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Thinking about Purchasing a sleek reliable External Hard drive

iWoz

iWoz

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
At the moment Im leaning towards - 320GB SEAGATE FREEAGENT
as it looks the part has its own dock and is useful for travel if need be.

Any other good ones out there, that arent too expensive?

Or does anyone use this?


Thanks
 
I've not heard good things about Seagate recently. Personally, I prefer Western Digital. They have plenty of sizes(physical and storage) and they come in lots of different colors, I've been really happy with mine. Rather inexpensive as well.
WD portable drives
 
I recommend the Western Digital as well
I use the 1TB MyBook and have had no issues

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
matthewscott661 said:
I've not heard good things about Seagate recently. Personally, I prefer Western Digital. They have plenty of sizes(physical and storage) and they come in lots of different colors, I've been really happy with mine. Rather inexpensive as well.
WD portable drives
Click to expand...

Sorry to just jump in, but I'm looking for something to use with my ibook G4 and the passport for mac looks perfect from WD. Would I just plug it in and go? I don't have to make sure it's compatible with anything?
 
UngratefulNinja said:
Sorry to just jump in, but I'm looking for something to use with my ibook G4 and the passport for mac looks perfect from WD. Would I just plug it in and go? I don't have to make sure it's compatible with anything?
Click to expand...

Yes it will work fine.

To the OP, I agree with jessica. & MacDawg. But what is sleek? I imagine the Porsche Design's LaCie's?
 
The one thing that is worth looking at here is the warranty. Seagate, since they acquired Maxtor, have taken a reliability hit but their 5 year warranty dwarfs WD's 1.

So it's a gamble; maybe more chance of risking losing your data in that period, but you'd get the warranty on the drive for up to five years.

It comes down to how important the stuff you put on the drive is 😉 i.e. if it truly is just a backup and you can make do without it whilst getting a replacement I'd be more inclined to go for the Seagate. If, however, it'll be your only copy of something (shame on you!) or you might end up being away from another copy for a while, or you have a huge string of bad luck and worry that both copies get taken out in one go, I'd go for the WD 🙂
 
My room full of broken western digitals contradict everyone elses recommendation of them. WD is producing pure trash at the moment.


Your best bet is to get an internal laptop drive with a small external enclosure.
 
Lacie Rugged.

We used them the Apple Store where they took a (severe) lickin' and kept on ticking.

I have three at home now.
 
No FW though for target mode. 🙁

I've been debating this purchase as well but was leery to ask for advice here and post the same question. That's something I've been vocal about. lol

I need a 1TB drive that is 'portable'. I don't mean as portable as a 2.5" Passport etc but something I can transport around with ease. This drive won't be sitting on a desk.

My MBP is my portable workstation and HT. The large drive will be moving along with it. In the last year I've lived in India, Kuwait, Bali, US and UK and my equipment travels with me.

COmpact size is important and also durability. I have a little Lacie (the black Neil Poulton design) and its been fine.

The WD seems more reliable IF it was sitting on a desk. The Lacie Rugged looks like it would fit my needs perfectly but what happens if I'm on the road and need to use target mode. I'd be stuck.

I ended up ordering the 1TB Lacie Neil Poulton with esata, FW 400 and USB2. The dimensions seem like something I could stash in my laptop bag. Perfect rectangle.

Can I use target mode through eSata? I can then use the express card slot on my MBP17 in case I need to boot up from the external Lacie Rugged. Then the problem becomes daisy chaining a FW device.

Not as easy decision ...

Actually, I just realized the Lacie rigged 500GB does have FW ports. I need a 1TB drive though. I'm in the process of digitizing DVDs to watch movies when I change locations. I can use my current 250GB for selective Time Machine excluding my iTunes and movie folders but that still leaves me needing a clone drive and a movie repository. 500GB won't be enough.

eV

eV
 
Yeah i was looking for something that can be taken when travelling, the passport looks like a good option!!
 
Too small, too slow. I need something 'portable' with 1TB, FW and 7200RPM drive.

That Lacie rugged with the orange casing looks perfect except that the 1TB version doesn't have FW>

I ended up going with http://www.amazon.com/LaCie-FireWir...ransporting it might have been an issue eV
 
I'm going to be sending the 1TB Lacie Neil Poulton esata/FW800/USB drive back. It's too slow. Takes about 10 minutes to transfer 4 GIGS. At this rate my backups will take all day.

I also plan to use the drive as an external media storage and transfer a movie or two to my internal HDD when I travel. Half an hour for 2 movies is unacceptable.

Now I"m not sure which one to get .. 🙁

eV
 
229 for a 500GB 7200RPM FW800 option is way too much. I was looking for 1TB but I think I can get by with 500 for now. My internal can hold enough media for a while. I can pick up a large external when I get to a permanent residence and start converting in earnest

I think I'm going to rethink my storage needs. I'll keep an external 500GB drive as a TM machine backup. In that case 5400RPM and FW400 won't matter. It's the first backup that will take a long time and that's OK. The incremental will happen at night anyway. My internal 500GB still has plenty of room. I can use my small 250GB FW Lacie as a clone backup for target mode.

Any suggestions? Should be cheaper than the 1TB powered Lacie as well.

eV
 
eVolcre said:
I'm going to be sending the 1TB Lacie Neil Poulton esata/FW800/USB drive back. It's too slow. Takes about 10 minutes to transfer 4 GIGS. At this rate my backups will take all day.

I also plan to use the drive as an external media storage and transfer a movie or two to my internal HDD when I travel. Half an hour for 2 movies is unacceptable.

Now I"m not sure which one to get .. 🙁

eV
Click to expand...

WTF? I backed up 80GB in 25 minutes with my LaCie
 
eVolcre said:
Looks nice. Is this a factor?
Click to expand...

It certainly runs warm. I'm not sure this is a Time Machine solution either, but I'm happy to recommend it as sleek, reliable external HDD. It is very quick, has a great price and all reviews are favourable.

Yes, it looks nice, although candy red would not be my first choice of colour but you don't really get a choice...different colours signify different capacities.
 
Justin Lee said:
It certainly runs warm. I'm not sure this is a Time Machine solution either, but I'm happy to recommend it as sleek, reliable external HDD. It is very quick, has a great price and all reviews are favourable.

Yes, it looks nice, although candy red would not be my first choice of colour but you don't really get a choice...different colours signify different capacities.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I bought it from the link you gave me. Sometimes its best to make a quick decision. I analyze the smallest purchases way too much!

I will be using it as a TM solution but backing up once a day. I doubt that will make it overheat.

eV
 
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