Looking for 500gb-1tb External HD in Canada

[cosmokanga2]

Having exceeded my previous back up solution, I looking at getting an external hard drive ranging from 500gb to 1tb in capacity. I've been looking at the WD My Book Studio Edition as I like the Firewire 800, capacity and price, $259 on Apple, however the reviews are not so good and I have heard mixed stories on the reliability of WD drives here. I plan on partitioning it for Time Machine and using the other half for an Aperture Vault/Storage.

Are WD reliable and does anyone have any other suggestions on external HD under $300 and available in Canada?

Thanks!

 

[themanfromvlad]

1TB WD triple interface external drives are on sale at Canadian Costcos for $179. Seems like a good deal to me. I think they have FireWire 400, not 800, as well as eSATA and USB.

i have the 500GB one I bought about a year ago and have no complaints.

 

[No1451]

Just buy an enclosure($50) and a 1Tb hdd(roughly $150).

WD is very reliable, I have 3 750Gb drives that are still going strong nearly a year after purchase with hard use every day

 

[PkennethV]

1TB WD triple interface external drives are on sale at Canadian Costcos for $179. Seems like a good deal to me. I think they have FireWire 400, not 800, as well as eSATA and USB.

i have the 500GB one I bought about a year ago and have no complaints.

Yep, I just got a 1TB one from there a month ago

 

[cosmokanga2]

1TB WD triple interface external drives are on sale at Canadian Costcos for $179. Seems like a good deal to me. I think they have FireWire 400, not 800, as well as eSATA and USB.

i have the 500GB one I bought about a year ago and have no complaints.

Thanks for tip! I'll look in to it next time in Costco.

 

[maestrokev]

The Costco model is the MyBook Home and Essential edition without FW800. Keep in mind that all WD external hard drives spin at 5400RPM now, not 7200RPM.

If you have an iMac AL then you'll often find the FW400 port doesn't work if directly connected to the iMac AL, have to be daisychained through another device first.

 

[PkennethV]

Keep in mind that all WD external hard drives spin at 5400RPM now, not 7200RPM.

I do believe otherwise (that's the exact model they have at Costco)...
http://www.afterdawn.com/hardware/product_details.cfm/5972/western_digital_my_book_home_edition_1_tb

 

[maestrokev]

I do believe otherwise (that's the exact model they have at Costco)...
http://www.afterdawn.com/hardware/product_details.cfm/5972/western_digital_my_book_home_edition_1_tb

Those websites that are reporting 7200RPM are wrong. Any WD spec that mentions green power is 5400RPM.

 

[theITGuy]

I just bought at Walmart the "Western Digital 640GB My Book Essential II USB 2.0 External Hard Drive" and it's working great on my MBP and with Time Machine.

I have the same but a 2 year old 80GB that has been chugging along just fine...WD makes good drives...always has.

Cheers.

-J.-

 

[Colin20]

I recently bought the 7200 Lacie 1TB from Future Shop and it's great. Fast, quiet and looks good too.

 

[cosmokanga2]

Thanks all for the information. I'm going to go ahead and get the WD My Book Studio the main reason being the Firewire 800 as my USB ports are at a premium. The speed of the drives seems to be 7200rpm as I couldn't find anything that said otherwise all though it isn't going to affect me much as I would just you it as back up.

Quick question though. If I partition it for time machine and a storage area, can the storage area be accessed by another Mac if connected?

Thanks.