I have tried both and in the future I'll buy the DVD (or other removable
media device) already installed in the manufacturer's external box. You'll
pay about the same price for the external case + internal drive as you would
for the external drive. In addition, the external cases are usually larger
so that they can be universal, require driver software and they have a fan
which adds a few db of noise to your environment. The external drives are
overall so much less hassle and usually utilize the space better.

The only limited exception I'll allow for is if the drive type doesn't came
as an external unit and maybe another one for hard drives. When you upgrade
a hard drive to a larger size, an external case is a convenient method of
keeping the data handy until the drive fails.

Erik

> -----Original Message-----
> From: PCBUILD - Personal Computer Hardware discussion List
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of watcher22
> Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2003 10:07 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [PCBUILD] external case for an internal drive
>
>
> Hello all,
>      I was wondering if anyone had heard of buying a external
> case to put an internal IDE drive in.  Specifically, I am
> looking to buy an internal DVD writer like a sony and put it
> in an external case with USB connectivity.  I am looking to
> get some life and use for a PC and a Mac.  This way, I just
> have to be sure to load the appropriate software on each
> machine.  It's cost effective and easy to upgrade.  (mobility
> is nice too)

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