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#1
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Upgrading laptop hard drive
I've got a ~ 16 month old Dell Inspiron 1300 Laptop that has a 60 GB hard
drive. (actually gives me about 50 GB of true space) Lately, this small size has been getting in the way, so I've been thinking of ways to get more disk space. Here are the two ideas I've been thinking of: 1) upgrade the internal ATA-6 drive with something like this: http://www.computergiants.com/items/...p=ST3160215ACE 2) buy some sort of external USB drive 98% of the time, we use this laptop on a desk. If I got a USB drive, then I could also use it to transfer files between my other computers, which would be beneficial. Anyone have any thoughts on which way I should go? |
#2
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Upgrading laptop hard drive
"OhioGuy" wrote in message ... I've got a ~ 16 month old Dell Inspiron 1300 Laptop that has a 60 GB hard drive. (actually gives me about 50 GB of true space) Lately, this small size has been getting in the way, so I've been thinking of ways to get more disk space. Here are the two ideas I've been thinking of: 1) upgrade the internal ATA-6 drive with something like this: http://www.computergiants.com/items/...p=ST3160215ACE 2) buy some sort of external USB drive 98% of the time, we use this laptop on a desk. If I got a USB drive, then I could also use it to transfer files between my other computers, which would be beneficial. Anyone have any thoughts on which way I should go? USB = portable, therefor more useful. And better value for money. |
#3
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Upgrading laptop hard drive
OhioGuy wrote:
I've got a ~ 16 month old Dell Inspiron 1300 Laptop that has a 60 GB hard drive. (actually gives me about 50 GB of true space) Lately, this small size has been getting in the way, so I've been thinking of ways to get more disk space. Here are the two ideas I've been thinking of: 1) upgrade the internal ATA-6 drive with something like this: http://www.computergiants.com/items/...p=ST3160215ACE 2) buy some sort of external USB drive 98% of the time, we use this laptop on a desk. If I got a USB drive, then I could also use it to transfer files between my other computers, which would be beneficial. Anyone have any thoughts on which way I should go? Are you sure the proposed HD you mentioned is a laptop HD??? I searched and it looks to be a desktop size. Perhaps I don't understand how you intend to use it? |
#4
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Upgrading laptop hard drive
here is a page of Laptop Hard drives
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc... 9&name=ATA-6 The page you listed does not make it clear if that HD would fit in a laptop...they take 2.5" hard drives. If I had the cash I would actually go both ways...I would upgrade the Internal HD to a larger Capacity(never know when I might actually take the laptop on the road) and I would also buy an External USB HD case with a fair sized HD . peter -- DISCLAIMER: If you find a posting or message from me offensive, inappropriate, or disruptive, please ignore it. If you don't know how to ignore a posting, complain to me and I will be only too happy to demonstrate... ;-) "OhioGuy" wrote in message ... I've got a ~ 16 month old Dell Inspiron 1300 Laptop that has a 60 GB hard drive. (actually gives me about 50 GB of true space) Lately, this small size has been getting in the way, so I've been thinking of ways to get more disk space. Here are the two ideas I've been thinking of: 1) upgrade the internal ATA-6 drive with something like this: http://www.computergiants.com/items/...p=ST3160215ACE 2) buy some sort of external USB drive 98% of the time, we use this laptop on a desk. If I got a USB drive, then I could also use it to transfer files between my other computers, which would be beneficial. Anyone have any thoughts on which way I should go? |
#5
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Upgrading laptop hard drive
"OhioGuy" wrote...
