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DIY is still worth it!
Image: Pexels: Arina Krasnikova
Recently I’ve come across a bunch of articles on how to build your own external drive, which is interesting because there are some perfectly good pre-built external drives available already. But after some investigation, it turns out there are some big benefits to building your own. Read on to find out more.
If you do just want to buy a pre-built one, be sure to check out PCWorld’s list of recommended external drives.
1. You can save money
The cost savings can be quite big compared to buying a large-capacity ready-made drive. For example, choosing a component like the Seagate IronWolf 8TB 3.5-inch HDD to go inside a Orico 3.5-inch hard disk enclosure costs $198 all up from Amazon. By comparison, a ready-made comparable 8TB external drive retails for $280 – so that’s a saving of $82.
Similarly, a DIY SSD can get you more for the money. For instance, you could combine the TerraMaster D1 SSD USB4 enclosure with a 4TB WD Blue SN5000 M.2 NVMe SSD for approximately $340, while a comparable LaCie Rugged SSD4 costs $400 or more.
2. You can choose the technology you want
Manufacturers have been using a technology called Shingled Magnetic Recording in their USB hard drives for a while now to increase capacity and save costs. SMR uses a method of partially overwriting previously written tracks on a hard disk platter (like overlapping roof titles). But because of that they tend to suffer performance penalties.
Alternatively, Conventional Magnetic Recording (CMR) drives use parallel writing methods that don’t overlap tracks. Because of that they don’t suffer the same performance penalties.
It’s not always clear what you’re buying (CMR or SMR) in a pre-built external drive, but when building your own you can purposefully build your hard disk with the better technology instead.
3. You can select the drive type (and performance) you want
There are a lot of options to choose the kind of drive you want. You can choose your ideal capacity, size, connection protocol, and appearance (due to the wide variety of enclosures available).
For example, you can choose to build a flashy SSD with a USB 4.0 connection for maximum performance or just build a USB 3.0 to SATA 3.5-inch hard drive that will be ideal for home backups — it’s totally up to you.
Pexels: Avinash Kumar
4. You can get better cooling
Do-it-yourself enclosures often have active cooling solutions that can help dissipate heat better and aid performance. The material of the enclosure is a big consideration when it comes to heat dissipation. For example, you might choose to avoid buying a plastic enclosure and buy a more expensive aluminum enclosure, such as the Ugreen 40Gbps Enclosure with Cooling Fan, for better heat transference.
5. You can repurpose old hardware
If you’ve got spare internal SATA drives or SSDs — for instance, after an upgrade — you can choose to incorporate them in an external drive rather than tossing them out. That way you’re not losing money on your original purchases.
Related content
Based in Australia, Dominic Bayley is a hardcore tech enthusiast. His PCWorld focus is on PC gaming hardware: laptops, mice, headsets and keyboards.
Recent stories by Dominic Bayley:
Image: Pexels: Arina Krasnikova
Recently I’ve come across a bunch of articles on how to build your own external drive, which is interesting because there are some perfectly good pre-built external drives available already. But after some investigation, it turns out there are some big benefits to building your own. Read on to find out more.
If you do just want to buy a pre-built one, be sure to check out PCWorld’s list of recommended external drives.
1. You can save money
The cost savings can be quite big compared to buying a large-capacity ready-made drive. For example, choosing a component like the Seagate IronWolf 8TB 3.5-inch HDD to go inside a Orico 3.5-inch hard disk enclosure costs $198 all up from Amazon. By comparison, a ready-made comparable 8TB external drive retails for $280 – so that’s a saving of $82.
Similarly, a DIY SSD can get you more for the money. For instance, you could combine the TerraMaster D1 SSD USB4 enclosure with a 4TB WD Blue SN5000 M.2 NVMe SSD for approximately $340, while a comparable LaCie Rugged SSD4 costs $400 or more.
2. You can choose the technology you want
Manufacturers have been using a technology called Shingled Magnetic Recording in their USB hard drives for a while now to increase capacity and save costs. SMR uses a method of partially overwriting previously written tracks on a hard disk platter (like overlapping roof titles). But because of that they tend to suffer performance penalties.
Alternatively, Conventional Magnetic Recording (CMR) drives use parallel writing methods that don’t overlap tracks. Because of that they don’t suffer the same performance penalties.
It’s not always clear what you’re buying (CMR or SMR) in a pre-built external drive, but when building your own you can purposefully build your hard disk with the better technology instead.
3. You can select the drive type (and performance) you want
There are a lot of options to choose the kind of drive you want. You can choose your ideal capacity, size, connection protocol, and appearance (due to the wide variety of enclosures available).
For example, you can choose to build a flashy SSD with a USB 4.0 connection for maximum performance or just build a USB 3.0 to SATA 3.5-inch hard drive that will be ideal for home backups — it’s totally up to you.
Pexels: Avinash Kumar
4. You can get better cooling
Do-it-yourself enclosures often have active cooling solutions that can help dissipate heat better and aid performance. The material of the enclosure is a big consideration when it comes to heat dissipation. For example, you might choose to avoid buying a plastic enclosure and buy a more expensive aluminum enclosure, such as the Ugreen 40Gbps Enclosure with Cooling Fan, for better heat transference.
5. You can repurpose old hardware
If you’ve got spare internal SATA drives or SSDs — for instance, after an upgrade — you can choose to incorporate them in an external drive rather than tossing them out. That way you’re not losing money on your original purchases.
Related content
- Best SSDs: From SATA to PCIe 5.0, from budget to premium
- Portable SSDs aren’t just for PC backups. Here’s why everybody needs one
- Don’t buy an external SSD. Make your own for cheap instead!
Based in Australia, Dominic Bayley is a hardcore tech enthusiast. His PCWorld focus is on PC gaming hardware: laptops, mice, headsets and keyboards.
Recent stories by Dominic Bayley:
