Best 1TB external HD option. Opinions please.

[BostonApple]

I am looking to purchase an external 1TB HD. I will be using it to back up MacBook Pro and my wife's Dell laptop (which has no firewire). I would like to know what you all think my best option is. I would ideally like something with both firwire 800 and USB 2.0 and am looking to keep the price sub $150. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[x86isslow]

I am looking to purchase an external 1TB HD. I will be using it to back up MacBook Pro and my wife's Dell laptop (which has no firewire). I would like to know what you all think my best option is. I would ideally like something with both firwire 800 and USB 2.0 and am looking to keep the price sub $150. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

I just bought a quad-interface Western Digital mybook 2TB, that I set up as a 1TB redundant RAID. They have the 1TB version available for about 150: http://www.buy.com/prod/western-dig...-external-hard-drive/q/loc/101/205761519.html

 

[xoggyux]

it certainly depends on your needs (or wants) for instance if you want an FW or if you prefer to keep the price very low or if you are willing to get one HDD with eSATA interface (faster but you will need the proper Expresscard eSATA adapter which cost ~$15-20, but again is faster and will save you a USB port.) Really the brand wont matter much because the obvious brands they are all good (e.g. Seagate, WD, or Maxtor [seagate]) and the other brands (e.g. SimpleTech, AcomData, etc they usually use an internal WD/Seagate/or Maxtor HDD anyway (My best HDD ever is a AcomData 120GB which I have since 2002 and its worked perfect since, still does).
So just pick the one looks the pretties which have the interface you want and is within your price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010150414 131021336&name=1TB and higher

 

[JorgeLomeli]

This is what i just bought:
Seagate 1tb

And it is working like a charm!


Jorge Lomeli
Monterrey,Mexico

 

[RexTraverse]

Depends on what your needs are and how you define "best".

If price is an issue, I've gone with Western Digital MyBook's and haven't had many problems with them. I know others have been fans of LaCie and Seagate. Probably get a decent drive around $110-120

If you want something a little more durable, I also really like OWC Mercury Elite's. They use higher quality drives from Hitachi and support their products with longer warranties than the low cost guys. They also cost a bit more. Cheapest 1TB drive they have that supports FW800 is $180. They also have a FW400/USB2 only drive that goes for $150.

I know some people swear by G-Tech's drives, like the G-Drive Q, but I've heard they've been cutting back on the quality of components they're using (have nothing to base this on other than talking to some industry guys at Macworld, though. Used to use Hitachi but apparently not anymore). Similar in features and warranty to the OWCs. They're also really pricey... you're looking at starting around $280 for a 1TB.

 

[xoggyux]

This is what i just bought:
Seagate 1tb

And it is working like a charm!


Jorge Lomeli
Monterrey,Mexico

I got the "go version" (2.5") and i like it very much, it is very silent (more silent that the internal hitachi HDD from the MBP running in an external case) and looks great silver aside the MBP, however I have read people complaining about the 3.5" version has no "OFF" button, i really do not care about this feature but some people do. So keep that in mind.

Also keep in mind that if you willing to pay extra money for more speed, dont go for FW (unless that what you want) but go for eSATA (even buying the expresscard adaptor it will be cheaper than FW and of course faster.)

 

[James Cole]

Maxtor any drive.

 

[xoggyux]

Maxtor any drive.

Maxtor = Seagate anyway and the alternative is WD which is good anyway.
well there is hitachi (that does not win my heart due to loud internal HDD into the MBP) but is a good brand also (I still prefer seagate/maxtor or WD)

 

[FortunesFool]

o Try this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822101121

Newegg has great customer support and fast shipping.

I picked up one of these a few weeks ago to plug into my extreme for TM backups. Works like a charm - quiet, cool, thin.

For some reason the price was $99 when I got it so it was a really good deal, but I think it's still worth it at $115.