I just put in an order for a blackbook, and am wondering about external hard drives. I'd like to take advantage of Time Machine, but don't really want to dish out much more money. I know nothing at all about external hard drives so any help and suggestions would be amazing. Thanks.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
External Hard drive for new MB
- Thread starter bms259
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Try the search function - Hours have been spent on this topic.
Frankly, my advice is don't be cheap - When it comes to your data, pick reliability over price - You'll thank yourself later.
Frankly, my advice is don't be cheap - When it comes to your data, pick reliability over price - You'll thank yourself later.
this is what I bought
If I ever need another 1tb external drive again, I'd forsure buy another one of these enclosures and you can even stack them on top of each other for room if you'd like! I love these enclosures!!
I highly highly recommend this drive.. man fw800 is ohh sooo fast in this hdd and the build quality is top notch! It can go up to 1tb but I think there is a 500gb enclosure version thats cheaper with the same looks/specs or you could order from them with the hdd they already have inside the enclosures.
But for me I bought the enclosure and got my own 1tb seagate barracuda in NS model and installed it easily and works great! FW800 did I mention how fast it transfers! 1.5gb less than a minute!!
I highly highly recommend this drive.. man fw800 is ohh sooo fast in this hdd and the build quality is top notch! It can go up to 1tb but I think there is a 500gb enclosure version thats cheaper with the same looks/specs or you could order from them with the hdd they already have inside the enclosures.
But for me I bought the enclosure and got my own 1tb seagate barracuda in NS model and installed it easily and works great! FW800 did I mention how fast it transfers! 1.5gb less than a minute!!
It depends. If you want a small one, I think my Western Digital (WD) Passport has served me very well. You don't need a power source, and you only need one cable to plug into your MacBook's USB. My other backup, an older Seagate with FW, just sits there. Actually, I just put it away. The AC adapter cable is attached to the power brick. A 2nd cable is needed to connect the power brick to my harddisk in order to power it. That's cable --> power brick --> harddisk. Another FireWire cable is needed to attach the drive to my computer.
That's too much! It's also bulkier than my WD harddisk. Sure, you pay more money per GB of space, but the convenience is so much better that I actually back up more often. I may even get a 2nd WD Passport drive.
If you're going to get a full-sized drive, the Seagate FreeAgent 500 GB drives are good and cheap.
That's too much! It's also bulkier than my WD harddisk. Sure, you pay more money per GB of space, but the convenience is so much better that I actually back up more often. I may even get a 2nd WD Passport drive.
If you're going to get a full-sized drive, the Seagate FreeAgent 500 GB drives are good and cheap.
Only you could answer that question.
If I were to guess, I say get an external to mimic the drive size you have in your current computer and you should be set. FW800 is nice but not necessary for your needs. You can literally stick with a USB2.0 drive and save money. If you want FW400 is plenty fast for your needs.
~e
I would get at least a 320gb drive. I'm almost positive you will find yourself storing more on it than just Time Machine. Also, get FW400, it isn't much more. In my opinion, it is well worth it if you are dealing with anything over 4gb. Don't worry about FW800 or eSATA because the MacBook doesn't support them, only supports USB and FW400. The newerTech miniStacks from www.otherworldcomputing.com are nice. Seagate is also good. I'm not sure about the WD drives. I've read mixed reviews and don't personally own one. Iomega also looks good, although I have never had one. And Lacie is pretty good. My favorite, though, is G-Technology. I have one and love it, but it is a bit pricy.
My first thought is Seagate and Western Digital. But the above are nice, reliable brands as well. Really, if you go with any major manufacturer you'll be fine.
No, it won't. He has a macbook, so a fw800 enclosure will sit there looking pretty and being completely useless.
I'd look at the Seagate FreeAgent Pro line (which is what I have) and the WD mybook options. The G-Techs are really nice but seem to cost more, and I'm not sure what extra benefits you get for that extra money.
