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    Looking for an external HDD

    Discussion in 'Accessories' started by TheCracker, Dec 4, 2012.

  1. TheCracker

    TheCracker Notebook Guru

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    It should be small, sturdy, good-looking
    I don't need much space (500 or 750GB is plenty), it just needs to be fast

    Thank you in advance :)
     
    TheCracker, Dec 4, 2012
    #1
  2. tijo

    tijo Sacred Blame

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    If you want sturdy, look for aluminum enclosures. A HDD is still a HDD though and won't take shocks well no matter what enclosure you use. If you want stylish, you can look at what Lacie offers, their drives are usually more expensive though. The other approach is buy the drive and an enclosure separately. All my portable drives are older HDDs that i put in enclosures either from Vantec or Mukii.

    you will also need to define fast, a USB 2.0 external won't be fast siply ebcause USB2.0 transfer speeds cap at ~30-40MB/s. USB 3.0 is faster, but you will still cap at ~100MB/s in the best case scenario (it will be slower when transferring a lot of small files). If you want faster than that, you will need to use an external SSD and that is just way too expensive.
     
    tijo, Dec 4, 2012
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  3. TheCracker

    TheCracker Notebook Guru

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    Yeah, USB 3.0 is good enough for me
    With sturdy I mean it doesn't break when I breathe at it :eek:
    I am not planning to drop it anywhere or anything like that :)

    Do you have any recommendations I could look at? :)
     
    TheCracker, Dec 5, 2012
    #3
  4. JOSEA

    JOSEA NONE

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    JOSEA, Dec 5, 2012
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  5. TheCracker

    TheCracker Notebook Guru

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    Is making your own HDD with an external enclosure really better than just buying an external HDD?
     
    TheCracker, Dec 5, 2012
    #5
  6. JOSEA

    JOSEA NONE

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    No not really, I only did it because I had a spare hard drive. But I am glad I did, if it fails I can just swap drive plus I am somewhat future proof with USB and esata connections.
    How much do you want to spend?
     
    JOSEA, Dec 5, 2012
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  7. TheCracker

    TheCracker Notebook Guru

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    Up to 80-100$ I would say, the cheaper the better
     
    TheCracker, Dec 5, 2012
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  8. baii

    baii Sone

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    Just get w.e is on sale with major brand name, look at warranty years -> preferably 2 years or up.
     
    baii, Dec 5, 2012
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  9. TheCracker

    TheCracker Notebook Guru

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    What's a major brand name in external HDDs besides Seagate and WD?
     
    TheCracker, Dec 5, 2012
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  10. baii

    baii Sone

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    Toshiba, HGST, Lacie
     
    baii, Dec 5, 2012
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  11. tijo

    tijo Sacred Blame

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    tijo, Dec 5, 2012
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  12. J.Dre

    J.Dre Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    I'm actually in the market for an external HDD as well. I've been looking at the ADATA DashDrive Elite - it's very stylish, it is USB 3.0, it's also made with stainless steel and it's only 9mm thick.
     
    J.Dre, Dec 5, 2012
    #12
  13. tijo

    tijo Sacred Blame

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    Nice, although steel will add to the weight, metal > plastic. That way if you end up having to abuse the drive it won't heat to dangerous temps.
     
    tijo, Dec 5, 2012
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  14. TheCracker

    TheCracker Notebook Guru

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    TheCracker, Jan 3, 2013
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  15. aks007

    aks007 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I would say LaCie and WD are the best and reliable brands. It's fast even on USB2 but is insanely quickly if you purchase the USB3 versions.
     
    aks007, Jan 4, 2013
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  16. TheCracker

    TheCracker Notebook Guru

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    ? None of the links are LaCie or WD
    I kinda looked at the design because the previous posters said that they basically all external HDDs are good
     
    TheCracker, Jan 4, 2013
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  17. jaug1337

    jaug1337 de_dust2

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    Seagate is the one that stands out for me tbh :)
     
    jaug1337, Jan 7, 2013
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  18. kent1146

    kent1146 Notebook Prophet

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    No. The only advantage of a build-it-yourself enclosure + HDD is if you already own the HDD. Otherwise, you are better off buying a pre-built and pre-assembled device from a manufacturer like Western Digital.

    Build-it-yourself will cost the same as a pre-built device, so you do not get a cost advantage. In addition, build-it-yourself has the drawback of creating a more complex support / warranty / RMA scenario, since you will need to deal with two separate vendors. And depending on which brand of USB enclosure you buy, you may need to RMA that back to Taiwan / South Korea.

    I'd recommend just buying a Western Digital enclosure and be done with it. Fast, reliable drives, with great support. If anything goes wrong, just request an RMA with advance-ship replacement, and send the defective unit back to a US-based support address. That advance-ship feature alone is worth buying Western Digital brand.
     
    kent1146, Jan 7, 2013
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  19. TheCracker

    TheCracker Notebook Guru

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    Please take a look at my three links and tell me which one is the best and why, thank you :)
     
    TheCracker, Jan 7, 2013
    #19