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JeffHong21

macrumors member
Original poster
What's is a good external hard drive that is easy on the money. I'm looking for at least 1TB. What do you guys suggest?
 
Depends on the interface you're looking for. Personally I'd like to have fw800 but that gets pricey.
 
External hard drive easy on the money = external hard drive case + hard drive + building yourself.

i recommend the OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro case kit which has Firewire 400/800 + USB and also eSATA if you want. has no fan so its accoustics depend on the hard drive and it still keeps the drive cool.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/MEFW912UAL1K/ triple interface
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/MEFW924AL1K/ quad interface

and then for the hard drive i recommend the Samsung Spinpoint F1 1 TB. fast, quiet, cool.
 
I've had good experiences using WD's popular My Book series. My recent addition is their 1 TB USB drive (Essential), which is only $165 at Amazon. Very quiet and sufficiently fast. For video editing, I use their FireWire equipped Studio edition.
 
G-Technology Drives have been getting pretty solid reviews (the ones I've read at least). A little overpriced but they're definitely high performance and reliability if that's what you're looking for.

Personally I like Seagate when it comes down to overall drive quality. But their enclosures don't look as pretty compared to most other brands.
 
I give my nods to OWC's mercury elite line of products, but my next big purchase is a newertech maximus with hardware Raid 1. I would think about looking into that if you're looking for security, even though it comes with a pretty hefty price tag.
 
Why not buy an external enclosure and a harddrive separate? This usually yields better results for cheaper. Not to mention if something happens its easy to diagnose if it is the drive or the enclosure.

I recommend the following:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148274

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817198006

Ok fluctuating prices are making a liar out of me. I have 4 of these setups and I paid $150 each (harddrive and enclosure combined) just a few weeks ago.
 
I was initially going to buy it to put my dvd collection in there cause my macbook is runnign out of room and I considered that anyways when i first started. But reading through the posts, I also thought since i 'm being an animaiton/media arts major, would that make a difference in my choices for a good external hard drive?
 
I went with USB 2.0 to save $30 and am regretting it every day. It keeps reverting to 1.1 (this is a separate issue, but I don't thing firewire can revert, I think it is full speed all the time). The next drive will definitely have FW.
 
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