External Drive Help

[Pantojam95]

I have a late 2011 mbp and im looking for an external drive with a fast transfer rate. Im bummed that I dont have usb 3 so im stuck with usb2.0/firewire800/thunderbolt. Contemplating buying the buffalo mini-station anyone have one that can give feedback? Btw I have a movie collection of about 300gb and want something fast that will transfer fast if anyone can help please

 

[simsaladimbamba]

While the initial copying process might take some time (300 GB via USB 2.0 at 30 MB/s (it is actually faster, but it may vary) will take about three hours), video playback via USB 2.0 is quite okay, no need for Firewire 800.
And you can also just get a USB 3.0 HDD, thus once you have a USB 3.0 capable computer, you have a slightly faster HDD.

But if you transfer dozens of GBs on a daily basis, Firewire 800 or Thunderbolt would be the better option.

 

[ConCat]

There's a neat trick I discovered. The Thunderbolt adapter for portable Seagate GoFlex drives is actually an mSATA to Thunderbolt adapter. That's just how all their adapters work. You can use an internal mSATA drive (SSD or otherwise) with the adapter and you have yourself an instant external thunderbolt drive. The adapter itself costs $99, but you have a choice of any mSATA drive on the market, so it gives you options.

EDIT: It's also worth noting that the adapter uses SATA III, so you should get full SSD speeds from an SSD if you choose to get one. I'll upload a photo showing this. It's negotiated to 3Gbit because I'm using an HDD with the adapter currently.

 

[Pantojam95]

Thanks for the feedback. Im thinking about doing that any particular ssd that will do?

 

[ConCat]

Thanks for the feedback. Im thinking about doing that any particular ssd that will do?

That's not something I know too much about (beyond the fact that it should be a SATA III SSD, connecting via mSATA). You might want to start another topic for choosing a good SSD.