so i was planning on getting a small sata internal hard drive and a large external usb2 hard drive, but i was concerned about the speed of usb2. but i just heard that there are such things as external sata ports! so if i build a comp with these, i can use a sata hard drive that was built to be on the inside of a computer, on the outside, right? hard drives dont have to be cooled right?

No hard drive do not need to be cooled and they should work pretty well with using any sort of external SATA port if there are any(Sorry I havent heard of any or if I have must not have paid attention ;)...). USB2.0 should be more than enough to transfer data to and from the external drive. I am using an internal IDE hard drive externally using a external ide station and it works brilliantly with usb cable.

Rest is your choice though

Raj

i can use a sata hard drive that was built to be on the inside of a computer, on the outside, right?

no, the connection for an internal SATA drive is not the same as an external SATA drive

also, it is never a good idea to use an internal drive as an external drive, because the drive could be damaged. unless you have some type of cover or station for it

As long as a compatible hub is used to house the internal hard drive it works pretty good.

Raj

There is an external sata connection that is the same and a lot of towers have it included now. Its called esata, but basically is just an adapter that connects the interanl sata to the outside. I fi were you id definately go with that . You will get sata speeds using esata and that up to 3 gb/s. If you can go esata dont go usb 2.0, theres a big difference.

There is an external sata connection that is the same and a lot of towers have it included now. Its called esata, but basically is just an adapter that connects the interanl sata to the outside. I fi were you id definately go with that . You will get sata speeds using esata and that up to 3 gb/s. If you can go esata dont go usb 2.0, theres a big difference.

how new is that connection, cuz I am looking at one right now(eSATA) and it is not the same as the internal SATA connection, I even tried to match the cable from an internal SATA to an eSATA conection, no fit, and its a fairly new mobo only 4months old.

should buy an eSATA enclosure to connect that external HDD to an eSATA port

so i can just <racism snipped> a chord from the psu to come out of the case right? ill save money that way right? as long as i have an aluminum cover for the hard drive i should be all set right? rriigghhtt?

That would not be advisable. I'd say buy a mobo with eSata connection and buy a external housing for the internal drive cos that would make sure you drive is safe as well. Pulling a cord from inside of psu and stick a hard drive on outside?? You might as well stick that drive inside then, whats the difference?? Atleast the drive would be stable and wont get knocked around. I saw a median tower the other day with one of the eSata connection where you could stick an internal HD and use it as external, but the one to be used as external HD was housed in a proper casing and had the port to be plugged to eSata jack thingy.

Your idea of pulling a power cable outta box is not very commendable even if you do save money.

Raj

You can get an external case for $20.00-$40.00 with a power supply.
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eh if you're jst concerned bout da speed,don't be cuz well sata may give you 3Gbp/s but none of da drives today can't go even half that speed lol

At my work we sell the Seagate FreeAgent Pro and it has USB2 and eSATA

p.s please dont use those words.

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