What's the best external hard drive for MBP?

[kclarke]

I have a 13'' MBP with Snow Leopard. I was using a GDrive Slim with Time Machine to back up my laptop and now the hard drive has failed. I can still access all my old back ups but for whatever reason it will not make new back ups. I have been working on it for about 7 hours now and just can't figure it out so I'm just going to cut my losses.

I'm looking for advice on the best external/portable hard drive to use with Time Machine. I know a Time Capsule is ideal but it's a bit out of my price range. I'm looking to spend anywhere from $100 to $200. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[miles01110]

No platter-based hard drive is better than any other. Buy the one with the best warranty that fits your budget and size requirements.

 

[53kyle]

I recommend any of the owc hdds
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/eSATA_FW800_FW400_USB

 

[brentmore]

WD has some very portable options and the warranty service is good.

 

[theSeb]

No platter-based hard drive is better than any other. Buy the one with the best warranty that fits your budget and size requirements.

I guess it depends on what you mean by better. A 7200 RPM drive is significantly better (faster) than a 5400 RPM drive.

An enterprise grade hard drive is better (more reliable) than a consumer grade hard drive and is more suitable for a RAID setup.

 

[thekev]

No platter-based hard drive is better than any other. Buy the one with the best warranty that fits your budget and size requirements.

That isn't true with platter based any more than it is with ssds. Performance and reliability is variable in both types. Both have some models that are not appropriate for 24/7 use or large RAID volume configurations.

 

[tinca]

I use a Freecom 1TB mg - love it.

 

[kclarke]

A little more info

Thanks to everyone who has already replied. I guess it would have been a good idea to let you know what I'm backing up. I mostly use my laptop for school so most of my files are small like word processing and PDFs. However I also have quite a large music collection that I keep backed up in case anything ever happens to my MBP. I've had a WD in the past and I didn't like the WD software that came with it. Also, that one crashed on me as well so I'm a little reluctant to purchase another one. I know these HDDs are a dime a dozen, and I'm really just looking for the one that is least likely to screw me over.

 

[GGJstudios]

I know these HDDs are a dime a dozen, and I'm really just looking for the one that is least likely to screw me over.

With over 4 years of experience with them, I've been very pleased with both of these models in various capacities, from Other World Computing (OWC):

OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro..........................OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro™