External HDD comparison

What are your top rated external HDDs(2.5 and 3.5)?

For 2.5, the issues are heat dissipation, and shock protection.

For this, I'm considering the following two:
Iomega ego http://www.amazon.com/Iomega-BlackBelt-Portable-Drive-SuperSpeed/dp/B0041RSHY4
I believe this has an alu casing. The drop guard is nice:
download.iomega.com/resources/whitepapers/hd-drop-guard.pdf
but it does increase the drive size a bit.
(Anyone know what brand drives they have inside?)

The second option is the Toshiba store alu2 drive
Toshiba PX1710E-1HJ0 StorE Alu2 2.5 Inch 1TB External Black Hard Drive: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

It is slimmer, and alum casing, but no info on shock protection

 

My top rated externals are DIY solutions, but that's kinda out of the question with current HDD prices. I'd go for a 2.5" if you need portability, look for aluminum casing and some sort of rubber feet so it isn't doesn't slip on the desk.

 

Drop guards are irrelevant imo. Shock protection shouldn't matter if you keep the drive safe while plugged in. Unplugged, the heads park. Frankly, that's why I use a 3ft cable - if it slips off the edge of the desk, it still can't hit the floor at full speed.

Paying $ for 1TB in a 2.5" drive scares me a little. 2.5 drives tend to fail faster, not because they're built less solidly, but because they get moved around too much and they rely on usb power. If it were me, I'd go for two smaller drives with one as dedicated backup, but of those two, get the one without the huge rubber scratch protector.

*edit*

personally, i use $6 enclosures from microcenter that have zero protection and have yet to have a drive fail.

 

I've been using inexpensive enclosures as well and drives have yet to fail. I simply mentioned something like small rubber feet for the sake of peace of mind. With my laptops, it doesn't matter, but with the desktop, the tower is near floor level and with a short cable, the drive has to be on the edge of the desk. a powered USB hub would solve this though.

 

The only real differences between 2.5" external drives are the aesthetics and interfaces they use.

 

Why would relying on usb power make them fail faster?

 

Depending on the layout of the internal hub, it's possible to overdraw power and create issues. Y-cable powered drives are usually okay, but single power drives can stop and start in the middle of an operation if, say, you decide to power on your usb-powered notebook cooler, plug in another single-cable drive, or suddenly plug in and start charging your phone. I've done all of these and caused occasional bad sectors and I think (this is my own theory) ended up driving the MFT to a slow death that ultimately required a complete reformat to repair.

 

Interesting. Thanks

 

DexterMorgan, That Iomega looks awesome, there is a decent review here, maybe by emailing the author you could find out the brand of drive inside. Iomega eGo 1TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive Review - TechSpot Reviews

BTW are you a fan of Criminial Minds also?