Looking for a really good External HD with eSata connectivity

Hi all,

I'm going to be receiving my high performance multimedia/gaming laptop in October and I was looking to buy a really good external HDD for it, mainly to store High Def movies on that have been converted into .mkv files (I'm told that .mkv is the best format to convert your films into to conserve space and preserve their quality). The laptop I'm getting has eSata and HDMI connections.
Unfortunately, I can't afford this external storage right now: http://www.amazon.co.uk/DVICO-M-700...6?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1222637046&sr=1-6 ... so I was wondering if anybody could recommend a portable drive for me based on the following criteria I'd like:


* 1TB storage 7200rpm HD (with a decent cache size)

* Ability to connect via eSata and USB 2.0

* Doesn't need to run off a power lead all the time

* Can store and play .mkv files (does it need an .mkv decoder/codec to play these? If so, does this decoder have to be installed on the laptop or the External drive?)

* Portable! (Do they make them small enough and light enough to fit in a carry case with your laptop?


I really want a drive that can play .mkv files without any trouble, but so far I have only found TViX products that can do this (they seem to play ever file format under the sun). I'm not sure I can get away with an External HD that doesn't run off a power lead if I plan to connect via eSata (which I do). I will be using the USB connection only if I am in a situation where I don't have a plug socket free, so does this mean that whenever the unit is connected via USB it won't require the power lead? I'm not that knowledgeable on brands of external HD's or external drives in general, so I await any recommendations with anticipation...


Also... is there such thing as a 1TB Dvico TViX External drive that has an eSata connection option? I can't find any in the range that has eSata.

And what is the best option out of a 2.5" and 3.5" external drive? I've been told to go with a 3.5" but can't remember the reasons why I should!!

 

500 Quid for a HDD.

Anyway, if you're looking at portability, power through USB, you'll need to consider a 2.5" external HDD. (0.5TB is the limit)

If a 3.5", you can get a 1TB, but not the best at portability, and the portable ones will be expensive, esp those that come with eSATA. And you can't power a 3.5" drive via USB.

A cheaper option would be to buy a good enclosure, and a good 2.5" HDD (500GB), assemble it yourself and use that by powering it via USB and data transfer via eSATA.

And I think the .mkv codecs need to be installed in the notebook.

UK ?

 

LOL. Yeah, 500 quid for a HDD! But it's a TViX and will do EVERYTHING!

Hmmm. Not sure how many HD movies I could get on a 0.5TB. About 60 - 80 hours worth?

Just wondering if streaming movies a lot faster/better when done via eSata connection? Or do you only really use eSata for data transfer?


And, yes... I'm in the UK.

 

Oh, I am afraid I can't really recommend any product. But I remember seeing a Plextor 500GB 5400RPM 2.5 HDD w/eSATA and USB 2.0 at LambdaTek for about £140.

I believe streaming will be better via eSATA, as the drive performace is not bottlenecked by the interface's bandwidth.

Best would be to get a 2.5" enclosure with eSATA and USB 2.0 support, a 500GB Samsung HDD, and assemble if yourself.
You could later upgrade the Samsung to the soon-to-be-released WD 500GB drive or the Seagate 7200.4....

For a 3.5", you could checkout the WDH1CS10000N (1TB, eSATA/Firewire/USB), but it is bulky, under £150, and runs on AC.

You can also checkout the drives available from Buffalo and Seagate.

 

If only this had eSata: http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/67916...ential-Portable-Hard-Drive-Black/Product.html

 

Yeah, that's preorder. So, I believe it'll have the new WD5000BEVT, 500GB 5400RPM HDD, which should perform as well as the current 320GB 7200RPM HDDs, but will have lower access/seek times.

AFAIK, the Passports don't come with eSATA support.

 

For 500 quid u could get 5TB of storage in the US lol. No point in getting a 7200 RPM laptop hard drive for storage and cache size makes no difference. The specs you require are impossible at this time, so you need to compromise.

If you need more than 500GB, your only option is 3.5" hard drive and this requires power separately (not just USB). Cheaper to make yourself one - I'm using a Nexstar and it's good and fairly small, plus it has eSATA.

If you prefer portability, then go 2.5" 500GB (get 2? pricier than the above solution but more portable). Lacie is one of the few companies that has eSATA with their 2.5" storage solutions (uses Samsung 9.5mm standard 500GB 5400 RPM drive). But all eSATA drives require power since eSATA isn't powered.

 

I can't seem to find any 3.5" fast 1TB External drives that offer HD 1080p, eSata connectivity, and the ability to playback .mkv files (I understand that I will need some kind of codec/decoder installed on my laptop if I want to play .mkv files through my laptop?)

 

.mkv file playback has nothing to do with the external drive at all. Just install the codec on your notebook.

500 pounds is insanely expensive for a 1TB external; you can get 3.5inch 1TB drives for around $130 these days (so what, 2 pounds, with the current exchange rate XD) and between $30-70 for a usb/esata enclosure - most of which support up to 750GB only right now.

As for the HD playback... er, you're going to be passing that through your notebook anyway no? You don't really need the external to have HDMI out; just use your notebook's.

By the way, this is my favorite external enclosure brand: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817332012 (AMS Venus, aluminum + fan - if fan ever makes a noise, take it apart and grease it with WD40 spray, etc). I've had multiple enclosures, and that's the only one that has lasted 3+ years very reliably, runs very cool, and has a good chipset in it.