Should I keep the Western Digital...

[reallybigafro]

For Christmas I recieved a Western Digital 80GB portable hard drive, to accompany my 12" ibook (which i purchased the day after thanks giving).

The WD:
- The size
- It is just USB 2.0/ no Firewire
+ It is portable
The Maxtor:
- It will cost me $80 additional dollars
+ The size
+ It is both USB 2.0 and Firewire

So I am wondering what you gus think, which one you would go for, and if you know anything about the reliability of the two drives? Thank you guys for any advice!

 

[Sweetfeld28]

If it was me, i would exchange it.

I just don't like the fact of carrying around a power supply with my External. If you ask me FireWire is the way to go.

Another thing, the drives i usually tend to buy are Hitachi Travelstar [used to be known as IBM Travelstar, until IBM sold that part of their business off], and Western Digital [Great Warrenty coverage, if you buy the non-OEM drives].

 

[reallybigafro]

Thank you Sweetfeld28 for the quick response!! I'm sorry; I should have noted that another positive about the Western Digital is that it is powered by the USB, so as long as my ibook is charged I won't have to worry about a power supple for the WD. To be honest I do have a slight nervous feeling about carrying such a gem around in my bag with me, but then again maybe I should be nervous as well to leave it in the dorm room. Or maybe I’m just paranoid.

 

[Artful Dodger]

Go with the FW as some day you may need to boot from it....or it does make the daisy chain easy with the FW, i.e. HD--DVD burner--Camcorder, you get the point

 

[Sweetfeld28]

forgot to mention what kind of drive i have...

I have a portable Firewire 2.5" enclosure which has a Hitachi/IBM Travelstar 60GB, 5400 rpm laptop drive in it. It also features the Oxford 911 chipset, which i think was one of the fast chipsets on the market when i bought it. I originally bought the drive from a website called Themacsmith.com

But they for some reason don't carry many things on their site anymore, since they became an Apple Certified Agent. But anyway, if you go to macsales.com you can find the same kind of enclosure. I like it because i can see through it, and because its light, as well as, fast.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/on-the-go/

 

[reallybigafro]

I have to apologize again because i failed to mention that the maxtor drive i'm looking at exchanging for at costco is not portable. it is a 300GB usb/firewire is is not portable. i'm going to try and blame this one on the noob ranking i have...that's still no excuse, so thank you guys for all the responses even though it has taken me 5 posts to get everything to you!!

So is 300GB and the loss of a portable drive worth $80. And how is Maxtor when you think of reliability compared to a company like Western Digital. Thanks again for all the responses guys.

 

[reallybigafro]

So.......on the way home from practice i decided to pick up the maxtor OneTouch II 300GB exernal. i haven't even opened it yet but i just wanted to thank you guys for your help and input.

Thanks again.

 

[Artful Dodger]

reallybigafro So.......on the way home from practice i decided to pick up the maxtor OneTouch II 300GB exernal. i haven't even opened it yet but i just wanted to thank you guys for your help and input.

Thanks again.

Nice choice...I really should get a backup but for now dvds will do Enjoy

 

[reallybigafro]

yeah i hear you about the dvd back up solution. You don't know how bad i am kicking myself for not getting a mac that has a built in dvd burner. I had trouble with the first external dvd burner i purchased and have shyed away from the idea ever since. But eventually, i mean once i save up some more money, i'll hopefully be purchasing a dvd burner!

 

[After G]

Is your Mac a portable or a desktop? If it's a desktop, I'd say replace the internal drive. Desktop DVD burners are around $40 or so. I wouldn't recommend an internal replacement if you have a laptop, as it's a pain taking it apart.

 

[reallybigafro]

Unfortunalty i don't have a make desktop yet, but that is in the plans somewhere down the road. Until then I am computing striclty from my ibook, and since it is a 12" I think i'm limited to just an external drive simply becuase of the size restrictions. Once a decent mac compatible, external, DVD Burner drops below the $100 mark i think i'll pick one up.

 

[Artful Dodger]

Try this as it may help you out:
http://www.lacie.com/products/clearance/products/?id=10008

I bought mine from LaCie since my iBook has the Combo Drive and not the SD, I also use it with my iMac even though it came with the SD.

 

[reallybigafro]

WOW!!!! Those are some pretty affordable burners. Do you think when it says 'includes PC and MAC software' do you think that is toast??

 

[Artful Dodger]

No it's Toast 6.0 Lite...but should do what you need to do. My friend uses the Lite ver. and does what he needs it to.
Now not that it's a bad thing but you won't need to use Patchburn with the LaCie either since they have their own drivers that work with all the iApps.
Just a thought but it would be close to your price range, no tax just shipping.