gutting an external HD for internal use

[phatphoeater]

After searching the forums I couldnt find an answer to this issue.

I have a WD 80gb external drive that i'm considering installing as an internal drive to run my os and apps. I'm running a media machine with large video files on a 250gb SATA drive partitioned for os/apps and media on a 200gb chunk.

I assume the cache is only 2mb so there may be some performance hit. It seems most people recommend running os/apps from a different drive to improve write/read for video files. Is this even worth the trouble of the huge reformat and reinstall?

PP

[not important]

You can transfer your present drives contents onto the new drive with Acronis or Ghost.

[TwoRails]

I would just get another, regular internal drive. Besides it most likely having a 2MB cache, it's also most likely a 5200 RPM unit, too. It will be painfully slow....

[phatphoeater]

i figured it would be better to buy a new drive, but the low capacity drives cost alot in terms of $/gb...

[TwoRails]

Keep your eyes open. I recently picked up a Seagate 120GB for $39 and the sale did Not require rebates! I picked up a 80GB WD for $0.00 after rebates shortly before that. And, this last weekend, Best Buy had a dirt cheap special that I had to walk away from as I've got too many drives laying around now...