Portable Hard Drive - Which one?

[andrebob]

Hey everyone.
I was wondering if you guys could help me out.
I'm getting a MacBook Pro (unibody) and I wanted to buy a 500GB external portable hard drive. I need it so I can use it on the laptop, my home computer and a few others.

Now, I'm in debate on which one.
I think I've narrowed it down to the best ones that suite my needs. Which is a 500GB, portable, no power cord, firewire, and under $200

Either this:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4185199&CatId=136
(Yes it's over $200 on the site. But I'll buy it elsewhere.)

This:
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=569

or this (which has a good review on MacWorld):
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/MS8U5500WB8/

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated

 

[iVeBeenDrinkin']

This question is asked at least once a week. Most people prefer WD or Seagate.

 

[gothamm]

i'd get the western digital elite. looks sleek, and perfectly matches the alu macs.

 

[andrebob]

Thanks for the replies.
Appreciate it.

But if anyone has any experiences with any of these, I'd love to hear.

I'm a little reluctant in getting the Western Digital one because of all the failures they are known to cause.

 

[SchneiderMan]

people say that on every brand of hard drives trust me.. i own 3 brands and my seagate makes really loud clicking sounds all the time and my wd doesnt.

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

I'm a little reluctant in getting the Western Digital one because of all the failures they are known to cause.

Basically all hard drives are the same no matter what manufacturer (unless of course they have differing specs)
Try looking here

 

[Cave Man]

I'd buy this drive and put it in this enclosure for only $145.

 

[andrebob]

I'd buy this drive and put it in this enclosure for only $145.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll definitely take this into consideration.

 

[hayduke]

Pick your drive then consider one of the 2.5" enclosures here:

http://oyendigital.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?

 

[minik]

The G-drive mini is pretty good. I recently bought a 320GB WDC Scorpio Black hard drive and dropped it into a miniXpress825 enclosure as well.

 

[Horst]

I'm using some LaCie Rugged Triple drives, good luck so far, fast, reliable, fairly solid built ( the larger top and bottom panels bent easily, though).
Very popular amongst pro photographers.

Have a G-tech FW 400/USB 250GB portable , too, cute little guy, very solid enclosure, but they are too expensive for what they offer.

I don't know how they look inside, but I assume there is a reason why the LaCie Rugged are quite big in comparison , shock absorption comes to mind.

Some of the enclosures shown here sure look tempting, though.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

I'd always go SeaGate. WD looks flashy and is made of plastic which does not disperse heat as well as the metal casing of the SeaGate FreeAgents. Oh and the SeaGate's have a dock (mac version only) and a carrying case.

 

[drichards]

I like WD alot myself, I've had the MyBook Studio for a year or so, no regrets.

 

[deneenco]

I have a couple Western Digital Passports (200gb, and a 500gb) both have been excellent and seem pretty rugged.

If you want a good looking, and slightly more protected drive, I'd suggest a LaCie Rugged.... friend of mine carries one with his movie edits between home and school, has worked great for him, and it's a Sassy orange color

 

[Scallywag]

I use the OWC drive and it's great. Took the original 250 GB HDD from my MBP and tossed it in there. Works great, looks cool, is very small and very portable. Though the speed difference from FW 400 to FW 800 seems to be very little. Get the FW 400 model and save a few $$. It comes with a FW 400 to FW 800 cord.