Making external HDs on the cheap

ultraHD.jpg
I've written a review on Street Tech of the Ultra 3.5" hard drive enclosure that TigerDirect is selling for under $20. I knew rolling your own external HD was easy, but it's mindlessly simple, and you can save some money. For instance, TigerDirect sells an 80GB Ultra drive (a WD HD in an Ultra case) for $90. You can buy the same drive for $45 and the case for $20, saving yourself $25 for less than five minutes work. Or you most likely have an HD in an old computer you can yank, re-case, and use as an external backup drive. That's what I'm doing.

Ultra 3.5" Hard Drive Enclosure - Link

Posted by Gareth Branwyn | Jul 30, 2007 04:00 PM
Computers, DIY Projects, Gadgets, Reviews | Permalink | Comments (14) | Email This | Bookmark and Share | Digg this!

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Posted by: johnlmitchell@gmail.com on July 30, 2007 at 5:39 PM

from the Better Business Bureau: "Based on BBB files, this company has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau due to a pattern of routinely responding slowly to complaints."
http://www.bbbsoutheastflorida.org/nis/newsearch2.asp?ID=1&strBCode=06330000&ComID=0633000027000500&ComName=TigerDirect.com

more:
http://digg.com/hardware/Tiger_Direct_Complaints_Adding_Up

I've had good luck with http://geeks.com


Posted by: sstrain on July 30, 2007 at 6:08 PM

I use these a lot, you may need to get an enclosure with a fan if you put in a large capacity hard drive since they can get hot with high activity. They're good for upgrading your computer's hard drive or pulling data from an old one.


Posted by: garethb2 on July 30, 2007 at 6:12 PM

Interesting. I've heard grumblings over TD over the years, but I've ordered tons of stuff and never had a problem (but then, I've never had a problem -- it sounds like it's the CS on complaints where they stumble). So, I guess: At your own risk, your mileage may vary, etc, etc.

Looks like geeks.com has a bunch of enclosures in this price range. They have the USB2-only version of this same enclosure (under a different brand) for only sixteen bones. Don't see the 1394 version, tho.


Posted by: adcurtin on July 30, 2007 at 6:19 PM

Don't get the enclosure pictured here on this page. It is horrible. Stripped screws, broken plastic, and a broken fan all on one enclosure. I have an adapter one and a generic one that are both much better. I also have two more (from eagle/eaglebit) on the way.


Posted by: adcurtin on July 30, 2007 at 6:21 PM

Also, $45 for an 80gb is a horrible price. Just lst week I saw a 250GB for $46.


Posted by: garethb2 on July 30, 2007 at 6:23 PM

Well, I got two of them and had none of these problems.


Posted by: samurai1200 on July 30, 2007 at 6:25 PM

Um... duh?


Posted by: garethb2 on July 30, 2007 at 6:34 PM

>Also, $45 for an 80gb is a horrible price.
>Just lst week I saw a 250GB for $46.

Well then, you'd save even more money, wouldn't you? I just grabbed the first comparison on TigerDirect of a commercially-cased version vs. buying the case and the HD and combining them yourself.

Those Eaglebit.com enclosures do look nice, and they're cheap, and aluminum. Don't have fans in 'em, but honestly, I'm not sure how much of a difference that makes. I have a fanless ext. HD now and it doesn't run very hot.


Posted by: garethb2 on July 30, 2007 at 6:37 PM

Oh, and adcurtin, do you know where you saw that 250GB drive for $46? I'm in the market.


Posted by: rich.thomas on July 30, 2007 at 9:40 PM

I just bought a "Mad Dog" ext case at Ratshack for $20, gonna go try to get another one tomorrow. It seems like a pretty solid unit, looks nice too. You can harvest old hard drives all over if you just want some backup space or something.


Posted by: jbond on July 30, 2007 at 11:49 PM

All my old 2.5" drives end up in external enclosures. The nice thing about those is no power supply and no fan.

One little gotcha. Drive enclosures really should have support for spinning down the drives when they're not active. Almost none of them do. In the interests of saving power, money and general green-ness, it would be good if somebody could do some research into this area.


Posted by: BdgBill on July 31, 2007 at 8:09 AM

This may be a good idea if you have some old hard drives laying around but in the last few months the market has been flooded with very cheap WD and Seagate external hard drives.

I just picked up a Seagate "FreeAgent" 320GB external drive for about $120.00.

Picking this up in the store was much more preferable than taking the risk of dealing with TigerDirect (been there done that).


Posted by: Pekar on July 31, 2007 at 3:36 PM

I recommend dumping traditional enclosures and getting a cable like this.- http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/brando_usb_2_0_to_sata_ide_cable
They can be found for about $10.
This $9.99 enclosure works well in combination with the above cable -
http://www.cyberguys.com/templates/searchdetail.asp?productID=13132
or roll your own!
Connecting a power supply to a 3.5 drive is a nuisance. I'm sticking with 2.5" drives that can be USB powered. Unless you need the greater capacity or speed of a 3.5, a 2.5 is much less hassle.


Posted by: onebitpixel on August 1, 2007 at 10:42 AM

not much luck with tigerdirect, rmas were a hassle. we have much better service from newegg. newegg.com carries several dual hd enclosures, they carry the OKGEAR OK350AU2D-K Dual 3.5" USB 2.0 External for $24.99. not best for sustained throughput but great for mass storage needs and backups.


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