External Hard Drives

[Sabe]

Before I get to the meat of the matter I have to say...wow. This is my first personal post in the Computers section...:shock:

Anyway, I know that several memebers keep ExHD's for one purpose or another, and I was wondering what everyone thinks is the best one to get. My purpose is strictly for the storage of DL'ed anime(now that we have links for sites, I want One Peice and Naruto :bigthumb: ). What does everyone think?

[Sledgstone]

I use western digital and I haven't had a problem yet. The usb 2.0 connection is pretty damn fast too. You can watch the anime right off the harddrive and you won't get any playback issues. The same can be said for DVD R/W drives too. Pick one of those up and you can burn an unlimited amount of anime on 4.7 GB disks. And playback on a dvd r/w drive is just as efficient as an external harddrive.

[Dubird]

You pick an external hard drive the same way you pick an internal one. They're the same thing. The only thing you need to worry about is choosing a case. I usually get mine seperatly. It's a little bit cheaper that way.

[Eppy]

*cough*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817145162
best external case ever :)

[Sledgstone]

I should buy one of those, I think I have an old 60GB harddrive in the basement.

[gokuDX7]

I forgot the name of the one I saw last night but when I was at bestbuy I saw a 500GB USB external HDD for $59.99 I was tempted to buy it since it was 500GB but I didnt have enough on me so Ill go back next weekend and pick one up. Its main point was for computer backup but Im sure you can use it as plain storage. Ill get the name and post back later.

[Eppy]

I forgot the name of the one I saw last night but when I was at bestbuy I saw a 500GB USB external HDD for $59.99 I was tempted to buy it since it was 500GB but I didnt have enough on me so Ill go back next weekend and pick one up. Its main point was for computer backup but Im sure you can use it as plain storage. Ill get the name and post back later.
....you know thats fucking impossible on 2 counts...1...best buy doesnt have an external HDD for that fucking cheap and 2...500 GB HDs go for $300 OEM...so you either read it as 599.99 or you need to lay off the narcotics.XD

[Sledgstone]

Maybe it was an in store item? Like a last year model they found in the back? Some of those retailers inventory systems will drastically reduce old items. I'd but a 500GB hard drive for $60 in a heartbeat. :nod:

[Eppy]

bullshit it was an instore item they jsut found...500GB hds havent even been out for like 6 months yet XD

[DeathscytheX]

could have been a serious misprice.. my friend got a $300 video card at best buy for $95 because of a mistake X'D

[Dubird]

that would be my guess....it's mis-tagged....but hell, if you do happen to find it mis-tagged, get it.....they'll give it to you for that price b/c that's the displayed price....if they don't, you can make a huge fuss and complain to the managers, etc....

as for that case, i'd have to see one in person, but it does look nice....the only thing is i'd like to find one with a firewire connection.....that was an old case i had borrowed for Quakecon last year, and it was much faster than the USB2 i'm using now.....i had to replace it b/c the fuse went out.....

[Eppy]

USB2 is faster then normal firewire...the new firewire is faster though its not really that big a difference

[Dubird]

i was noticing a difference.....i'm not sure why, either.....

[gokuDX7]

ya, my bad it was mistagged. When I went back to get it the cash guy was like that will be $270 and I was like how come it shows $60 then? And hes like one second Ill go double check. He comes back and tells me it was mis tagged but there is a sale. Its original price was $320 and now its $270 so I got it anyway.

O well that sucks hahaa I would have gotten 3 HDDs if it was that cheap.

[Sledgstone]

I would have been one of those asshole customers everyone looks away from. :p

me: *bitch bitch* Let me speak to your manager! This is false advertising! Bait and Switch! etc. etc.

I'd have been an ass until they sold it to me for the $60. X'D

[gokuDX7]

I was tempted too ask for the manager but I had a feeling that wouldnt help me. I have a best buy card anyway so I got some rebates ($40).

haha Id be scared if I was in a best buy and you where doing that. ^_^;

[Sledgstone]

I learned from my dad. :crap: he doesn't even raise his voice when he complains, and somehow stores just throw merchandise at him. X'D

[Sledgstone]

I just bought a new external hard drive today. :happy: I couldn't stop myself from hitting that 'add to cart' button when I saw 250GB for $100. :D

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp;jsessionid=NXOFKTTRMIOYNKC4D3FFAFI?sku Id=7969585&st=hard+drive&lp=3&type=product&cp=1&id=1153997294349

[Eppy]

*cough cough cough* http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144392

[Sledgstone]

Nice. ^_~ an extra 70gb would be pretty good, but I figure I got a good deal considering I'd have to pay shipping and then buy an external enclosure and pay for it's shipping too.. for the extra price it'd be worth it tho. I'll probably buy one of those and a seperate external case next time. But for now, I picked up my external today at bestbuy and they must have been out of the one I ordered because they upgraded me to the premium version at no extra cost:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7643071&st=hard+drive&lp=3&type=product&cp=4&id=1134698030480

It has a color wheel on the front indicating how full the drive is. X'D and its got some misc. software package with it too.

