13" MBP - Which External HDD should I get?

[funkygarage]

Hey,

I have a new 13" MBP

I am a DJ and bought the model to use Serato which is DJ software/hardware.

• I will be using the portable HDD to store music on and will need a 750GB/1TB drive. (The built in 300GB HD won't cut it)
  
• I need something that is stable (i'll be performing live with it!) and as compact as possible (i'll be travelling with it)
  
• I was wondering if it would be a good idea to use this same HDD as a backup disk via Time Machine also.

I also have an iMac 21.5 inch bought in January 2010 just for info.

Look forward to hearing your answers.

Thankyou for your time.

(p.s I realise this same question has been asked but all the options didn't seem all that suitable for me. I am in the UK also)

 

[ViciousShadow21]

i'd check newegg and decide for yourself based on the reviews

personally i prefer Western Digital. I've used them all my life and never had a problem with them.

if you are going to use it as a time machine back up as well you're going to want to partition it and that probably means that you will need a 2TB one based on your storage needs you mentioned.

The other problem with using it as a both an external and TM backup is if something goes wrong with one of the partitions and the HDD drive fails you will have problems with both your partitions.

 

[Wicked1]

Get a FW800 Hard drive especially if you depend on speeds, as they are way faster than USB.

I bought this one and I have a 1 TB music, Video, Music Video, TV Show, and Apps library, and it works really well, in fact I backup my MP, my wifes, and my sons all to this one drive.

I bought this at BestBuy for $179, although the internal drive on this is only 5900RPM it does respond really quick.

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/mac-hard-drive/mac-desktop-hard-drive/

It has 2 FW800 Ports and 1 Mini USB 2.0 port, and since I use it on machines that have only USB it works well, however my Mini uses the FW800 and it is way fast than USB. I copied 600GB of data in like an 1.5 hours from the HDD to the Mini. The files you are working with are most likely smaller 3-5 MB but since there are a lot of them you will see the Benefit of FW technology.

 

[teameurox]

Although not intended to be portable I have a Newertech ministack v3 which has a small footprint but requires external power source. I have been extremely impressed with it as it also serves as a hub for usb and firewire devices which may be beneficial as a DJ. Also I like the idea of if for some reason the hard drive fails or I decide to upgrade the option is there as it is user replaceable

 

[FOX160]

I use an LaCie Rugged external drive, some thing you should be looking at.

One thing is to make sure you buy an external drive and not an external storage
unit.

 

[funkygarage]

Thanks guyys.

I think I will go with the WD My Passport.

It looks very portable.

My only worry is it has a lot of bad reviews from consumers. But also alot of great ones, and the first poster recommended them.

P.

 

[kobyh15]

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I have a Seagate GoFlex Ultraportable 500 GB drive. It's super small and easy to carry around. They make bigger capacities and you can buy customizable cables so it could be USB 2, USB 3, FireWire, or eSATA.

 

[turfmate1]

You didn't mention a price range but the LaCie Rugged would be something to look at.

http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?id=10177

 

[theSeb]

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G-drive pro by hitachi.