2TB external hard drives

ive been having a hard time finding independent information about these devices. so many reviews out there these days seem to only exist after the company has paid for the favorable review.

you guys on the whole have been 100% more helpful in the past, but searching the threads, appears most EHH threads have been on small devices.

what brands should i be looking for in terms of a 1.5-2 TB EHH?

are these things available below $200. intending to keep it mainly on my desk at home, but maybe would want to take it to my girlfriends house now and then.

thoughts?

thanks for any help as always

 

Pretty much either Western Digital or Seagate. You can pick up a WD 2TB external for $90 on Amazon.

Amazon.com: Western Digital My Book Essential 2 TB USB 3.0/2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive: Electronics

or Seagate from B&H for $90

Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk External Drive USB STAC2000103 B&H

 

WD MyBook and Seagate Freeagents are the popular choices. Ive had great experiences with both.

You can easily pick them up for under $100.

If you want a USB powered external, you will be limited to about 1TB, because it uses notebook hard drives which dont have the same capacity as desktop hard drives.

 

thanks FF

can you elaborate on what 'USB powered' means in terms of the hard drive it used?

sorry, thanks

 

2TB external hard drives need an AC adapter to power it. 1TB portable hard drives are powered by your laptop's USB port.

 

Yeap as above,

External hard drives will either use a 3.5" desktop HD or a 2.5" notebook HD inside them. They are basically just Hard drives put into an external enclosure for portability.

Desktop HD's are usually faster and have more storage space, but its bigger and uses more power. Thats why it needs an AC adapter for power. eg. Seagate Freeagent Desk

Notebook HD's are a bit slower and have smaller space, but they are a lot slimmer and can run off a USB port. This means you only need to carry around a single USB cable and no need for an AC adapter. eg Seagate Freeagent Ultra portable.

If you plan to use it for backup and leave it in your desk most of the time, the first one is more ideal. But if you intend to take it around with you, a USB powered external is more convenient.

 

I currently have the WD MyBook 2TB USB3.0. It's a very nice drive to have...it seems like it's never empty at all, no matter how much I put stuff on it. The drive operates at very nice speeds too! It's not warm at all, and I normally have it plugged in the whole day, even weeks maybe.

(Only 113GB of 2TB left... )

 

I'm also looking for a 2TB external.

Out of curiosity, a "Desktop External" means that it will have its own AC adapter and requires to be plugged in, in order to function, correct? It wouldn't power up by just plugging it in a USB port?

Is that why "Desktop Externals" are generally 30%~ cheaper than non-Desktop Externals?

 

One uses a desktop hard drive 3.5" and one uses a laptop hard drive 2.5". The larger desktop drive uses more power and needs an external adapter. Laptop drives use less power so they can draw all their power from the USB port. Desktop drives are quite a bit cheaper and faster but are bulkier.

 

Gotcha. Thanks for the info. Desktop External HD it is then

 

question- if i have movies on an external hard drive, am i able to play them straight onto my TV? or do i need to hook it via my laptop using the TV as an external monitor?

thanks for all the answers so far!

 

Depends on what file formats your TV can support, and what file format your videos are in. My TV can play DivX/XviD avi's just fine but it doesnt support .MKV videos

But yes you can always hook up your laptop to the tv through VGA or HDMI.