[Sledgstone]

http://staples.shoplocal.com/staples/default.aspx?action=detail&flashbrowse=y&storeid=2278174&rapid=449756&pagenumber=2&listingid=-2092757669&ref=%2fstaples%2fdefault.aspx%3faction%3dbrowsepag eflash%26storeid%3d2278174%26pagenumber%3d2%26rapi d%3d449756%26prvid%3dStaples-070916

http://akimages.crossmediaservices.com/dyn_li/200.0.88.0/Retailers/Staples/070916_2_S0200729.JPG
(http://staples.shoplocal.com/staples/default.aspx?action=detail&flashbrowse=y&storeid=2278174&rapid=449756&pagenumber=2&listingid=-2092757669&ref=%2fstaples%2fdefault.aspx%3faction%3dbrowsepag eflash%26storeid%3d2278174%26pagenumber%3d2%26rapi d%3d449756%26prvid%3dStaples-070916#)View Larger Image (http://staples.shoplocal.com/staples/default.aspx?action=detail&flashbrowse=y&storeid=2278174&rapid=449756&pagenumber=2&listingid=-2092757669&ref=%2fstaples%2fdefault.aspx%3faction%3dbrowsepag eflash%26storeid%3d2278174%26pagenumber%3d2%26rapi d%3d449756%26prvid%3dStaples-070916#)
Western Digital® external 400GB hard drive
Save $80
$49.99
after easy rebate
Valid Sep 16 - 22
Add to Shopping List (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:AddShoppingListUI%28%272278174%27,%27-2092757669%27,%27%27,%27Add%20to%20Shopping%20List %27,%27Remove%20from%20List%27,%27%27,%27%27,%27%2 7,%27/staples/default.aspx?action=addshoppinglist&storeid=2278174&pretailerid=&listingid=-2092757669&offerid=0&catid=&redirect=%2fstaples%2fdefault.aspx%3faction%3ddeta il%26flashbrowse%3dy%26storeid%3d2278174%26rapid%3 d449756%26pagenumber%3d2%26listingid%3d-2092757669%26shoppinglist%3dy&ref=%2fstaples%2fdefault.aspx%3faction%3dbrowsepag eflash%26storeid%3d2278174%26pagenumber%3d2%26rapi d%3d449756%26prvid%3dStaples-070916&finalprice=49.9900%27%29)


• 129.99 - $35 instant savings - $45 easy rebate = $49.99
Save up to 60% on select external hard drives
#680196
That has got to be the best price I've ever seen for an external hard drive. I called my local staples store and they're all out of stock and won't be getting any more. Its clearanced out so whatever the store has in stock right now is all they'll have. If anyone is looking for an external hard drive, call up your staples and see if they have any more of these left. and because its 'easy rebate' you can send in your rebate claim online in 5 minutes and get a check back in the mail in about a month or less. *dies because I missed this* :(

[Mike 1508]

I agree with Eppy, you should've got an internel drive and then a housing, thats what i did

[Mathias]

I'm looking into getting a large external hard drive to store family images and home videos. Of course some downloaded vids just compound the memory requirement. I also want to keep images of my computers as they have been acting up a little lately (children putting poker chips in 3.5" drives so computer thinks there's a disk to boot from doesn't help any). 720 GB should keep me in the clear for the next decade with ease.

http://reviews.cnet.com/hard-drives/freeagent-desktop-hard-drive/4505-3186_7-32740275.html

FreeAgent Desktop - hard drive - 750 GB - Hi-Speed USB

http://reviews.cnet.com/hard-drives/my-book-essential-edition/4505-3186_7-32640294.html?tag=prod.txt.1

My Book Essential Edition 2.0 WDH1U7500 - hard drive - 750 GB - Hi-Speed USB

I'm thinking about getting the My Book Western Digital on sale at Best Buy for $154.99. I'm a little iffy about the 1 year warranty vs. Seagate's FreeAgent 5 year warranty. The WD also sounds a little faster. Seagate cons were a couple bad hard drives and their poor customer service.

Which external hard drive would you suggest? Different deal? Keep in mind I want to keep it around $150 or less.

