How to Choose an External Hard Drive Enclosure

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By HowDragon
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Choose an External Hard Drive Enclosure

Hard drive enclosures take an internal hard drive, and turn it into an external hard drive. This is useful if you want some extra space inside your computer, or if you need access to your laptop's hard drive from your desktop. Whatever the reason for wanting an enclosure, learn everything you need to know to choose the right one for you.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

External hard drive enclosures to browse through

Step 1

Find out what size hard drive you have. Laptop hard drives are usually 2.5", though some are 1.8". Desktop hard drives are 3.5". The size of your hard drive will be the same size as the enclosure you need. The exception is that some 5.25" enclosures (used for housing CD and DVD drives) can also contain 3.5" hard drives, and a few 3.5" enclosures can contain 2.5" hard drives.
Step 2

Determine whether you have an IDE (also called ATA), or SATA hard drive. An IDE hard drive connects to the computer with a 2-inch wide ribbon cable, while a SATA hard drive connects with a 1/2-inch wide cable (for more info on how to know if you have IDE or SATA, see the resources below). The type of enclosure you buy should support the type of connector your hard drive uses.
Step 3

Decide how you want to connect the hard drive to your computer. The most commonly used ports are USB and IEEE 1394 (FireWire), though eSATA and Ethernet are also available.
Step 4

Decide if you want fans. Most enclosures have them to keep the hard drive nice and refrigerated. The downside is the fans produce some extra noise, so if you want silence, get an enclosure without a fan.
Step 5

Choose a material. While there are a few enclosures made of plastic, most are made of aluminum or metal. This conducts heat away from the hard drive to keep the hard drive cool. For maximum cooling, aluminum or metal is usually better than plastic.
Step 6

Consider whether you want to power the drive with an AC adapter or a USB port. While most enclosures use an AC adapter, some use an extra USB port and cable to power the drive.
Step 7

Ask yourself what kind of style you're looking for. With hundreds of choices out there, you can easily find and buy a hard drive enclosure that's a match for your personality.