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    External HDD recommendations?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by webdtc, Sep 11, 2008.

  1. webdtc

    webdtc Notebook Deity

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    I'm looking to buy an external harddrive. I have a 60GB Seagate now and it's been doing well for the 2-3 years I've had it. At that time it was pretty easy to find a good external HDD.

    Now I have no idea which one is good. There seems to be so many of them. I want a portable HDD that can run off a USB and doesn't need a separate power source.

    I'd use it for storing backup files and virtual OSes.

    Which external HDD is good these days?
     
    webdtc, Sep 11, 2008
    #1
  2. Tony

    Tony Nissan ftw!

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    Check out the Western Digital ones
    they make really good hard drive

    I personally have the Western Digital My Book
    its a very fast drive, and its working great!

    P.S. The 750GB one is having a sale on newegg right now and it costs less than the 500GB one

    Oops... Sorry I missed the you don't want one that needs an AC adapter part...
    what about this one, it's a WD My Passport Essential 160GB, this one doesn't need an AC adapter
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136229
     
    Tony, Sep 11, 2008
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  3. rasenganx

    rasenganx Notebook Guru

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    I would recommend WD My Passport Essentials. They're great. I have a 160GB one and I love it. It's small and light. I know that the 320GB Cherry Red one is on sale right now and using a 25% off coupon you can get it down to like 97 dollars.

    here's the link
    http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=454
    and the coupon
    STUBTS
     
    rasenganx, Sep 11, 2008
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  4. dseo80

    dseo80 Notebook Consultant

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    2.5" or 3.5" ?
    After some research it looks like the 3.5" seagate externals are pretty bad so watch out for those.
    for 2.5" my favorite was the hitachi or iomega, they seemed pretty reliable and slick. for 3.5" WD as mentioned earlier offered the best bang for your buck an it was mentioned you could effectively increase the warranty period since OEM warranty was 3 yrs on drives. (take it out of the mybook).

    Overall though try and get something with a discount going on. The best bet is going for a 500GB-750GB 3.5" now, or a 160-250GB 2.5" now. from what ive heard about some advances going on in HDDs the densities of both 2.5" and 3.5" should increase by late this year or early next year.

    Another option ofcourse is to buy a case and fit it with an drive. However this option did not seem to give much more cost benefit.
     
    dseo80, Sep 11, 2008
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  5. webdtc

    webdtc Notebook Deity

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    Thanks for the recommendations. That really helps. I'm a lot more clear on what to look for now :)
     
    webdtc, Sep 11, 2008
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