Externar Hard Drive Recommendations....

[Joeytpg]

Sup guys. My Powerbook60 Gb Hard Drive is Almost Full (22 Gb left), i know i still got 20 gb but i bought the powerbook only 6 months ago. so, 40 gbs in 6 months means that it's probably gonna be full in about 2 - 3 months.

So i guess that maybe in Dec. Jen. i'll be able to find good deals on external hard drives.

Can anyone recommend me a GOOD SOLID QUALITY External H.D.?

i need:

1) 160 gb (i think that'll do it, unless i can find a good 200 + gb H.D. for a Cheap price)

2) Portable. I don't want an external H.D. that'll be HARD for me to move around with it for example , in case i need something that's stored in the External Drive. (I don't mean PORTABLE as an iPod for example. But something that won't tear my backback in half when i throw it in there.

3) GOOD QUALITY + Good price (good price i don't mean THE CHEAPEST PIECE OF CRAP AROUND, but i don't want something that's Absurdly expensive.)

Those are my needs, and this is the best place to ask around for recommendations and reviews.

Thanks for the help

 

[Blue Velvet]

Lacie Big Disk Extreme.
Solid build quality, FW 800 & 400.

The biz!

 

[Joeytpg]

Lacie Big Disk Extreme.
Solid build quality, FW 800 & 400.

The biz!

it's obviously TOO expensive. I don't really NEED 500 gb, and it looks kind of BIG doesn't it?

But thanks a lot Blue Velvet

 

[Blue Velvet]

it's obviously TOO expensive. I don't really NEED 500 gb, and it looks kind of BIG doesn't it?

But thanks a lot Blue Velvet

You can get smaller sizes.

It's built like a tank and god knows how much space you may end up needing.

Physically, it's about 7 x 10 x 2 inches.

Why buy something small only to replace it in 18 months time when you've outgrown it's capacity. It'll last you for ages...

Think Big!

Here's some info about the D2:
http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10025

 

[Joeytpg]

i know, if it was my choice i'd get a Terrabyte H.D. hehehe but my pocked doesn't allow me! heheh

 

[Ugg]

i know, if it was my choice i'd get a Terrabyte H.D. hehehe but my pocked doesn't allow me! heheh

I'm in the same boat. 500 gigs is too much for now although I know I'll need that much somewhere down the road. I think I'm going to get either a 160 or 200 gig LaCie Extreme. The triple interface makes them more expensive but potentially more useful. A friend has 2 120 gig LaCies for backup and his most valuable info is backed up twice so that if one drive fails and the computer fails he has another copy to fall back on. Very redundant but I guess it's a matter of how important your data is. Anyhoo, I think it makes more sense to do it that way and will probably buy another drive a year or so down the road.

LaCie seems to have the most favourable reputation and while they're not the cheapest they're not that expensive either. If you want a less expensive FW 400 drive, then the LaCie Porsche Design drives might be an option.

 

[rickvanr]

build you own

buy a firewire enclosure, throw a 3.5 inch HDD in it... ta-da

it will be cheaper then buying a pre-assembled one, and you have more choices in styles.

 

[russed]

i would also say go with the lacie d2. i have the 160gb version and its well good! it looks nice and has wow factor

 

[blackfox]

No-one ever seems to mention them, but I recommend a Fantom HD. They come in a nifty titanium enclosure and are fanless (and noiseless). Frankly, I do not know how they compare with competitors (like Lacie), but they are the only external drives I've ever owned (since a 75G in 2000) and I have no complaints.

FWIW

 

[Joeytpg]

build you own

buy a firewire enclosure, throw a 3.5 inch HDD in it... ta-da

it will be cheaper then buying a pre-assembled one, and you have more choices in styles.

...ok explain to me how to do it, and what do i need, and where can i get the things to build it.

 

[haiggy]

After looking at the LaCie site I think I've decided on getting an FA Porsche 250GB. It is pretty cheap, $189 US and approximately $222 Canadian. Less than $1 per GB. My iBook's 60 GB has about 8GB left, so I'm in more trouble than you. I've had it for about a year now.

 

[sockeatingdryer]

Externar Hard Drive?

Is that Engrish? LOL

I love to laugh... that was teh punny.

 

[intlplby]

if you go with a lacie big or bigger disk be aware that they are RAID 0 sets

with RAID 0 the information is striped to both drives, which is why you get transfer speeds around 80 mb/sec (110mb/sec empty, 65mb/sec full)

however one caveat, if either drive fails you lose all the information on both drives.

this is why the 1tb lacie bigger disk is as cheap as $819 (check out shopper.cnet.com or nextag.com) but a 800gb g-raid is $1200

the 1tb bigger disk uses 4x250gb drives.... the 800gb G-raid uses 2x400gb drives (i think i read that they are the new Hitachi 7k400 drives)

i know the g-raid uses a fan in their design and the lacies don't

i would be super wary about purchasing any compact RAID 0 set that does not have a fan, heat pipes or heatsink fins...... putting 2-4 drives in a sealed aluminum enclosure is sure to result in an early death for one of the drives, which means a loss of all the info on all of the drives...

personally i would get the 500gb G-Raid for $560, than get a 500gb Lacie Bigger Disk for $401... especially if you cannot afford to lose the information...

the G-raid has good ventilation and a fan to circulate the air

the other option is of cource to build your own raid 0 - buy a dual bridgeboard and use Zalman Heatpipe Heatsinks on the harddrive


if the information is really valuable you can always opt for the 2 lacie 500gb drives and pair them as a RAID 1 (mirroring) set

that way if either RAID 0 set dies you have an identical copy on the other.....

or you can just back stuff up to DVDs (in 50 packs they are as cheap as 25 cents a piece)


plus the G-Raid is prettier

http://www.barefeats.com/fire46.html

 

[rickvanr]

...ok explain to me how to do it, and what do i need, and where can i get the things to build it.

go to your local computer store... buy a firewire enclosure, and an internal HD.... place the HD in the enclosure, close it, plug it into your mac, viola

 

[Steven1621]

build you own

buy a firewire enclosure, throw a 3.5 inch HDD in it... ta-da

it will be cheaper then buying a pre-assembled one, and you have more choices in styles.

this is definitely the best approach. it is the most cost effective way by far.

go with either a vantec or macally enclosure and get the biggest seagate drive you can afford.

 

[maxplanar]

if you go with a lacie big or bigger disk be aware that they are RAID 0 sets

Does anyone know if it's possible to recreate the BigDisk 500 (2x250) so that's it's a RAID 1 250GB drive with nice and safe mirroring? There's two drives in there, it seems it should surely be possible?

 

[cepler]

If your budget will handle it and you don't mind a little smaller amount of space and don't need ultimate speed... Consider a 2.5" 9.5mm high drive and enclosure. The nice thing with these is you don't have a big power supply and enclosure to lug around, but only consider this option if you might take it with you. I have an 80 gig drive in my MacAlly (Nice little enclosures, small, strong, simple) enclosure and keep it with my laptop as needed. I keep most of my downloads on there as well as some backups. 2.5" drives are not as fast as 3.5" drives but if you're just storing photos, music, downloads etc on it, it shouldn't matter..Just thought I'd chime in there with another option.

Here are some enclosures:

Cheap $15 MacAlly USB 2 enclosure, very small:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817146605

2.5" FW400/USB2 enclosure (This is the one I use right now):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817146604

3.5" USB/FW800:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817146603

 

[alexstein]

i would also say go with the lacie d2. i have the 160gb version and its well good! it looks nice and has wow factor

I believe I have the same drive as well. D2 160GB (triple interface). ...and I just love it, it's well build and looks good.