Advice on purchasing external harddrive

[Felix_the_Mac]

Hi there!

I am looking to buy an external hard drive, for backing up mainly but also to put my dvd collection on.

I have a 15" AlPB with 80GB disk. I am looking to get a drive of 80GB - 160GB.

I was looking at Olixir Mobile Data Vault which I read has very high G tolerance and is rugged.
I am a IT consultant and the ability to throw the HD into my briefcase would be usefull but is not crucial. (www.olixir.com)

I might have bought this already but I was concerned that it did not have FireWire 800

However, I did a bit more research (which I should have done first) and found that if ruggedness is not your prime concern then there are scores of alternatives.

I am particularily impressed by the ability of some drives (eg NetDisk) to be network attached since I could plug it in to my Airport base station and it can act as off-site storage for my PB.

(I know this will be slow which begs the question why I am worried about not having FW800, but it is versatile)
Can you give me any pointers based on your experiences?

Edit: I definitely want FW or USB even on a drive with Ethernet.

Edit: I cannot find any other drives with Ethernet and USB / FW apart from the NetDisk. If you are aware of any please let me know.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

I found one...

Ethernet Disk by LaCie

Available in capacities of 80, 160, 250, 500 GB
Uses Windows XP Embedded
Compatible with Windows, Mac OS, UNIX, Linux
Connects via USB 1.1, FW 400, or Ethernet

 

[Felix_the_Mac]

re: I found one ...

Well spotted!

Unfortunately it's not what I am after because of

1) Prices start at $499 for 80GB
2) Format (ie size/shape) it is designed to be rack mounted, definitely not portable.

Thanks anyway.

 

[Pismo]

OWC

You should buy an OWC Mercury Elite drive. It has FW 800/400 and USB 2. My brother in law has the 120 gig and it is very fast and reliable. Great bang for your buck too!!

*Edit* Get one with the 8 MB buffer

 

[wrldwzrd89]

Re: OWC

Originally posted by Pismo
You should buy an OWC Mercury Elite drive. It has FW 800/400 and USB 2. My brother in law has the 120 gig and it is very fast and reliable. Great bang for your buck too!!

*Edit* Get one with the 8 MB buffer

I don't think this was what Felix_the_Mac was looking for either - it has no Ethernet connection.

 

[Felix_the_Mac]

Re: OWC

Pismo: thanks for the suggestion.

Originally posted by wrldwzrd89
I don't think this was what Felix_the_Mac was looking for either - it has no Ethernet connection.

My perfect product would have ethernet, FW 800 and be rugged.
However, these 3 features do not seem to be available in a single package so I will have to compromise.