Sijun Forums :: View topic - External Hard Drive- Recommendations?

Jimmyjimjim · member Member # Joined: 12 Dec 2002 Posts: 459

I was planning on getting an external HD, is there a brand I should be looking at?

So far, I've heard good things about Western Digital and Seagate.

eyewoo · Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 5:25 am

Probably not much difference bewteen Western Digital and Seagate, but whichever, check out the NexStar external enclosures. http://www.vantecusa.com/p_nst350u2.html They connect to your system via USB.

They're inexpensive and simply require you to buy a bare-bones internal hardrive to place within them... Generally cheaper than buying an already enclosed external drive with all sorts of expensive bells and whistles.

I've got six of the NexStar enclosures for backing up my stuff all the way back to 1993... So all that stuff is immediately available whenever I need to get to it... no problems...
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Gort · Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 6:51 am

Good points Phil - you echo my own. External drives are so prevelant these days. I know a couple of people that have been using generic, inexpensive brands (like CompUSA's) for a while and with no problems. Go to CNet.com's product review section; for some models there are even video reviews.

Also consider an external drive enclosure (supports all IDE devices); I have an ADS Tech Pyro drive enlcosure; it supports USB2 and Firewire, so it's platform friendly, very versatile.
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balistic · Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 8:37 am

I recommend getting an enclosure and putting a Maxtor/Seagate/WD in it yourself, rather than buying a ready-made one. Reason being: a bare hard disc from a major manufacturer is warranted for 3-5 years, but I have never seen a ready-made external with more than a 1-year warranty, not even from Seagate or WD.

I have a few branded externals that are past warranty now, and if they ever crash I'll get no help from the manufacturer. If I'd rolled my own externals, they'd still have years of coverage left.
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B0b · Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 4:30 pm

i use an ICYBOX (black) with firewire/usb2 connection - connected via Firewire (much faster and less CPU heavy than USB2)

i've got 250GB 16MB Cache Maxtor in it

- - seagate bought maxtor recently - -

Jimmyjimjim · member Member # Joined: 12 Dec 2002 Posts: 459

Well, I really like the idea about putting a internal HD into an external case. I think I'll be doing that next time when I can afford a HUGE drive.

For now, I decided to pick up a Western Digital "My Book" 160 GB that was on sale for $89 at best buy. Unfortunately it requires an AC power source, which sucks because It's meant to be a back-and-forth between my laptop and tower.

Next time (when I can afford it) I'll end up buying one of the 2.5" enclosures that work with the mini HDs and don't require an AC power adapter.

Thanks again for the recommendations!

eyewoo · Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 5:50 am

I may be wrong, but I think you'll find that external drives will require an external power source. The USB connection is just for data transfer.

If there is an external drive that operates entirely via its connection to the computer, I'd like to know about it.
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Jimmyjimjim · member Member # Joined: 12 Dec 2002 Posts: 459

Eyewoo-

Some of the portable laptop drives work by plugging straight into either one or two USB 2.0 slots. Seagate makes a great one, but it was $250 for a 160 gb drive.

balistic · Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 1:05 pm

eyewoo · Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 3:29 pm

Good to know... Cool

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Tomasis · Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2006 12:57 pm

IT would be cool to get a 3,5" ext case with built-in power suppy Razz

so we dont need such mess with cables Very Happy

B0b · Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2006 3:44 pm

thats what cable management systems are for Wink

balistic · Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 1:53 pm

yeah, cable management . . . I gotta get me some of that

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eyewoo · Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 3:25 pm

Elegant place you have there, Brian... Cable managemnt is a must... but keep the shoes as is...
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B0b · Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 6:29 am

so how often do u have a cleaner come in ? Wink

my office is a right tip!

Affected · Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2006 5:56 am

I'm also looking into getting some kind of external storage solution. Trouble is, I have some slightly difficult requirements: I need firewire as well as usb, and I need a system that will let me transfer files onto the drive from linux, windows as well as OSX on mac. I guess something with a lan fileserver on board would fit the bill, but can anyone suggest any other way? I don't think formatting is as ext3fs is a solution, I'm not sure osx can access that, and I know windows can't without drivers, and I need something I can just plug in and use without installing any software. There are now supposedly stable NTFS drivers for linux with write support, but I'm aware of no such thing for the mac. Fat32 is pretty limited, and I'd rather not have to mess around too much with using many partitions.

Suggestions?

Lunatique · Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 11:21 pm

Go to newegg.com and look at their controller card selections--some can be used in a wide range of operating systems, including Linux.

I just ordered a 750GB drive today. I can't believe how fast our need for storage is growing. Just a few years ago I thought 200GB was a lot. Now, I'm like, "I want f-ing terabyte drives--and gimme 5 of them!"

Affected · Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 11:55 pm

Lunatique: You mean RAID controllers etc.?
What I'm looking for is a portable solution, I can't install pci cards on most of the computers I need to use this on. I can't even install software on all of them.