I would buy an enclosure, and then an internal drive. How much space are you looking for?
I got an enclosure for like $30, has been great, no complaints.
Now, if you do feel like spending a little extra money, get a 2.5 inch drive enclosure and laptop hard drive......drive won't be as fast but it is 100 times more portable.
Wexford wrote:i'm just looking for an extra 80-100 gigs for mp3's...
what is the advantage of getting an enclosure and an internal drive?
basically, you get to choose your drive. the enclosure itself could be higher quality - material, inputs, etc. its also cheaper than buying an external hd premade for you
im in the market for enclosure/hd as well. there are tons of hds for cheap after rebates
What everyone above me said and the fact that you tend to get ripped off buying a manufactured external drive, which is essentially the same thing, just came off a line, uniformed.
I just bought a perfectly decent $35 enclosure and a $40 160 gb hd, whereas on Newegg a 160 gig external is going for $120 minimum. Also, with an enclosure, if your drive shits out, you can just buy a new internal to switch out, or you could switch in and out any other drive just to transfer data. If you get an enclosure, make sure it has an independent power supply (not powered through the computer).
I'd do the research but I'd rather someone on here told me
Buy an internal HD, place it inside the enclosure (which will have either an IDE or SATA connector internally, depending on what kind of HD you bought), and then connect the apparatus to your computer via USB or firewire. You're basically making your own external HD for a lower price.