their just generally unreliable. I've heard bad things about seagate too. :S I have one of them in my windoze pc!

[gfxguru]

get internal HDD. more reliable and long lasting.

[Gorkfu]

Internal Western Digital I find to be the most reliable for hard drives. I've also had maxtor go out on me. I still have a Seagate and an old Hitachi drive still kicking.

If you need something external using flash media cards are usually much more reliable than external hard drives.