which is best usb hard disk for an hp laptop.

i am planning to buy a new usb hard disk of up to 500gb suggest which is the best one which will give me a fast performance.

 

They're all effectively the same as a USB 2.0 device. You're limited by the bandwidth of the USB 2.0 spec, not the drive itself. Not sure if we've actually got USB 3.0 externals available yet, but even then, your laptop doesn't support USB 3.0.

 

Just go with form factor. I'm a fan of the WD Passports myself.

They are going to all be limited by the USB interface.

 

If you have one HP with e-sata connector buy a disk enclosure(compatible with e-sata)+ 7200rpm Internal HDD and you don't loose any performance. It is supposed to be like an internal disk.

 

Laptop make is completely irrelevant here.

I got one this summer - 500GB one works well, I get about 22MB/s max out of my USB connection for arge files.

Would possibly work - question is, do you need this performance? And for small fies it'll be less noticeable I think as slow files write/read slower.

Maximum performance is achieved with large continuous files.

 

from what u tell i would definetly like to check out WD

well i am planning to use it to store my movies and videos collection and use it just like an internal hard disk so it is absolutely necessary to have a good performance.

i do have a e-sata connector port so i might just go for that disk enclosure u said

and thankx for all the replies

 

Well, I've run videos via a USB hub from an external drive - USB 2.0 is enough for that, its far less data than you expect.

Obviously for performance eSata would be better - and if you have the port I'd recommend you look into it.

 

eSATA might be the faster connection, but unless you have a machine and an enclosure that support the unofficial powered/combo eSATA ports they're putting on laptops these days, it's not going to pass power. So you're going to have additional cables and/or a power brick.

... and I dunno about you, but I hate dealing with extra cables and power bricks. USB is just a lot more convenient in this sense.

 

build your own... buy a decent enclosure from somewhere like NewEgg and then get a bare drive to drop into it. Then you can choose the drive you want, change or update the drive whenever you want, and you get more connection options.

 

I suspect that's possible.
But its more expensive I think.

Also:
For anything durable you're tied to one of the "off the shelf" enclosures - anything else is more versatil but more expensive too.

 

For playing back movies, DVDs, BluRays, etc. USB will be sufficient.

More bandwidth intense operations like ripping the BluRays to disk or Backups will be more painful.

 

well thats the exact thing i hate too.thats why i was thinking of the usb drive
but wanted to know about its performance.
but now as said by DETLEVCM i think now i am more confident to buy a usb drive rather than go for the e-sata set up.

well i do not plan to rip any blue rays not to teh usb directly at least i just need the usb drive to free space on my internal notebook had disk

again guys thankx a lot u have been grt help as always

 

All my USB enclosures and USB external disks have power brick and cables, none gets energy from USB port . I am in Europe i don't know how it is in US.

The most annoying issue for me is that even a 7200rpm disk via USB will take time to list a windows explorer directory due to its slowness. Opening images specially big is also too slow .

 

If you've got only 3.5" externals, they will need external power bricks. On the other hand, I've got all 2.5" externals, and none of them need external power bricks. Sometimes you'll have DIY 2.5" enclosures that can take up two USB ports, because you can get drives that sap more power than what a single port can provide.

 

You're talking about 3,5" drives.

2,5" drives are powered by USB.

WD even has a 1TB one - but that's expensive I think... never looked it up.

Edit:
And NTFS should make the drive faster too compared to FAT32 - my first external drive (250GB, 3,5) was formatted in FAT32...

 

Yes true 3,5" drivers. I forgot about 2.5" without power bricks. Only got one 4 years ago when my laptop failed and i needed to get stuff from its HDD. I prefer 3.5" simply because it is cheaper, bigger and since that i don't move around much it is not a problem.

 

well one more question now that iam clear abt a usb external drive can u suggest me whether a WD or a segate or a hitachi which one should i buy

 

Doesn't matter as long as the actual HDD is from a know company.

I've got a WD passport.
I'm happy with it.

If you just want a drive (nothing fancy like hardware encryption) just look at th different offers and get the best value for money you can

Unless you fall in love with one of hte designs.

 

well i just want one which is cheap and allso gives gud performance well if all are same then i think as u said i will go for the one which has a reasonable price and gives gud value for money
my search has shown that seagate is cheaper than WD or hitachi so i guess i will go with it

 

They obviously aren't equal - but very similar - so similar that in most cases it won't matter which you chose.

I wouldn't go for a no name drive (the actual drive - it can still be a generic case) - but that's all I recommend lookingout fr.

 

not sure if the OP wants a 3.5 or 2.5" drive, but building your own is about the same price, if not cheaper, than buying an off-the-shelf unit. And it's probably more reliable. I just bought a $20 aluminum USB enclosure and a hitachi 7K320 for a total price of $90. I also got a 750GB 3.5" WD drive + nice enclosure (USB, firewire, power brick) for less than $100. In both cases that's about the same or less than I'd pay for something off the shelf.

 

I just bought an eSATA enclosure for my external drive, and it is twice as fast as it was with my USB enclosure when doing file copies and backing up.

The only thing is I have an eSATA cable as well as a USB cable (for power) connected at the same time.

If I want to use one cable, I have to buy a special one that has powered eSATA on one side to connect to my notebook, and mini-USB and eSATA on the other.

 

Seagate, WD, and Hitachi will all work. Just look for an form factor and price you like.