Need an External HDD!

[Cjvdh]

I am looking for an external HDD I am not really looking to spend a whole lot of money considering I only need like 40-80GB tops! I checked my local bestbuy and walmart and the lowest GB's series ones that they have are like 250GB which is wayyyyy to much I don't need that much space I would not even fill a 1/4 of that. I am going to be using it for time machine back ups because I am just tired of losing all of my stuff music, pictures, documents, etc so I think a external HDD would be a mighty good investment for me to have. I don't want to spend anymore than 50 bucks tops!:ok:ok

Let me know what you guys think and where I can find one.

[Ramesh]

If name isn't an issue:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010150414%20131021346&name=20GB%20-%2080GB

[Ramesh]

another site:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=136

[TarekElsakka]

Wow, I wish they were that cheap here. $69 for a 250GB one!!! Now that's a DEAL.

[psylichon]

I'll just throw it out there: Get more space than you think you'll need. Then order it from Newegg. :)

[Napoleon_PhoneApart]

I'll just throw it out there: Get more space than you think you'll need. Then order it from Newegg. :)

Newegg rules. I plan on eventually getting a much larger hard drive and four gigs of RAM for my mini.

[coasts]

I'll just throw it out there: Get more space than you think you'll need. Then order it from Newegg. :)

so true...i bought a 500gb Time Capsule to run backups on about 80gb of music...it was full in no time. just added a 1T Lacie...

[patrickj]

so true...i bought a 500gb Time Capsule to run backups on about 80gb of music...it was full in no time. just added a 1T Lacie...

I bought a 320GB MyBook and recently added a 1TB. So yeah - totally agree with Dave's 'get more than you think you need' maxim. Also love the MyBook drives - take up so little space and look good too. :)

[Napoleon_PhoneApart]

With the falling prices of external drives, it only makes sense to buy more than you think you need.

[seanwes]

Any reason a 1TB internal SATA drive shouldn't work my new HP laptop? I'm thinking about going ahead and upgrading, and then installing Windows 7 on it when my disk comes in...

Or do they even make 2.5" 1TB drives yet? I haven't even checked.

[computerfox]

also try on ebay, personally i only use western digital's mostly because the cases look nicer and i think are more sturdy. to be honest there is no real difference in the externals because it's the same hard drives most of the time and the only thing that varies is the casing.

[acosmichippo]

Any reason a 1TB internal SATA drive shouldn't work my new HP laptop? I'm thinking about going ahead and upgrading, and then installing Windows 7 on it when my disk comes in...

Or do they even make 2.5" 1TB drives yet? I haven't even checked.

not that i've seen. i think they're still capped at 500GB.

[acosmichippo]

also try on ebay, personally i only use western digital's mostly because the cases look nicer and i think are more sturdy. to be honest there is no real difference in the externals because it's the same hard drives most of the time and the only thing that varies is the casing.

another thing to consider is the warranty on the drives. Seagates come with five year warranties. Western Digitals only one year.

i personally hate external drives. especially if they're USB.

[Europa]

What are the other options (for a MacBook)?

[acosmichippo]

no alternatives for a macbook. unless it's an older one with firewire.

If you're just using it for an automated Time Machine backup, it won't really matter since you're not actively trying to access the data... you're computer's doing the work, and Time Machine is pretty transparent. But if you have a large iTunes library, large photoshop files, or large files of any sort you need to use or edit often, external drives can get old really quickly. Not to mention the wires...

[psylichon]

Agreed... USB sucks for hard drives. Just plain annoying.

[KabaModern]

I need a 1TB drive, but I'm debating between an external or an internal. I think these two are my options.

Western Digital 1TB Elite External:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Western+Digital+-+My+Book+Elite+1TB+External+USB+2.0+Hard+Drive+-+Charcoal/9493112.p?id=1218113928931&skuId=9493112

Seagate 1TB Internal HD:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433 (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Seagate+-+1TB+Internal+Hard+Drive/8490625.p?id=1186003683968&skuId=8490625)

Decisions, decisions...

[juls1585]

i bought a cheap toshiba one like a year ago. loaded it up, and used it maybe 6 times for various different things and now it wont work at all. this thread is going to help me as well! now if i just could figure out how to get those files...

[acosmichippo]

I need a 1TB drive, but I'm debating between an external or an internal. I think these two are my options.

Western Digital 1TB Elite External:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Western+Digital+-+My+Book+Elite+1TB+External+USB+2.0+Hard+Drive+-+Charcoal/9493112.p?id=1218113928931&skuId=9493112

Seagate 1TB Internal HD:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433 (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Seagate+-+1TB+Internal+Hard+Drive/8490625.p?id=1186003683968&skuId=8490625)

Decisions, decisions...

seagate. Better drive and 5-year warranty.

[patrickj]

no alternatives for a macbook. unless it's an older one with firewire.

If you're just using it for an automated Time Machine backup, it won't really matter since you're not actively trying to access the data... you're computer's doing the work, and Time Machine is pretty transparent. But if you have a large iTunes library, large photoshop files, or large files of any sort you need to use or edit often, external drives can get old really quickly. Not to mention the wires...

