External hard drive advice?

Hello all,

First off, dont know if this is the right place to post but I am in the market for an external hard drive.

Looking for USB 3.0 750gb-1.5TB
Would be great if doesn't need an external power supplier, Dont know if that is a possibility.... Very new to external hard drives but I need to pick one up

I have been searching but there are so many... hard to decide so looking for any recommendations and advice.

Less than 250$

 

If you want without external power, you're looking at a 2.5" external, this is the largest one i could find: Newegg.com - Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 1.5TB USB 3.0 Ultra-Portable Hard Drive (Black). I'm a fan of aluminum, the only USB 3.0 one i could find on newegg is this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822154540 and lacie while making good stuff is overpriced.

Also, moved to accessories, hardware isn't a bad place to ask, but accessories is better suited for external drives questions and hardware for internal.

 

Thanks for the reply and moving thread, wasn't sure of best place

Are external hard drives with external power faster data transfer rate or just allow for larger drives to run? Plugging one in is not an issue, just figured if it wasn't necessary and a portable one would run just as good, why bother. But these are new research for me and having hard time trying to compare different ones

 

3.5" drives require the extra power to run, that is all. On the other hand, that opens up larger capacity drives options like 3TB.

 

External hard drive enclosure up to 750 or 1 tb for 2.5" hdd

12 dollars for 750 gb

24 dollars for 1 tb

34.22 dollars for 2 tb (for 3.5" hdd)

HDMI Cable, Home Theater Accessories, HDMI Products, Cables, Adapters, Video/Audio Switch, Networking, USB, Firewire, Printer Toner, and more!

Pick any hard drive from Newegg for example, they usually have sales

I have the 1 tb hard drive for my samsung 2.5" (12.5 mm), it is completely aluminum and I have no problems with it

 

The enclosure has nothing to do with hard drive capacity, so don't worry about that. They just list the highest capacity drives when the external enclosure was first produced.

 

That is good to know

also

http://forum.notebookreview.com/notebook-tech-bargains/646013-newegg-digital-storage-sales.html

 

Thanks for sales link, I'll be ordering parts for my new drive tonight.

 

The DIY is my preferred solution since you can choose a decent aluminum enclosure, but some people don't like having to deal with putting everything together even though it takes less than 10 minutes.

 

I agree with Tijo the DIY method is better. I will just post what I posted in another thread.

I recommend the Thermaltake MAX5G/MAX5.

Thermaltake MAX5G USB 3.0
Thermaltake MAX5 USB2.0/ESATA

I have the ESATA/USB2.0 version and it is awesome. Temps on the HDD never get higher than 29.0'c ever, and the fans are completely silent.

Features:
Power on and off switch.
Light on and off switch.
USB 3.0. (MAX5G), USB 2.0/ESATA(MAX5)
SATA 3/2/1 Compatible.
collapsible foot for stability when in use and easy packing for travel.
Extremely Silent.(especially with the green 5900RPM seagate drive.)
Low Vibration due to the user placeable foam spacers that they include to cushion the HDD.
Rubber Grips on the bottom for stability.

This is the HDD I got, but you can get whatever one you would like.

Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch 5,900RPM



EDIT: Here is a CDM Benchmark with the MAX5 plugged in via ESATA and using the 5900RPM drive.

Spoiler

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

TO assemble:

With the MAX5G, The back comes off with a couple of square shaped screws, and the screwdriver to remove them is included. There are two clips that lock into the screw holes on the HDD. one of these slides the other is fixed. You put the drive in place, the Foam spacers where you would like them, then you push the drive into place and lock the stationary clip into place. Put the back cover on and done. 5 min process, and there are very good instructions that come with the enclosure.

 

I used to go the DIY route, but now I think it is cheaper to just buy it as one. Of course you don't know for sure the exact drive you are getting if that matters to you, and opening the cases can be quite difficult, but those are both things that rarely matter.

 

With the current HDD prices, it might very well be cheaper to just buy a pre-made one if performance isn't a primary concern.