Internal Drive vs External

[chunkylover53]

Need help here. Before I built my own PC, it didn't occur to me to install an internal HDD. When I needed space for video and other media, I picked up a WD 750GB external drive with USB/Firewire connections. Now that I have the new PC, I'm sure I'll have better performace with an SATA connection vs. USB or firwewire.

Is there any reason that anyone can think of to go with an external SATA vs. just adding another internal drive? I like the idea of having a separate drive for media, but I don't really need the drive to be moved around and/or attached to other PC's.

My thought is buy a 750GB internal and sell the External. Any downside other than mobility? Any upside that I'm not thinking of, other than one less wire? Thanks!

[The Wise Monkey]

Pros (internal):

1. Cheaper
2. Safer - less likely to get damaged
3. Faster - SATA is a lot faster than USB
4. Extra USB port

Pros (external):
1. Portable
2. Ummm.....
3. Thats about it... :D

[jclaydon]

If you want the portability, you could always do what I plan on doing. I'm going to get a NAS (network attached storage) unit from Dlink and fill it with a Terrabyte drive.. :D

This will give me all the portable storage i could want, and it should be super easy to set up.

-James

[The Wise Monkey]

NAS is really fast, but also really expensive.