I've read conflicting reports and would like to know if anyone can confirm or deny that when you open a Seagate Goflex external drive you can then use it as an internal drive by simply switching to GPT and formatting it.  If this is possible, will it be exactly as if you purchased a "regular" internal drive.  Specifically, I am referring to the 3TB version if that matters.

 

Most searches pull up that this is possible, but I have also read that it can be a crap shoot as to what drive is in it (hopefully the ST3000DM001), or that it may not have a sata interface, and also I have seen something referring to it not having the correct firmware. 

I had 2 of the go flex 3TB externals and i was able to rip them apart and use them as internal drives without issue.

 

The model number of the drive in my externals was a ST33000651AS

Nice, this is encouraging.  The external model I am looking at is STAC3000102 which is availalble at Costco for only $139.  I have read that this model has the 3TB ST3000DM001 in it.  This is a fantastic price considering the fact that the next best deal I've seen lately are the Samsung 2TB F4's at Newegg for $99.

 

Was this recent that you did opened yours and do you recall if the external housing was square or had rounded edges?  I believe the square edged model is the newer version with the ST3000DM001, whereas the rounded edge is older and had the XT's in it like you have.

the ones i grabbed where the ones from this link: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=18607.0