best type of external hard drive for itunes library

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Sossity

macrumors 65816
Original poster
May 12, 2010
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I would like to get a single good sized external hard drive to house all my itunes content in one place, I will be using it with my laptop.

any suggestions on the best one? I am looking for one in the 1 or 2 tera byte range, with 750gb being about the lowest capacity I would go.

would a portable hard drive bee good?

does it matter if it is just usb or has firewire as well?
 
GGJstudios

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,419
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Sossity said:
I would like to get a single good sized external hard drive to house all my itunes content in one place, I will be using it with my laptop.

any suggestions on the best one? I am looking for one in the 1 or 2 tera byte range, with 750gb being about the lowest capacity I would go.

would a portable hard drive bee good?

does it matter if it is just usb or has firewire as well?
Click to expand...
Any external drive will work fine, with USB or Firewire. Firewire 800 is obviously faster, but not a requirement.

I've been very pleased with both of these, from Other World Computing (OWC):

OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro..........................OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro™
 
maflynn

maflynn

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Staff member
May 3, 2009
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Boston
If you don't have a need for portability then I'd not go with that. Almost any external drive will be sufficient. If you buy the drive and empty case, you'll save yourself $$
 
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Sossity

macrumors 65816
Original poster
May 12, 2010
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maflynn

maflynn

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May 3, 2009
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Sossity said:
in those plastic cases, do they overheat?
Click to expand...
I had one, it never overheated but it also offers no protection. I lost a hard drive in one of those

However in the same usage (placing in my backpack) the Lacie Rugged has been problem free after years of use.
 

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GGJstudios

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,419
759
maflynn said:
I had one, it never overheated but it also offers no protection. I lost a hard drive in one of those
Click to expand...
What were the circumstances? I'm curious, because I've been using one for about 4 years, with zero problems.
 
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SnackGuy

macrumors newbie
Sep 27, 2009
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Not to go off topic here but does anybody recommend a good NAS for my MBP OS X Lion with a Netgear Router.
 
D

deepakvrao

macrumors 6502
Oct 16, 2011
335
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India
SnackGuy said:
Not to go off topic here but does anybody recommend a good NAS for my MBP OS X Lion with a Netgear Router.
Click to expand...
I'm using a Seagate Goflex Home 2TB. Works fine but is a bit slow in spite of the Asus N router. Don't know whether it's the HDD issue or thats the normal for wireless. Nothing to compare with, though its much faster now since I switched from A Belkin G to a Asus N.

The HDD had issues in the forst few weeks, and this is the replacement unit that I am using now.
 
mmomega

mmomega

macrumors 68040
Dec 30, 2009
3,388
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DFW, TX
Are you storing video on it as well as music? If so I would go with the 2TB, I use a 2TB Firewire for my videos and a 1TB for music.
Just waiting for prices on a Thunderbolt Raid enclosure to drop down so I can store everything in one place and only 1 power plug instead of using 4 currently.
 
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Sossity

macrumors 65816
Original poster
May 12, 2010
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I may have a video project on it as well as itunes & other general files, will the 5400 rpm & usb 2.0 of most portables be too slow?
 
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SnackGuy

macrumors newbie
Sep 27, 2009
14
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deepakvrao said:
I'm using a Seagate Goflex Home 2TB. Works fine but is a bit slow in spite of the Asus N router. Don't know whether it's the HDD issue or thats the normal for wireless. Nothing to compare with, though its much faster now since I switched from A Belkin G to a Asus N.

The HDD had issues in the forst few weeks, and this is the replacement unit that I am using now.
Click to expand...
How much did it cost im willing to spend under $200. I just need 1 Terabyte. I was thinking of buying a Synology DS110j.
 
GGJstudios

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,419
759
Sossity said:
I notice most of these owc's are 5400rpm, would that be too slow if I had a video project on it?
Click to expand...
For the 2nd drive I listed, 6 of the 8 listed are 7200 rpm. For the other, it comes in 3 sizes of 7200 rpm. Drive performance isn't just a matter of rpms, but also drive density. Any of the drives listed would be more than sufficient for video projects, even the 5400 rpm drives.
 
D

deepakvrao

macrumors 6502
Oct 16, 2011
335
29
India
SnackGuy said:
How much did it cost im willing to spend under $200. I just need 1 Terabyte. I was thinking of buying a Synology DS110j.
Click to expand...
Bought it in India for about 180 dollars, just before the Thailand floods. Must be cheaper in the US, but now prices would be higher all over.
 
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Sossity

macrumors 65816
Original poster
May 12, 2010
1,039
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oyen digital 1tb vs 1tb owc mercury elite on the pro go.

GGJstudios said:
Any external drive will work fine, with USB or Firewire. Firewire 800 is obviously faster, but not a requirement.

I've been very pleased with both of these, from Other World Computing (OWC):

OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro..........................OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro™
Click to expand...
would this; http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VKTJGM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=A1OQ5B5VHVHCUX

is this as good as the 1tb mercury elite on the go pro?

I ask because the oyen digital 1tb is about 130.00 with free shipping, & the mercury on the go pro 1tb is 197.00.

the only real difference I see in specs is the mercury has firewire, & the oyen has just usb, would this make a big difference for a video project?

would it be worht the extra money just to get firewire?
 
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