Building your own external hard drive is relatively easy. You really don’t have to be a computer expert to do it. But, why would you want to in the first place? External hard drives, in general, have escalated in pricing. If you want to buy an external hard drive that is 1TB or larger, it will be cheaper to build your own. That’s the main reason. But, for external hard drives that are 250GB – 750GB, it’s best to just buy them at the store since they are cheap. But, once you hit the 1TB storage size, that’s when you want to build your own to save a few bucks.
Here’s how to build your own external hard drive:
- Buy an internal 3.5 (desktop) 7200 or higher speed SATA hard drive. You can buy one off of NewEgg or Amazon online. Go for a 1TB, 2TB or higher based on your preference and storage requirements. I recommend going with Seagate or Western Digital since they offer at least 1 year warranties and an easy return IT service.
- Then, go ahead and buy a 3.5 SATA to USB hard drive enclosure. Go online to NewEgg or Amazon again. Rosewill is a good, cheap brand to go with.
- Once you get your parts, there will be a handy screwdriver inside the enclosure to use. Follow the instructions and screw in the 3-4 screws to secure the hard drive inside. That’s it!
You’ll probably save at least 25% or more of the total cost of a normal external hard drive by building your own. It’s fast, cost-effective, and you’ll feel like a computer pro in no time!
