[EtherShock]

Hey guys, I--what the hell happened here? O_O I leave for a few months and you've changed all the locks and redecorated the entire place. When the hell did this happen? It looks great! Love what you've done with the place. I wish I was around when you gutted everything.

Anyway...

My desktop died and I want to get a case for my 80GB hard drive, so I can hook it up to my laptop when I want. Other than USB, I have firewire on here, but USB is a must, because I have no idea if I will have firewire on my next system. Is there anything I need to know before getting one? Suggestions? Thanks!

[EtherShock]

*Bump*

I know it's a simple question, but I figured I'd ask, just in case it turns out not to be so simple.

[Scuddie]

All you need is Win2k/WinXP.  If you're running OSX or linux, make sure to have the mass storage modules active.  Thats all .

And be sure to spend the extra bucks.  Dont cheap out on an enclosure.

[EtherShock]

Wait, enclosures and cases arent the same thing?

[Scuddie]

lol... No, thats not what I meant.  If you are going to get an enclosure, don't buy the cheapest one there is.  There are of really bad ones out there, it'd be better to spend a few bucks more and get a better one .

[EtherShock]

Ah ok, so how around how much should I look to spend?

[Scuddie]

Well, it all depends on where you buy it.  From Newegg, $40 can get you an upper class enclosure with everything you'll need. $30-35 ones are OK for moderate usage, but avoid the ones for 25 bucks or less.  Retail stores, however, are a different story.  The ones selling for $30 are likely not good enough, and the good ones come close to $60.  I would recommend if you dont need the best, to ask a clerk for a "decent" enclosure.  Usually, the one you're looking for is third from the lowest price.

[WMCoolmon]

Hey guys, I--what the hell happened here? O_O I leave for a few months and you've changed all the locks and redecorated the entire place. When the hell did this happen? It looks great! Love what you've done with the place. I wish I was around when you gutted everything.

Anyway...

My desktop died and I want to get a case for my 80GB hard drive, so I can hook it up to my laptop when I want. Other than USB, I have firewire on here, but USB is a must, because I have no idea if I will have firewire on my next system. Is there anything I need to know before getting one? Suggestions? Thanks!

Some enclosures seem to have hard drive size limits. If you're planning on upgrading drive size you might want to look at that.

[EtherShock]

I don't think capacity is going to be a problem, most can handle up to at least 250GB.