Question:
External HDD
I am looking for an external, portable storage solution for my notebook, i.e. an external HDD.
My notebook model is ASUS V6J, with the following (conceivably relevant) ports available: USB (of course), 1394, Express Card. No hot-swappable bay unfortunately so it's gotta be external...
My requirements:
- portable, i.e., 2.5inch
- at least 100GB in size, preferably more
- at most 150EUR (which in US considering tax differences would correspond roughly to under 150 USD)
- probably 5400 RPM, more isn't necessary; probably 8MB cache
- preferably black in color but that's not a topic for discussion here :)
Does anyone have any recommendations/insights? Interesting specifics would be:
Brand:
What are good brands? E.g., I see a lot of "freecom" 2.5 HDDs for sale on various hardware vendors, and it sounds pretty much like a noname to me. I suspect going for a Seagate or Western Digital is a better idea. I also saw Plextor's and Teac's. Are those the high-end (not much price premium by what I saw), given that optical drives manufactured by Plextor and Teac are usually mid-to-high end?
Connectivity:
- How to the USB and FireWire / 1394 connections compare (I believe both options are available with the latter being more expensive)?
- Any other interesting connectivity options for my V6J? I suppose there isn't such a thing as an Express slot hardrive...
Thanks in advance,
E.B.E.
Answer:
Re: External HDD
have a look on ebuyer.com. At the moment they are selling a Western Digital 250Gb external for less than £50 GBP
Answer:
Re: External HDD
Consider the Seagate FreeAgent external USB hard disk.
Answer:
Re: External HDD
You can always make one yourself which isn't very hard. Pick up an enclosure, from brands like Bytecc, Vantec, CoolerMaster, etc. and an OEM HD from WD, Seagate, etc. and do it yourself.
Answer:
Re: External HDD
Freecom use Samsung HDDs in their big external HDDs. I've got two of these for backups. However, I don't know what they use in their 2.5" HDDs. As far as I know, 2.5" HDDs are made by Hitachi, Seagate, Toshiba, Samsung, Fujitsu and Western Digital.
I have several 2.5" HDDs in external enclosures. I buy the enclosures separately and then when I put a bigger HDD into the computer, the old one goes into an enclosure.
USB 2.0 connection is the most common. FireWire is a bit more expensive but is potentially faster. Some enclosures have both connectors. I have measured sustained data transfer rates of about 20MB/s through USB 2.0. This doesn't sound fast but it is over 1GB/min.
The cheapest ready-assembled external 2.5" HDD is probably the Western Digital 120GB or 160GB.
I have linked to Komplett because these prices are good (much the same as the bare drive from other brands and I believe they are pan-European so you should see similar prices.
Why is that WD drive so cheap? Read Digit-Life's review. However, they should be fine for occasional use as backup storage.
John
Answer:
Re: External HDD
btw... i'm using slim external HDD from Trekstor.... they use samsung HDD too (at least thats what i get from them)... really nice casing. they normally come together with the cover too... which make it even better... for 120Gb the current price is about €84... you can check here at amazon.
But i'm using the 80Gb cause its been more than 1 1/2 years already since i bought mine...
Answer:
Re: External HDD
What I'd do if I were you is what I did: buy a new 160GB drive (or 200, or whatever), and an external caddy (I got one off of Newegg), and then swap the drives. Put your current drive in the external caddy, and put the bigger drive in your laptop. You have access to more space constantly on the laptop with no change in power usage, and still have 100GB removable for the extra space.
As for USB2 and Firewire, they're comparable in speeds. Firewire is a bit faster, and much faster if it's Firewire 800, but it's not worth worrying about. I get over 20Mbps transfer speeds over USB2, which is more than you'd need for almost any application. It'll push HD video over it, no problem.
Answer:
Re: External HDD
- How to the USB and FireWire / 1394 connections compare (I believe both options are available with the latter being more expensive)?
There are some 2.5" externals that required an external power source, and others that draw their power directly from the laptop. Firewire external hard drives usually require an external power source. Unfortunately, I'm not that familiar with UK dealers, but here's what I would recommend from an American store:
Answer:
Re: External HDD
Thank you all, you've been most helpful.
I think I will indeed go with the larger HDD + separate enclosure solution, but I won't switch the harddrives at first cause I'm too lazy to reinstall my OS and all the apps.
Thanks also for the heads-up on the external power connection for firewire, that would be uncomfortable so I won't go with that solution. And I'll pay attention to this when getting the enclosure.
Also, a 20MB/sec transfer rate seems good enough, I don't expect to do much more transfer-intensive activities than file copying / watching xvid movies out of the external HDD.
Answer:
Re: External HDD
I've got a nice little 120GB WD Passport II, which is very, very small; black; 5400 RPM, and runs off USB (no external power supply needed). I found a sale at best buy for 100 USD, so have a look out for it in big box stores that you may have in Europe.