Best External Hard drive

[greenday-rulz21 6]

Hey guys,

Looking for one at the moment, mainly for multimedia (Videos, music etc.). Would prefer one that powers straight off the usb port, but also want the most storage possible.

Just wondering what you guy tech guys use, and what you recommend.

Thanks in advance.

Nick

[OLLIE 26]

Hey guys,

Looking for one at the moment, mainly for multimedia (Videos, music etc.). Would prefer one that powers straight off the usb port, but also want the most storage possible.

Just wondering what you guy tech guys use, and what you recommend.

Thanks in advance.

Nick

most storage possible = a 3.5" drive which needs to be self powered, buy yourself a hard drive enclosure and then buy yourself a HDD seperately, I've found that Seagate Barracudas seem to be pretty good. With hard drives you can get bad batches and there is nothing you can do about it except cross your fingers that yours is fine!

Alternatively you can buy a 2.5" drive (a notebook drive) and same story - get a case for it. They are more expensive and i think the biggest you can get realistically is 160 GB.

set yourself a budget and go to www.pricespy.co.nz to find the best prices.

a suggestion is to buy the case and the drive seperately, if your drive stuffs up some wankers will see that it was used as a portable and say that you dropped it, if you buy them seperately there is not that suspicion.

[Guest Ken]

Alternatively you can buy a 2.5" drive (a notebook drive) and same story - get a case for it. They are more expensive and i think the biggest you can get realistically is 160 GB.

Go for the 7200 rpm ones if you can.

[greenday-rulz21 6]

Thanks Ollie for that info. I'll try to do that now, whats needed apart from obviously the hard drive and encloure? The cables, which you could probably get a dick smith. Anything else?

And thanks ken, i've got my eye on a 7200 rpm one.

[Guest Ken]

Thanks Ollie for that info. I'll try to do that now, whats needed apart from obviously the hard drive and encloure? The cables, which you could probably get a dick smith. Anything else?

And thanks ken, i've got my eye on a 7200 rpm one.

No probs. The only other thing I've encountered is that the drive won't engage/start-up if you use a USB cable extension. I make a point of using a single-short USB cable now.

HTH

[Andrew 30]

I generally use the new Seagate drives - 750 GB. The 1 TB ones should be out soon. Coolermaster enclosures work well.

I buy from ascent.co.nz

[Guest Ken]

I buy from ascent.co.nz

Me too - these guys are good.

[martyyn 2]

Me too - these guys are good.

+1, they are across the road from me too which is handy

Ive got a usb enclosure and a 100gb notebook drive, works brillantly straight from usb and small enough to carry around everywhere. Weve also just bought an iomega external drive from Ascent, was $289 for 500gb, plug into USB, plug into power and your done.

[greenday-rulz21 6]

I generally use the new Seagate drives - 750 GB. The 1 TB ones should be out soon. Coolermaster enclosures work well.

I buy from ascent.co.nz

Cheers Andrew, i'll be most likely going for a 400GB or the 750GB seagate barracuda as Ollie suggested and I was looking into the Coolermaster enclosures. The one i'm looking at is The x Master 350. Thanks for that website, it has it a bit cheaper and also a good range.

Edited July 19, 2007 by Nick021

[OLLIE 26]

Thanks Ollie for that info. I'll try to do that now, whats needed apart from obviously the hard drive and encloure? The cables, which you could probably get a dick smith. Anything else?

And thanks ken, i've got my eye on a 7200 rpm one.

cables come with the enclosures.

2.5" (small) enclosures come with a USB cable that has 2 connectors one for data and power and an extra one for extra power if you need it

[greenday-rulz21 6]

cables come with the enclosures.

2.5" (small) enclosures come with a USB cable that has 2 connectors one for data and power and an extra one for extra power if you need it

Cheers, found that out after I posted.

[my_e36 43]

Got hookups for Western Digital brand if needed.

Basically, almost all 2.5" drive are USB powered and all 3.5" drive need external power. If you are just streaming music/video off that, it shouldn't make a huge difference in what rpm you choose.

I agree with everyone here, just get a drive enclosure plus a drive spearately. Can get them easy enough from most computer shops. Dick Smith also sells them but cost a bit more.

[Carl 3]

Are you ascent users getting dealer prices? The prices listed on the website are more expensive than the ones I get from Dove??? Dove stocks Western Digital to, I like WD.

