DRU500a vs. DRX500UL

[sherman01]

Other than $, are there any disadvantages to getting the external drive? Can the external drive do everything the internal drive can? I have never had an external harddrive or cd burner before, so I don't know if there are any inherent limitations to the external devices.

[Kennyshin]

It's just the internal version wrapped with USB/Firewire case for portable and external use. You can just buy the internal drive and then later buy a cheap USB 2.0 or IEEE 1394 external case for 5.25-inch drives if you want to use it externally.

[sherman01]

thanks

[painkiller]

Actually, there can be a distinct advantage to having such a device as an external box (USB/Firewire).
1) For the Pentium 4 class computers, the IDE bus can support the newer 7200 rpm hard drives ... but if you plug an internal device (ide) on either teh primary or secondary cable line - it will slow the hard drive to the standard 5400 rpm rate.
This alone could give you reason to "fill up" the computer with up to 4 hard drives, while putting cd & dvd drives outside the main box.

2) If you have more than one computer with either ports (usb/Firewire) you can make the device usable on either of the machines.

Personally, I go with the first reason. It gives me the "breathing space" for storing and capturing video for later processing.