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    External Enclosure for DVDRW and HDDs please?

    Discussion in 'Accessories' started by arkenzo, May 18, 2014.

  1. arkenzo

    arkenzo Notebook Enthusiast

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    Good afternoon, I just gutted my old Acer laptop and salvaged several components (CPU/MEMORY/WiFi/USB2) which I will put up here for close to nothing at a later date/time.

    I would like to use the following components for my current laptop.

    HDD: WD320BEVT SATA Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD3200BEVT 320GB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 2.5" Internal Notebook Hard Drive Bare Drive - Newegg.com
    DVDRW: Sony AD-7585H SATA Amazon.com: new AD-7585H dvd drive Laptop DVD Drive Optical Drive: Computers & Accessories


    I have a Frys Electronics near by that sells $8 and $10 external enclosures for my devices but a lot of them have bad reviews about longevity.

    What do you recommend I use ?

    Thank you for your time.

    -JJ
     
    arkenzo, May 18, 2014
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  2. lemmywinks

    lemmywinks Notebook Consultant

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    I've been using the cheap off-brand enclosures (both optical and HDD) for years now and none have failed, all bought from Chinese/HK eBay sellers. I use them regularly (every day for the HDD) and they still work perfectly, even the old CD ROM drive I salvaged from an ancient PII laptop years ago!

    YMMV of course but they've always been fine for me, nice way of making cheap external drives.

    If it's for home use on a desk then you might want to consider the mains powered dock shells, I have one which houses a HD (with fan) and a DVDRW, also has an internal USB hub and provides a nice cool surface for the laptop. Lots of space for modding inside too, could fit a ton of USB peripherals in there.
     
    lemmywinks, May 22, 2014
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  3. MrGuvernment

    MrGuvernment Notebook Consultant

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    Vantec has always been solid for me for external enclosures.
     
    MrGuvernment, May 23, 2014
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  4. radji

    radji Farewell, Solenya...

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    Most 2.5" hard drive enclosures are generic to a fault. I have 3 different ones, they all work like a charm. All were either dirt cheap or freebies. I guess the question is how much you plan to use your external drive, and what connectivity you want for it (USB 2.0, 3.0; eSATA; Ethernet). That will be the determining factor.

    As for the optical drive enclosure, this is the place I used: External Enclosures : NewmodeUS, Hard Drive Caddys for Notebooks

    They use a minimal style enclosure for their optical drives. And the cable adapter are very simple. So there's no issues with compatibility.
     
    radji, May 24, 2014
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