Best external HD to buy?

[chimpboy74]

Hi there I have been looking round recently for a new external HD. I have a western digital My book (I think its called) 500GB. It is nearly full with iTunes, Photos, movies etc.

I was wanting to get a portable drive to use as back up for Itunes, photos and important movies only (my current drive has loads of generic films - I want to just back up home movies as I can stand to lose the others)

Whilst the western digital has been good I work from a laptop and I keep banging and knocking over the WD whenever I take it out the drawer to use it or set it up.

I saw the Lacie rugged which looks ideal for my purposes but had a few questions if you guys wouldnt mind imparting your knowledge:

My WD has firewire but I dont use it. For backing up photos, itunes and home movies should I go with the FW option? It makes it quite abit more pricey

Are the Lacies genuinely 'rugged' I would be starting to carry it about with me in my laptop case but am really paranoid about losing everything due to my clumsiness.

Where is the cheapest place to get one? I have looked on amazon, computerwarehouse, apple store, pixmania. So far compuerwarehouse seems cheapest but I only know this company from an ad in Mac format.

Is there another external HD I should consider other than the Lacie?


Certainly readig other posts people seem to rate the Lacie so thats why I am looking at it but am open to suggestions.
thanks in advance

 

[blodwyn]

Hi there I have been looking round recently for a new external HD. I have a western digital My book (I think its called) 500GB. It is nearly full with iTunes, Photos, movies etc.

I was wanting to get a portable drive to use as back up for Itunes, photos and important movies only (my current drive has loads of generic films - I want to just back up home movies as I can stand to lose the others)

Whilst the western digital has been good I work from a laptop and I keep banging and knocking over the WD whenever I take it out the drawer to use it or set it up.

I saw the Lacie rugged which looks ideal for my purposes but had a few questions if you guys wouldnt mind imparting your knowledge:

My WD has firewire but I dont use it. For backing up photos, itunes and home movies should I go with the FW option? It makes it quite abit more pricey

Are the Lacies genuinely 'rugged' I would be starting to carry it about with me in my laptop case but am really paranoid about losing everything due to my clumsiness.

Where is the cheapest place to get one? I have looked on amazon, computerwarehouse, apple store, pixmania. So far compuerwarehouse seems cheapest but I only know this company from an ad in Mac format.

Is there another external HD I should consider other than the Lacie?


Certainly readig other posts people seem to rate the Lacie so thats why I am looking at it but am open to suggestions.
thanks in advance

Firewire is faster on data transfer than USB, but If you haven't used it so far then you won't miss it if you stick with USB.

You don't say how much capacity you need, so I'm not sure if a 2.5 inch drive will suit you, but I have a 320GB WD Passport that I carry around in my laptop bag. It came with a case/sleeve, and it's powered from the USB port so there's no PSU to carry around. I'd say they're ideal for portable storage if you don't need mega capacity or speed. Because they're small they're easier to carry, and they lay flat on the desk so might be less prone to knocking over.

Of the 3.5 inch drives, I've had good luck with Western Digital and Seagate drives, not so much with Maxtor. I'm not sure what drives Lacie put in their enclosures, but if you're prone to giving drives a rough time, then the rugged option might be a good one.

 

[Mac In School]

I'm not sure what drives Lacie put in their enclosures, but if you're prone to giving drives a rough time, then the rugged option might be a good one.

My dead LaCie had a Maxtor in it, but that was about 4 years ago.

 

[chimpboy74]

Thanks for the advice. It is appreciated. I decided to go for the Lacie rugged after hoofing over my WD AGAIN!

 

[weckart]

If you have the MyBook, then it should be lying on its side for maximum ventilation. How on earth are you "hoofing it over"?

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

SeaGate and WD has some good drives, you should try the My Book World Edition. I think it's 1TB or something..