If I had to choose between sticking the old drive right inside the
new computer, versus sticking the old drive in an external enclosure,
I'd pick the external enclosure.
That's to encourage turning off the external drive, when you're not using it.
As for size, 40GB would be enough to back up the contents of the new computer.
Which means virtually any, cost effective hard drive, would make a good
choice. A hard drive mechanism, can't dip below about $50 or so,
and the incremental cost of adding to the capacity, isn't that steep.
There are a ton of drives out there, and you can use the customer ratings
to decide which ones are good. This is just one, a SATA drive, picked at
random. 1TB (1000GB) for $120, isn't the cheapest one out there. The
warranty on this one is five years (if you like that sort of thing).
That's partially what the higher price covers.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148784
This is an example of an enclosure. I selected an enclosure which
is fan cooled. And when you do that, one of the checks you have to
do, is check that the enclosure has both intake and exhaust vents. I've
seen enclosures for sale, which had an exhaust fan, but there were no
holes in the case for intake air (doh!). When you hold your hand near
the rear of the case, you can't feel any airflow.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817332025
That one comes with an external adapter, so there will be enough power
to run a 3.5" drive. It includes a USB3 cable. (You can plug the drive
into either a USB2 computer or a USB3 computer, but the USB3 one will
run a bit faster on data transfers.) USB3 interfaces have four pins USB2
and five pins USB3, so both interface types have their own pins.
You can assemble the two items, the new disk drive (internal type)
and SATA enclosure, using a screwdriver. Always read the customer
reviews for the enclosure, as occasionally the Chinese screw them up.
(Wrong dimensions, poor fit of the mechanical components.) Previous
customers will have seen all this, and included the details in their
review. There really aren't a lot of products out there that
are entirely trouble free, which is why the customer reviews
are highly recommended. I got really lucky on the last one I bought,
and it's been completely trouble free (has a fan, intake holes, and
everything).
On that Venus case above, the fan type is "integrated", versus the older
design concept which is "40mm separate". Enclosures with the 40mm fan,
you can pull the square fan out of the enclosure, and replace it when
it wears out. If you leave the Venus running for a couple of years
straight, and the fan wears out, the fan is joined to the enclosure
casing somehow, so you can't replace it. If the fan was made
replaceable, and oriented horizontally as is shown in the photos, it
would make the casing too thick. That's why, when they do a horizontal
fan, it's custom made and not a standard computer fan.
On the other hand, cases with the 40mm vertically oriented fan, it can
be replaced. But a caution there is, some 40mm fans come broken on day one.
It got so bad here, I no longer run the enclosures with the 40mm fans,
without replacing them with a high quality 40mm ball bearing fan bought
locally. That was my solution to the "40mm fan quality issue". One
enclosure I got, there was a pool of oil just below the fan, and the oil
had run out of the fan. The fan was noisy in a matter of minutes. So
I just pop a ball bearing fan in its place.
If you suspect the 40mm fan will fail, try to buy an enclosure which is
a bit longer than it needs to be, in the hope there will be more room
for a full sized (25mm thick) 40mm square fan.
So those are the petty annoyances, of doing your own disk + enclosure.
The drive enclosure that didn't have any intake vents, I fixed that
with my electric drill. I made swiss cheese out of the plastic
bottom of the enclosure, up near the front, and that's where that
enclosure gets the cool intake air from. When the drive is sitting
on the table, you can't see my handiwork
(I don't know what I'd do
without an electric drill.)
Paul
lugins