I've got a ~ 16 month old Dell Inspiron 1300 Laptop that has a 60 GB hard drive. (actually gives me about 50 GB of true space) Lately, this small size has been getting in the way, so I've been thinking of ways to get more disk space. Here are the two ideas I've been thinking of: 1) upgrade the internal ATA-6 drive with something like this: http://www.computergiants.com/items/...p=ST3160215ACE That one won't work -- it's a 3.5" HD, and you need a 2.5" HD for the laptop. Try something like this WD 120 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136130) if you need an internal HD near that price. You can get 80 GB HDs for $10 less, but why?!? If you're more interested in performance, you might consider a 7200 RPM HD (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16822146229). It makes a BIG difference! 2) buy some sort of external USB drive 98% of the time, we use this laptop on a desk. If I got a USB drive, then I could also use it to transfer files between my other computers, which would be beneficial. Anyone have any thoughts on which way I should go? An external USB2, Firewire, or eSATA HD makes a lot of sense. You can use it for data storage, spare HD for your desktop (with an image of the boot drive cloned to its own partition), and backup of desktop and laptop storage. For those times you need to bring specific stuff on the road with you, a 4GB USB2 thumb drive ($15 or so) will be MUCH more convenient, and you can leave the external HD home. It's more a matter of how much you want to spend to get more flexibility and utility. Desktop (3.5") HDs and their external enclosures will be cheaper than the 2.5" variety. Assuming your desktop uses SATA HDs, you can get an external enclosure for $42 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817153061) and a fast, high capacity HD for $100 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16822136073). You can also get a pre-made external HD (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16822136025), but you'll be able to use the HD as a spare for the desktop, as well as control your build better, by choosing the specific HD and enclosure for the specs you want. My vote would be for a big external HD plus a USB thumb drive. |
#6
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Upgrading laptop hard drive
"John Weiss" wrote in message news:47cda547@kcnews03... "OhioGuy" wrote... I've got a ~ 16 month old Dell Inspiron 1300 Laptop that has a 60 GB hard drive. (actually gives me about 50 GB of true space) Lately, this small size has been getting in the way, so I've been thinking of ways to get more disk space. Here are the two ideas I've been thinking of: 1) upgrade the internal ATA-6 drive with something like this: http://www.computergiants.com/items/...p=ST3160215ACE That one won't work -- it's a 3.5" HD, and you need a 2.5" HD for the laptop. Try something like this WD 120 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136130) if you need an internal HD near that price. You can get 80 GB HDs for $10 less, but why?!? If you're more interested in performance, you might consider a 7200 RPM HD (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16822146229). It But.... if he's running out of space shouldn't he add more than 20GB? I'd recommend going for the 120GB version of the same drive for only $30 more. |
#7
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Upgrading laptop hard drive
"OhioGuy" wrote in message ... I've got a ~ 16 month old Dell Inspiron 1300 Laptop that has a 60 GB hard drive. (actually gives me about 50 GB of true space) Lately, this small size has been getting in the way, so I've been thinking of ways to get more disk space. Here are the two ideas I've been thinking of: 1) upgrade the internal ATA-6 drive with something like this: http://www.computergiants.com/items/...p=ST3160215ACE 2) buy some sort of external USB drive 98% of the time, we use this laptop on a desk. If I got a USB drive, then I could also use it to transfer files between my other computers, which would be beneficial. Anyone have any thoughts on which way I should go? Definitely get the external drive first. If you can't off-load enough off your laptop then upgrade it too. External drives are the new "floppy net", er.. "CD net", er.. you get the picture. I use a 4GB USB fob for most "floppy net" type stuff but an external USB drive can't be beat. |
#8
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Upgrading laptop hard drive
"DonC" wrote...
But.... if he's running out of space shouldn't he add more than 20GB? I'd recommend going for the 120GB version of the same drive for only $30 more. He didn't tell us his budget or his usage. I can't read his mind, so I presented him with several viable options... |
#9
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Upgrading laptop hard drive
"John Weiss" wrote in message news:47ce09c4@kcnews03... "DonC" wrote... But.... if he's running out of space shouldn't he add more than 20GB? I'd recommend going for the 120GB version of the same drive for only $30 more. He didn't tell us his budget or his usage. I can't read his mind, so I presented him with several viable options... With all due respect, spending $80 for a 20GB upgrade is a unviable budget buster. It's not how much you spend -- it how well you spend it. |
#10
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Upgrading laptop hard drive
"Timothy Daniels" wrote in message ... eSATA external hard drives are much faster than USB 2.0 . With a laptop, you can get an eSATA ExpressCard, into which you can plug your eSATA external HD enclosure. SIIG makes 'em for PCI and PCIe busses. For a desktop that has an eSATA port on the motherboard, you just need a plug adapter to bring the connection to the outside of the PC case. For a desktop that has SATA ports, you just need a SATA-to-eSATA adapter. For the hard drive, any SATA HD will do. For the enclosure, here is one with its own power brick and a cooling fan: http://kingwin.com/product_pages/jt35ebk.asp You can buy 'em for $30 (plus tax and shipping) on the web. CompUSA and TigerDirect are selling 'em now. You can also buy eSATA cables in various lengths and plug configurations from places like this: http://www.svc.com/esata-cable.html Here's just one source for various eSATA adaptors: http://www.firewire-1394.com/externa...-solutions.htm If you're unfamiliar with eSATA, it differs from SATA primarily in the shielded connector and the wider windows for signal levels to accommodate the longer allowable cable (up to 2 meters). SATA hard drives talk to eSATA ports just fine. *TimDaniels* Very interesting! My only question regards the logistics of connecting the drive to other computers especially other people's computers. Unless they had a laptop. But for backup on ones own computer it sounds like a winner. Any thoughts? |
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