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    Best external hard drives?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by larasatiyumiko, Jun 16, 2014.

  1. larasatiyumiko

    larasatiyumiko Newbie

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    Looking to purchase an external hard drive. hopefully one that is firewire 800 and 7200 rpm and also has one 2tb. i don't really want anything too expensive, hopefully around $150-$200? does anyone know which are the best hard drives?

    Mod note: Hidden SEO spam link removed. Member banned, post left to preserve integrity.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 26, 2015
  2. Marksman30k

    Marksman30k Notebook Deity

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    Why FireWire? Is it a legacy laptop? Because USB 3.0 is easier
     
  3. Starlight5

    Starlight5 Yes, I'm a cat. What else is there to say, really?

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    Buy the one which is SATA internally, not USB. They are more realible and you just replace the enclosure if their weakest spot, the USB controller, dies. If you insist on firewire, though, it will be more expensive and you will most likely end up buying a bare drive and firewire enclosure separately.
     
  4. snn47

    snn47 Notebook Consultant

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    2.5" or 3.5" ?

    My last 3.5 Fw 800 had an Oxford bridge-chipset with USB 2.0 and I don't know if newer chipssets exist, so you have to check for yourself whats available in chipsets/cases today.

    As far as reliabilty and performance of the HDD buy a HDD rated 24/7 [h/days]. Here are the ones available in Europe http://geizhals.at/eu/?cat=hde7s&xf...betrieb%7E3772_2.5%7E1080_SATA+6Gb%2Fs#xf_top Hard Disk Drives (HDD) mit Formfaktor: 2.5", Besonderheiten: geeignet für Dauerbetrieb Preisvergleich | Geizhals EU[/url] and here in english though the results are not always identical http://skinflint.co.uk/?cat=hde7s&x...080_SATA+6Gb%2Fs%7E3772_2.5%7E958_1000#xf_top . If the interface or connectors fail you'll still have the SATA port to safe data or buy a new case.

    @ Marksman30k
    I prefer Firewire over USB 2.0 and 3.0 and with the Thunderbolt port you can get a TB 2 Fw bridge for about 30$. If USB 3.1 really turns out to deliver what it promises I'll revise my preferences if needed but remembering how long USB 2.0 took to at least provide mediochre performance when compared to Fw well have to wait many years, if it works out as promised at all. By that tome TB bridge chipsmay be affordable or something different was provided to us by intel/][
    and here 3.5" http://geizhals.at/?cat=hde7s&xf=960_5~3772_3.5~1080_SATA+6Gb/s#xf_top

    Complete cases with drive(s) maybe cheaper but you'll curse yourself going cheap if you can't retrieve your data.