External Harddrive Questions

[Dr McKay]

Buying an External Harddrive, currently they mostly offer USB 2, and/or Ethernet.

When transferring files, which is more likely to offer higher transfer speeds, Gigabit Ethernet or USB 2.0?


Thanks in advance.

 

[xlii]

Gigabit Ethernet is faster. Does your mac have fire wire. FW800 is a lot faster than USB 2.0. I buy the enclosure and the drive separately and make sure the enclosure comes with USB and FW800.

 

[flynz4]

The advantage of ethernet is that you can keep the drive connected 24/7 to your home network. That is great for:

1) Use by more than one computer if you have more than one
2) If you have a laptop, then the disk is available whenever you are connected to your home network (no wires required)
3) If you have a laptop... you can use automatic backups without remembering to connect your drive. When you are not home... backups will be automatically suspended.

If you have a router with a USB connection that supports the connection of HDDs via USB... then you can get most (or all) of the benefits of a network attached drive. Some people have reported some issues with Time Machine... but I do not have direct experience (I use a TC).

/Jim

 

[Dr McKay]

The advantage of ethernet is that you can keep the drive connected 24/7 to your home network. That is great for:

1) Use by more than one computer if you have more than one
2) If you have a laptop, then the disk is available whenever you are connected to your home network (no wires required)
3) If you have a laptop... you can use automatic backups without remembering to connect your drive. When you are not home... backups will be automatically suspended.

If you have a router with a USB connection that supports the addition of HDDs via USB... then you can also use that capability to have a plain USB drive connected and available on your network. Some people have reported some issues with Time Machine... but I do not have direct experience (I use a TC).

/Jim

I originally thought about getting a Time Machine, but couldnt justify the extra cost, so I went with a 2TB Western Digital. Ive noticed my Wireless Router has a USB Cable on, but Im not sure if it supports adding Harddrives to it.

Im not sure Id want it wirelessly though, my laptop has 2x500GB Hardrives, but as my Steam Folder is nearing 300GB, I currently have about 100GB Free on the C:\ Drive, the other drive has all my pictures and videos on, and only has 20GB left, so It'd be perfect to dump my Steam Games on, and still have plenty of room for backups.

 

[flynz4]

I originally thought about getting a Time Machine, but couldnt justify the extra cost, so I went with a 2TB Western Digital. Ive noticed my Wireless Router has a USB Cable on, but Im not sure if it supports adding Harddrives to it.

No doubt that the Time Capsule is premium priced. If you are going to buy an Airport Extreme + External HDD... then the premium is not too bad. You also have the benefit of a cleaner installation (fewer boxes on your desk). If you already have a router that you like, the decision is tougher... as it is much less expensive to just add a HDD to your existing router.

/Jim