jmarsico

I pre-ordered Windows 7 and it should be here within the month, so I need a bit of hard drive advice while I wait. I want to do a clean install, so it's a good time to switch out the drive I've been using for three years for a bigger one. Here's the old one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136073

For a new one, how about

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc..._-NA-_-NA-_-NA

which is suggested in the roundup thread? A stupid question: why is the drive bare (i.e., the platters are showing)? That seems to be typical for OEM drives, but why?

How about the old drive? It's still in good shape, so I want to put it to use: does it make more sense to buy an enclosure and make it into an external drive to be used for backups, or should it be kept internal? Would the latter option even work side-by-side with the new drive, and what would be its benefits?

Thanks for reading.