Im thinking about buying an external harddrive so I can store files and access them from both my desktop and my laptop. What should i look for in a good one, what brands would you suggest, and how reliable do these tend to be aka, how long can i expect it to last?

6/12/2006 4:44:52 PM

I would suggest the Seagate external drives

silent

16MB buffer
7200RPM
USB2/Firewire

and capacities upto like 400 GB


I have a 300GB...backup at the touch of a button.

6/12/2006 4:46:21 PM

is maxtor reliable?

6/12/2006 4:48:33 PM

western digital and maxtor are my two most hated hd companies...i, personally, have never had anything but issues with them

i ALWAYS go with either seagate or hitachi

6/12/2006 4:55:38 PM

Seagate owns Maxtor now...and my very first harddrive was a Maxtor 40MB

Worked for more than 6 years without issues.

6/12/2006 4:58:56 PM

Well, I've only had one hard drive to fail, and that is a Western Digital 160 gig. I will not be buying from them anymore. I got a Seagate 200 gig internal and that works great. I think it would be cheaper to get an internal HD and just get an external enclosure. Just a suggestion.

6/12/2006 5:07:33 PM

^
Agreed. An external drive is nothing BUT an enclosure which you can't open and an internal HD stuck in there. It might have some software included that does "1-touch backups".

Enclosure = $30. External HD = $0.25/gb. For a 250GB Drive with shipping, puts you right at $100.

6/12/2006 5:32:40 PM

Where are you getting your 250GB hard drive for $70?

I got the 300GB seagate from BestBuy for $150 after rebates.

6/12/2006 5:57:57 PM

250gb wd external hd - $100 - http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=145402&cm_keycode=85

300gb seagate internal hd - $100 - http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=118287&cm_keycode=85

250gb simpletech external hd (has a seagate hd in it - at least mine does) - $100 - http://www.compusa.com/adproducts/product_info.asp?pfp=ADPRODUCTS&product_code=334786&Pn=SimpleDrive_250GB_Hard_Drive

6/12/2006 6:04:40 PM

Quote :

"Where are you getting your 250GB hard drive for $70?"

Slickdeals.net posts them every other month or so. I got a 200GB from CompUSA this past Black Friday for $30 (IIRC) after MIR.

6/13/2006 6:37:49 AM

i have an 80 gig Seagate 7200 I would like to use as an external. What enclosure would you reccomend?

6/19/2006 6:14:40 PM