A cheap, decent external HD

[billiam0878]

Hi Everybody,

I'm interested in picking up an inexpensive, though reliable, FireWire hard drive ranging from 80-120 GB. Any recommendations?

Cheers,
Bill

 

[itsbetteronamac]

I just bought a 100gb Maxtor 3100(USB) @ Best Buy for $70, and so far it's working out great. I would have liked something else, and with firewire, but, I just could beat the price, and I had a gift card to best buy.

But, if you are looking for a deal, and something with firewire I would suggest going here http://www.lacie.com/products/clearance/products/?id=10007. You can get a 160gb firewire drive for like $99.

 

[SpaceMagic]

I love my LaCie drive. I would pay what i paid for it, again.. i think it's worth it.

 

[Will Cheyney]

Cheapness usually comes at the compromise of quality - something that isn't worth risking with something as important as data.
You can't go wrong with a LaCie d2 external (like mine). You pay a little bit more, but they really are fantastic.

 

[excalibur313]

What ever you do, make sure that it has firewire 400 or 800. I just got a usb2 external and it slowed down my entire computer because it drains so much cpu when in use. Firewire doesn't use the cpu to transfer information and it also can sustain data transfers much better. Just look at the performance difference: http://www.barefeats.com/usb2.html
The drivers for usb2 on os x seem to be subpar compared to a pc counterpart. As CanadaRam suggested to me, either buy a lacie d2 or make your own from a seagate barracuda hard drive and a macally case.

 

[maxterpiece]

you can find an enclosure on ebay for about $30 shipped, then you can get whatever hard drive you like. Putting the drive in the case takes about 5 minutes and only requires proficency in screwdriver usage. This is probably the cheapest way to go.

 

[CanadaRAM]

COnfirming other posts - go Firewire, go external case, add the IDE hard drive of your choice. This way you get the full 3 or 5 year warranty on the hard drive mechanism, instead of only one year,


> A cheap, decent external HD

BTW, I've heard of an ISP selling off the equipment from a former pr0n website operation -- the drives are cheap, but indecent...

 

[itsbetteronamac]

I say go with firewire too. I went with USB, because I only spent $40 and I am only 15. But, I will say I am happy with what I got.

 

[munckee]

Interesting. I had no idea that a USB drive pulled CPU power.

I'm planning to get a few external drives once I get my new computer. My original plan had been to get a USB hub to run multiple USB externals, but if that's going to take a bunch power from the computer then I'm not sure I want to do that. Is there a comparable means of running multiple firewire drives?