External HD

I am now trying to decide on a nice external hard drive enclosure and hard drive to complement my new computer (Fujitsu n3511, which I'm waiting to receive). I would like at least 300gb and (obviously) as cheap a price as possible, however, I want quality as well.

For the hard drive I am thinking of going with a Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 retail. This comes with a 5 year warranty and is said to be fast and reliable. Should I go with the retail model or an OEM? I've heard there are lots of problems with OEM's so a retail would be better. Is this true? Any other brands that will do the job well for less money?

As far as enclosures go, I would like it to keep the drive cool and quiet. I also want it to be fast, fast enough to watch movies and listen to music directly from the external drive. Do I need USB 2.0 + IEEE 1394 or will USB 2.0 do the job? I don't need blistering speed, just enough to do things without ANY lag. So far I have looked at the Vantec Nexstar3 and AMS DS3 models. The AMS is quiet, has a fan, and I can get USB + firewire. Should I spend the extra $ for the AMS with firewire? If USB 2.0 is fine and I do not need firewire, will the Vantec with no fan be better than the AMS?

TIA

 

I have a Vantec NexStar 350u2 and so far its been fine.

It does get hot, but not scalding hot but very hot. And that was with only 30~50 minutes of use.

Any 7200rpm will do fine, unless you want a 10000rpm one. Most HD companies usually come with 5+ years of warranty anyways.

The fan is a good idea, but you have to really try it out if its quiet or not. And most of the tim HD's are noisy because of the loads.

 

So it sounds like the AMS may be the way to go. I read a review which claims the only noise that could be heard from teh enclosure was the hard drive itself, the fan was silent. This would also certainly keep the hd very cool. The review also says that the enclosure had no problems with media files, the USB 2.0 model was reviewed. http://www.extremeoverclocking.com/reviews/storage/Venus_DS3_Enclosure_1.html
Lastly, will the firewire really be worth it? I understand it is faster, but if USB will do the job I should have enough ports for everything I want and, on top of that, USB is cheaper.

Now after a little more research I found that OEM hard drives are the same just lacking manuals and packaging. Is this true? If so, is there anything with the packagin that I would need? If an OEM model is fine I don't see the point in paying for the retail model.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

I have USB and it's fine, unless you absolutely need that USB and dont want an external USB splitter thingy, then use the firewire.

OEM is fine, just make sure you have a warranty!