Dove has:

Western Digital WD7500K WD 750GB 7200RPM 16MB SATA2 DR278KS $369.00

Ascent has:

Caviar SE16 WD7500AAKS, 750GB, 7200rpm, 16384KB Cache, SATA-2 $393.12

E: Oh yeah, forgot to stick tongue out

Edited July 19, 2007 by Carl

[OLLIE 26]

doesn't really matter where you get it from. unless you are buying large quantities the amount you'll save will never cover the cost of the amount of time you pissed around trying to find the best price. I commend those who have chosen a dealer and stuck with them for their good service, most places offer an incremental discount if you buy lots of stuff from them.

[m_power 0]

I brought a NEXSTAR.3 case and a 120g samsung hard drive. Totaly it ended up costing $120 which i thought was pretty good.

[OLLIE 26]

I brought a NEXSTAR.3 case and a 120g samsung hard drive. Totaly it ended up costing $120 which i thought was pretty good.

yeah i've got a nexstar case, they good, i got it because it had firewire, which i don't really use. haha. but why buy a 120GB drive? i'd fill it up in a couple of days

[bravo 35]

I have a 2.5" drve in a case wih the 2 USB cables as described. Was about a year ago and is an 80GB drive and all up cost was around $250. Hasn't faulted so far. Fujitsu I think - its at work and I can't remember. Really nice Brushed Aluminium case with power switch and leds, and leather wallet to transprot it in.

[Silver Fox 43]

yeah i've got a nexstar case, they good, i got it because it had firewire, which i don't really use. haha. but why buy a 120GB drive? i'd fill it up in a couple of days

Not everyone downloads as much porn as you Ollie.

[m_power 0]

yeah i've got a nexstar case, they good, i got it because it had firewire, which i don't really use. haha. but why buy a 120GB drive? i'd fill it up in a couple of days

Cause its only for movies and pictures and swaping data with my friends...realy just a temporary storage center i like to call it. Have a 250g on my computer for more sh*t.

[nz320i 0]

the WD passport HD's are cool a 500gb is $250

[my_e36 43]

Are you ascent users getting dealer prices? The prices listed on the website are more expensive than the ones I get from Dove??? Dove stocks Western Digital to, I like WD.

Dove has:

Western Digital WD7500K WD 750GB 7200RPM 16MB SATA2 DR278KS $369.00

Ascent has:

Caviar SE16 WD7500AAKS, 750GB, 7200rpm, 16384KB Cache, SATA-2 $393.12

Don't think so, my cost is lower than both.

Bimmersport price for this model $359 incl GST and shipping.

[Carl 3]

What about an 8800GTS (320) price? I just bought one for 399 and will get another later on for SLI

[international 0]

I brought a NEXSTAR.3 case and a 120g samsung hard drive. Totaly it ended up costing $120 which i thought was pretty good.

Get Seaagte drives for their 5 year warranty...or Western Digital which is also 5 years...Hitachi however is only 3 years if I remember correctly...these are the only 3 brands that I would recommend...Samsung are cheap however seen many returned for refunds and repairs I would not advise Samsung HDDs as well as their optical drives...As for cases, I would recommend you to find something strong and something with a good feel to it...sure the cases range up in prices but quite often especially with the 2.5" cases the contact points are very badly soldered and often come loose so be aware of that...choosing a strong case is to protect your actual drive...you may also want to consider more connects rather than just USB...e-SATA seems to be quite a popular choice as its much faster than USB...of cause all these features will cost more so once again, its all dependent on your budget.

[international 0]

What about an 8800GTS (320) price? I just bought one for 399 and will get another later on for SLI

hahaha dont bother getting SLI as its so not value for money unless you were going to SLI a pair of 8800Ultra...$400 is alright but depends on the brand as some brands will offer pre-OCed version which cost slightly bit more as well as additional cooling therefore this all adds up to the ultimate price of the card...most importantly is if it was a custom PCB or Nvidia original PCB...

[greenday-rulz21 6]

Get Seaagte drives for their 5 year warranty...or Western Digital which is also 5 years...Hitachi however is only 3 years if I remember correctly...these are the only 3 brands that I would recommend...Samsung are cheap however seen many returned for refunds and repairs I would not advise Samsung HDDs as well as their optical drives...As for cases, I would recommend you to find something strong and something with a good feel to it...sure the cases range up in prices but quite often especially with the 2.5" cases the contact points are very badly soldered and often come loose so be aware of that...choosing a strong case is to protect your actual drive...you may also want to consider more connects rather than just USB...e-SATA seems to be quite a popular choice as its much faster than USB...of cause all these features will cost more so once again, its all dependent on your budget.

Cheers mate, Bought a cooler master one(X Craft 350), with eSata as well and normal USB. Nice strong case and is definitely quality, I would recommend it. Got a Seagate 400GB on its way with a 5 year warranty, so all up it should be a great package. Thanks to everyone on their input, opinions taken into account.