External HDD 5400RPM or 7200RPM?

I have a laptop on the way, but I went for the SSD. 160gb will probably be plenty for a long time, however, since I am moving to Russia (and will not want to buy pricier electronics there) and it is Christmas time I might as well get an external drive. My question is this.

The best so far looks like the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 500gb. It is tiny as possible, and with a full 7200rpm. However, here is my question, that surprisingly enough I could not answer with Google.

1- I do not really understand all the speed mumbo-jumbo, but I am wondering if the USB connection is going to bottleneck it to the point that 5400RPM and 7200RPM are going to be negligible.

2- Though it seems largely pointless, the idea with the GoFlex is you can buy these different cables. As far as I know all the DV6SE has are USB2.0 or eSata, would the $10 eSata cable for the HDD see a significant speed difference from the USB 2.0?

3- If by chance anyone has experience with this drive, what about the Auto-backup cable? I do not see why a specific cable would be necessary for that when it would be more software based... but...

I want high speed because I do a lot of graphic design and am unorganized and use about 3 or 4 different HDDS- so it is not uncommon to transfer large amounts of large files at a time .

If anyone has any recommendations I am all ears. However, I am looking very specific. Has to be 2.5" form factor (or at least no required external power- I already have one of those). Unless someone can convince me otherwise 7200rpm... which leaves two options on Newegg, what I listed, and a 750gb version.

If I knock down to 5400RPM looks like there is a Toshiba 1tb with great reviews... though I am not a big Toshiba fan. (And to be fair it looks like not many 2.5" drives get good reviews, relative to this one).

 

If you're connecting through USB 2.0 there's no need for 7200rpm.

eSATA and USB 3.0 would be different matters.

 

1) If you plan on installing and running applications on the drive, then definitely get the 7200rpm drive. If you are going to be storing media on these drives (music, videos, photos, etc), then 5400rpm / 7200rpm isn't going to matter. Obviously, 7200rpm is going to be slightly faster. But both 5400rpm and 7200rpm are going to be more than "fast enough" to store and retrieve media.

2) Yes, eSATA is significantly faster than USB. Over USB, you will be limited to about 30MBps (the max speed of USB 2.0). Over eSATA, you will be limited to about 60MBps - 80Mbps (the max speed of the hard drive).

The only drawback to eSATA is that it is less convenient than USB. USB can run power over a single cable. USB allows for longer cables than eSATA. And every computer has USB, while not every computer has eSATA. This may be important if you plan on connecting your drive to multiple computers. Of course, you could buy both cables - use eSATA on your laptop for the speed, and use USB when you connect to other computers for the convenience.

3) Don't know about this one. My guess is that it comes with some pre-loaded software on a small storage chip that automatically runs a backup when you connect the cable.


Recommendation: If you are running applications off of the USB drive, get then 7200rpm drive with eSATA. If all you will be doing is saving / loading media or files (but not running applications), then get whatever drive is a better deal.

 

Now I am torn. Some reviews complain about speed with the drive, so I am wondering, do I want a slow speed eSata 7200RPM Seagate, or a fast speed slow USB and 5400RPM Western Digital? lol

Seems these drives in particular have ratings all over the board (looks like Seagate is not the name it used to be).

 

Whatever they say, any drive using eSATA is going to be a lot faster than any using USB 2.0. USB 2.0 is slower than even the slower drive you are ever going to find. If you really want speed though you should look at a 3.5" external with eSATA. The 3.5" drives are a lot faster than 2.5" drives. There are some now with up to 140MB/s sustained transfer speeds. But if you really need something that you can just put in your pocket, any 2.5" drive with eSATA will probably be good enough.

 

what about eSataP + velociraptor if you want speed and size ? A bit more expensive though.

 

Speed is not the most important part of an external USB drive. In fact, if all you are doing is storing files and media (music, photos, videos, etc), then speed is probably the LEAST important factor.

Maybe it would be easier if you could give us a list of the different hard drive(s) you are considering, so that we know the options you are considering when it comes to price.

 

Really all I have looked at for the most part is this Seagate GoFlex.

What I need is 2.5" form factor, no AC adapter. 500gb minimum storage, 750gb better, 1tb best. Speed is going to be important because of my work I frequently transfer large amounts of very large files. I know speed is not always a night-and-day thing, particularly with HDDs, but it is still something I would really like to take advantage of.

I have to say, what makes the Seagate so attractive is the eSata option. The ability to switch back and forth between eSata and USB does not seem that common, but will be very valuable.

 

With eSATA you need some form of secondary power, like an AC adapter. With USB 2.0 all discussion of speed is moot because it is capped so low. So if you go USB 2.0 it does not matter what drive you get, whether it is a 15k rpm or 5400 rpm drive, because it is all going to be capped so low. USB 2.0 is not an issue with my use of external drives, but if speed is a requirement, do not even consider USB 2.0.

You are going to have to make some choices and compromise. There is no getting around it.

 

Except the Seagate it seems . The eSata cable appears to be a combo USB cable (and my laptop on the way is eSata/USB combo port) which means it can draw power for the eSata.

Speed is however just a comfort, not necessary. But, it seems the Seagate does not cost much more money for similar space, while providing the large speed boost.

The Seagate 750gb, 7200RPM is $112, add eSata cable for $15 and I get a speedy little machine for under $130 (Amazon).

Otherwise, take a Toshiba (which I do not like, but to be fair has the best reviews on NewEgg) 5400RPM USB 2.0 750gb for $110 (NewEgg).

My only concern with the Seagate is the wide range of reviews. On the larger drives (granted 5400RPM model) some people reported going through as many as 5 of them! Then I head over to Amazon and the reviews just rave how great it is...

Maybe I should just put the sweater higher up on my list, good wool is not cheap .

 

If you like the GoFlex for the eSATA + USB capability, then get it.

You won't really find much of a difference between drives now that you've already decided the capacity and the USB/eSATA connectivity.

 

i suggest Western Digital My Book.. its very fast with e-SATA and only thing i was limited was by my notebook's drive.. its worked perfetly for 1.3 years so really no complains for me.. all i have heard with seagate is horror stories but my advice is get what is cheaper....