[Strider Hiryu]

Personally, I'd go with the Western Digital (I swear by them) then again this is also from a guy who's never used a Seagate product (I don't know I hear so many bad things about them, then again I hear the same about WD but I've had nothing but good experiences with WD drives so far (have 2 120's that have lasted me for the last 3 years and haven't gone down or anything yet).

The Seagate one will run you $167 + tax (at newegg.com and $224 + tax at Best Buy) if you order online (hence why I gave the Best Buy price also).

As I said it's entirely up the preference but even if the WD only has a 1 year warranty they are known to last a long while (plus Best Buy usually tries to talk you into taking an extra warranty on top of it with them (or so they roped me in with my laptop and my printer purchases)). Plus it keeps you in the $154 price range. In the long run I think WD is the way to go (there I go sounding like a spokesperson for them).

[Dubird]

Seagate was pretty good, but I haven't had one in a lot of years. I really like Maxtor, but they're kinda loud, and that's an issue for some people. WD is the best I've used, but they tend to be a bit more.

[the56ker]

i picked up a 500 gig western digital "my book" for 125$ at target when it was on sale normal price 139.99$ its usb 2.0 and its nice got that sleep black casing and goog venting fanless but it also never gets hot either and nice blue activity/power led ^_^ weeee they go on sale all the time and the prices drop every couple months so the next one i buy gonna be like 100$ muahahhaha

[Godgrave]

Chii's Boob is a Western Digital 500 GB External HD, and I think even Sledge has the same model, except that mine came with a Marimo light X'D. It's stable, quick, and amongst the top rated.

[Eppy]

every HD i have around me is a WD...the one i have in my lil linux comp is about...hmm 6 years old without a single problem and 1 or 2 of my externals is around 4 years old...they last...thats why they have a short warranty....just like Strider i swear by the WD brand and the MyBooks are a good deal themselves

[Sledgstone]

We have a 150GB WD neonish external harddrive that has lasted 5 years now and still has no problem. We also had a 250GB WD Mybook that shitted out on us a little after 1 year. And now we have a 500GB Maxtor which is working great so far. It is kinda noisy and the light that blinks is bright as hell in a dark room, but the price we got for it on the day after thanksgiving sale was helluva good. I'd like to have another WD mybook because the damn thing ran pretty silent, but I'm hesitant because I've had one fail on me. After looking at reviews for the main external harddrive manufacturers, both WD and Seagate (which is the same company as maxtor), both have their fair share of complaints. I think its just a matter of whether or not you luck out with a good drive or a bum one. I remember my dad had quite a few f*cked up WD internal drives at one point. Eh, if I get another external at a store I'd probably buy an extended warranty, but usually I buy my stuff online at newegg.com or another store because its usually so much cheaper.

btw, newegg.com is usually a great resource for user reviews on any particular product.

[Godgrave]

Yeah, I remember going for Chii's Boob's model on Eppy's/ Sledge's recommendation ... it came for around $140 or something with shipping, and at a time where there weren't any sales.

[Dubird]

Newegg ftw. Seriously. I've never had a problem buying from them, and I've bought lots of parts there.

[Godgrave]

I just bought my digital camera from there ... paid 4 dollars extra for processing my order quickly, heck I had my package in a day or two tops.

[gokuDX7]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817332008

works perfect for me. Just buy a few hard drives and slide them in.

[Mathias]

I bought the Western Digital 720GB hard drive. It's preset for a MAC, so I'm currently reformatting the hard drive as Windows NTFS. I've downloaded the Windows version of the preset MAC software. I'll install the software after the hard drive is setup.

[Godgrave]

Which software? That's interesting cos I didn't have to install anything with my external ... is it because it's a MAC and not a regular computer?

[Mathias]

WD Button Manager is how it reads, though I haven't used it yet. WD Anywhere Backup is an Evaluation Version. It automatically backs up selected folders from my computer to the external hard drive. I can schedule the backups or I think you can let it backup whenever it detects a change. Once the initial backup is finished it copies files over only for those files that changed. You have the option of encrypting the files or leaving them as is. Either way you can retrieve the files through the software package or access the files directly if you didn't encrypt them. It doesn't image the computer, so I would need Acronis or something else for that. For $30 it's not a bad deal if you forget to copy files over a lot. I store all of my vital files in one large folder, but I'd rather not copy the whole folder each time I made a bunch of downloads. I'm testing it now, so I'll see if it's useful.

The external hard drive was preset for a MAC. I have Windows, so the hard drive needed reformatted in a Window's compatible format such as FAT32 or NTFS. I chose the NTFS format. Of course, once the hard drive was formatted properly for a Windows machine, I had to reinstall the software since everything was lost during the format.

[Sledgstone]

I hope its working good for you now.