Totally agree. I use my two for Time Machine plus manual backups of old family photos, website stuff etc. Nothing frequently accessed.

[computerfox]

Agreed... USB sucks for hard drives. Just plain annoying.

in a way that's true, but when there's nothing else and you need more storage, what else is there?

[Cjvdh]

Is does seem kind of pointless I guess for a USB external HDD to all of that money and then never really use it again but maybe once or twice down the road.

[computerfox]

Is does seem kind of pointless I guess for a USB external HDD to all of that money and then never really use it again but maybe once or twice down the road.

you could still get it though. no one said you should, just that it would suck since it's usb.

[KabaModern]

If you're looking for something portable and don't have Firewire, USB 2.0 is your only option (either that or you install a Firewire PCI card). Personally, I'm going to go with an internal SATA 1TB drive. And now that hippo informed me they have a 5-year warranty (which I now recall hearing before), they'll most likely be my choice, though WD does make great products.

[Cjvdh]

I am checking out some firewire external HDD's on newegg.com and I found some really cool one's that once I get some money will suite my needs perfectly. One quick question though, is firewire quicker than USB?

[acosmichippo]

For the most part, yes.

[acosmichippo]

If you're looking for something portable and don't have Firewire, USB 2.0 is your only option (either that or you install a Firewire PCI card). Personally, I'm going to go with an internal SATA 1TB drive. And now that hippo informed me they have a 5-year warranty (which I now recall hearing before), they'll most likely be my choice, though WD does make great products.

Actually, lately seagate drives have been outperforming western digital in throughput tests. Difference is marginal for most applications, but it's there. Better drives, better waranties.

[psylichon]

On paper, USB and Firewire 400 have similar throughput. In reality, USB requires a lot more CPU overhead (in most cases) and Firewire will dance circles around it. Firewire 800 is marginally better (though not twice as fast as you might think), and ESATA just rules.

[Londonrockz568]

Question... Is Time machine really worth it?

I dont have anything to backup my computers contents. Any alternatives for Timemachine?

[acosmichippo]

do you mean time machine or time capsule?

Time machine is worth it. It's a "set it and forget it" backup program. Time capsule is not, imo. Way too slow and expensive for essentially a router and wireless hard drive.

[Londonrockz568]

opps I mean Time Capsule.

My mac has time machine.

So Time Capsule isnt worth it... whats a good alternative that will work with Time machine.

[acosmichippo]

any hard drive will work.

[Londonrockz568]

Desk real estate is important...i dont want something huge the thinner the better. 1TB.

Whats eSATA Dave mentioned something about it. I have the latest Macbook Pro (the one with two gfx cards for 2grand)
Im looking around on newegg/tigerdirect and im a bit overwhelmed.

[acosmichippo]

eSATA is a different type of external data connection (and the fastest). Your computer needs to have an eSATA port in order to use it. The only way you can do that is if your mac has an expresscard slot (which most do not) to add an expansion card with eSATA ports.

like i said earlier, though, if you're just doing time machine backups, USB will do just fine. USB gets to be frustrating if you have to constantly edit large files (like movies) on the external drive. But Time Machine is completely automated, so as a user, you're never waiting on data to transfer unless you need to recover from a backup (which you should not have to do very often)

[Londonrockz568]

Ah ok.

Looking at this one for an External (i like it because it looks like a tiny MacPro.) lol.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822186166

All looks aside... Would i beable to buy a 500gb 2.5 harddrive and just put it inside an enclosure and use that as an external??

Other wise, Seagate products are looking very promising.

[acosmichippo]

Yeah, you can do that.

[Londonrockz568]

Yeah, you can do that.

Ok (srry for annoying you with all these questions i dont really know much about this)

What is a good transfer rate?
The Enclosure for a 2.5 is around 480mbps.
Seagate's 2.5 FreeAgent for Mac does 480mbps.

I also just read that Seagates 2.5 Free Agent does not support 64bit. Isnt SnowLeopard 64bit?

[acosmichippo]

Don't worry aboutthe transfer rates. USB is going to bottleneck the transfer anyway.

Also don't worry about 64bit compatibility.

[Londonrockz568]

Ok just curious... Can i use the Firewire? Is there really a difference from USB?

[acosmichippo]

I'd say use FireWire if you can. Does your mac have FireWire?

[Londonrockz568]

Yes the unibody has Firewire 800.


Im just looking to use the HD only as a daily backup of my Macbook Pro so it should be good.

In that case this would work since its cheaper than the 2.5" one and has double the space. Just that its only USB 2.0.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4183658&CatId=4230

[TarekElsakka]

I bought a 160GB Western Digital external today. Its size is amazing, but it's not 2.5.

It's this one http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=673 but the 160GB version.

It's pretty good. I formatted it as NTFS and installed NTFS-3G & MacFuse on my Mac OSX so I can read and write easily when I am using Macintosh.

[acosmichippo]

Looks like 2.5" to me.