Picking a new external hard drive..

I'm in downsizing mode. I'm jettisoning my old hard drive in favor of one of the newer, smaller and portable externals. I haven't been in the market for a hard drive in years so I'd appreciate anything info/help you guys can provide.

I'm looking for something cheap (sub $100) and super reliable.

I haven't settled on a size right now but I have three models in mind.


Seagate ST903203FGA2E1-RK FreeAgent Go 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive (Silver)

Toshiba 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive HDDR320E03X

Western Digital WDMES3200TN My Passport Essential 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive (Cool Silver)

Btw I was quite disappointed to discover that the Free Agents don't come with the dock.

 

Western Digital is my first pick. From what I have researched, the WD drives are better than many other alternatives. Hitachi would be my second choice. The passport series is a good choice, especially since you can get great deals on WD's outlet online shop. If you are going with 320GB or below, then stick with 2.5". If you decide to go with something more long term and larger, then a 3.5" drive is the ticket. Depending upon what you use it for, you may want to look into building your own with an esata compatible case. Good luck.

 

While you are at it, why not upgrade one of your internal hard disks to a faster 7200RPM disk and make your existing disk a portable hard drive with a suitable enclosure ? you get two upgrades with one shot .

 

western digital passport hard drives. you can buy the encryption if wanted as well

 

I wouldn't recommend the WD Essential. Mine just died a couple weeks ago.

 

I have 3 WD Passports and they have worked well for me. I also have a Simple Tech HD but it has a funny shape - it's very functional and versatile, though.

 

Personally I would go with the WD or the Seagates. They are styled very nicely and I have never had a Seagate or WD drive fail on me. No I'm serious. I have a 60GB Seagate drive (from I think 8 years ago) that's still running. Anyway, the trick with external drives is that you should never constantly leave them on. Back up your stuff and turn it off right after. If you're going to watch a movie, copy it to your computer and then watch it from there, don't watch directly from the external. The reason for this is because external drives usually don't have great airflow/cooling so prolonged use is very damaging.

PS: The 60GB drive from 8 years ago is an internal drive, but still.

 

WD Passport all the way.

 

Oh and if you are running Windows

ALWAYS use the Safely Remove Hardware function so it allows the reading head to go back to its resting spot.

 

Tossing my vote on this as well.... WD all the way. I have 2 320's and one 200 right now and they're just awesome. Picked them up from J&R.com for a good price, and you may want to check out the prices over at zipzoomfly

 

I have a 320GB WD passport that I have been using for about 7 monthes now and love it.

 

Thing is, when you ask which external hdd is the best one to get you're going to get mixed answers for every model. I own multiple external hdds from Maxtor, WD and Seagate and luckily have had no failures as of yet. My WD 500 gig fell out of a backpack I had with a faulty zipper ( it was 12 years old ) and flew apart when it hit the sidewalk. Part of the top of the casing shattered and the whole thing flew apart. I figured it was beat and was surprised to find that it still worked after I pieced it back together. In fact it still works perfectly fine now, almost 6 months later and I use it almost every day. Other people who bought the same drive had it die in a week or in a matter of months. Just go for whatever major name hdd with a good warranty and good price you can find. I suggest you always have 2 externals - one to use and one to keep on a shelf for security. Don't spend more on whatever's deemed to be the best drive as it's a waste of money. You'll end up having to replace all of them some day, and prices are dropping on external storage every month.

 

Seagate and Western Digital. both are about the same. pick the one you like.

i prefer the drive that is bundled with 2 "Y" usb cable (1 data+1 power). seagate use to offer them with the old freeagent go drive. but all of the drive is shipped with 1 usb (data+power) cable. with the option of purchasing the Y-cable as an accesories. so im split. if i was going to buy a portable external harddrive now, i pick the western digital studio.

so, seagate and western digital, they are both a good choice. usually...