Looking to purchase an external hard drive

[Technique]

After having a very rought hink, i think that 160GB capacity would do me fine.

I'm just wondering if there's any models that can be iffy or are they all generally the same & generally reliable things?

I've heard of western digital before, so i assume they're ok. Seagate is another. I can pick up the 160 WD for about ?50 which seems ok to me.

Or is there a brand that's seen as 'the daddy' of ext HD's?

[Inklin]

I bought a 500GB Maxtor Basics external hard drive a couple of months ago for around ?65.00 in Currys Digital, whether you can still get it which i think you should.

Maxtor are a seagate company so no problem with quality there, its perfect:))

The case or look of it isnt the best around, looks like a rounded brick but if you arent too worried about how it looks then its a good buy.

Link: http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/store/cur_...p;category_oid=

Edited November 22, 2008 by Awesomeness

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

I use a WD 320gb MyBook essential edition (bout a year now)

I have heard of people using the Seagate and Maxtor externals, and I have not heard anything bad.

[RAID 0]

I always buy Western Digital. That's the only computer brand/parts manufacturer that I show any loyalty. I would not trust my data to anything else. :blush:

[ToneKnee]

I always buy Western Digital. That's the only computer brand/parts manufacturer that I show any loyalty. I would not trust my data to anything else. :blush:

+1

[Azusa]

so far i have

a 1TB LaCie and it's a bit quirky at the moment but its been good to me

a 1TB WD MyBook and it'd been good so far

and a 120GB Hitachi in an IcyBox which has been with my for the last two computers

So i would say for the moment get a WD My book

[capr]

WD all the way for me... they have always held up great for me...

[Grand Maester]

Yeah I'm going to have to buy a new one soon and it will definitely be a WD. I got one for my Mom a few months ago and it works like a charm, not to mention the fact that it's pretty stylish. I really wish I'd gotten one before I went the internal with an enclosure route. That was not one of my best ideas (see below).

I went the internal with an enclosure route and really wish I hadn't. I think if you are never going to move it, than it would be fine to go that route. But if you plan to move it around at all you should definitely get one made to be an external.

I had to replace the hard drive via warranty twice because I was having problems that constantly caused me to have to reformat them. The third one lasted a little less than a year, before it started failing validation tests post-backup. I have a feeling it's because there is some wiggle room in the case. When you buy an enclosure separately the space inside is always going to be a little bigger than the hard drive which means there's room for it to flop around; and this isn't just one enclosure, I actually had to replace the original enclosure because one of the ends snapped off. When you buy one made to be an external they don't rattle around at all. As it is, I'll probably be replacing it within the next month or so with one made as an external.

I would definitely recommend the Western Digital external line, I got one for my mother a few months ago and it works like a charm. That's probably what I'm going to buy.

So while you might save $10, even $20 (US), it's probably not going to be worth it in the long run.

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

^ You didn't know that earlier? unless you get SSD's, do not move it around, there are delicate parts inside.