Reccomend a 2.5 Internal Hard Drive + Enclosure

*edit: I don't mind a good external hard drive that's cheap if its more practical than an Internal + Enclosure.

I'll be receiving my Gateway FX P7805u anyday now and wanted to make sure that I have a reliable external hard drive to backup and store info. Please keep in mind that I would like to keep the total under $100, but I'm open to save up if the need be. I don't need the highest tech stuff. I think build quality, practicality and reliability are the most important.

Internal Hard Drive: $80 or less w/ Free/Cheap Shipping
2.5" SATA, 320-500+ GB, Good warranty, Reliable, 5400 RPM(for battery & heat), a fall sensor is a plus.

External Enclosure: $20 or less w/ Free/Cheap Shipping
2.5" SATA, Solid Construction(Aluminum or durable plastic), USB 2.0 and/or ESATA(I would like ESATA, but it not completely necessary if it raises the price too much).

I think that is about all. Please feel free to comment, question and suggest .

Thank you
~Daniel

 

Samsung Spinpoint 320JI für 320GB@5400rpm
WD Blue 500 for 500GB@5400rpm

I dont know the case, i would have a a look at cheap ESATA enclosures, maybe ask amazon, bestbuy and so on-

 

You can get a good external (seagate freeagent or WD passport) for the same, or less than a good internal and a decent enclosure.

A good internal is now about 50€-70€ ($60-$80) and the enclosure costs another 20€ ($30) and the same capacity as an external cost about €70 ($80).

 

WD scorpio blue + Vantec enclosure

 

Pretty much any hdd you can find for cheap price.

As for case, I recommend these
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11704
Esata + USB + optional DC power input for ESATA (not required i think, can be powered through usb while using esata). $18.75 shipped to anywhere around the world

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11049
same as above, but different style. $15.63 shipped to anywhere around the world

 

Thanks for all the quick and helpful replies.

As of right now, I am strongly considering:

Internal Hard Drives:
Hitachi Travelstar 7K320 320GB I do realize it is 7200 rpm, but from what I've read it seems to suit my needs well... and is more affordable than most other hard drives.

External Enclosures:
Vantec NexStar3 Aluminum

When I receive my laptop, I'm planning on using the newly purchased HD as my primary, and put the stock HD in the laptop in the enclosure to use as my external HD. Any thoughts on that?

 

That's what most people do. Not a bad idea and you can usually find the hitachi for a great price.

 

I'm upgrading my 7K320 to a 5K500.B because it's almost as fast and uses quite a bit less power. That's what I'd say you should get.

 

Thanks goofball.

That definitely sounds more practical. $20 more but for 140GB its well worth it. I think my mind is made up then.

Thank you all again for your help

 

I recommend a Western Digital 500GB 5,400GB 2.5" hard drive for your needs. It offers a good balance between performance, capacity, and price.

Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000BEVT 500GB 5,400 RPM 8MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s

Nope! That's exactly what I did when I replaced my hard drive in my notebook. =)

 

My only problem is that the WD is $109 on Tigerdirect, a bit expensive for my tastes. I'm trying to purchase a Zalman NC2000, Internal Harddrive and External Enclosure all from Tigerdirect to save on shipping and hopefully get them all around the same time.

I think the "BIG" question is deciding between the Hitachi 5K500.B and the WD Blue 5000BEVT.

 

If you clicked on the link in my last post, it would have taken you to Newegg which is selling that same WD hard drive for $99.99 with free shipping...

 

You are absolutely right, sorry my mind is a bit mixed up right now. I'm impatiently waiting for the laptop that should be arriving any minute now .

+1 rep garetjax, once I am able to again

 

If your going with USB go with the Scorpio blue, If your going with eSATA go with the Scorpio Black unless you value capacity more.

Scorpio blue is currently the lowest power consuming drive in the market. Rated at 2.6w at load IIRC.

 

Hitachi have moved the goalposts with the 5K500.B. See this and this, for example.

John

 

I see, thanks for that update John.

Thats an improvement cause it was Hitachi's that consumed a lot of power in the past.