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Buying an external hard drive - advice please |
HornyNick
Joined: Mar 09, 2008
Posts: 77
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Im constantly running out of space on my lappy hard drive (103 gb) so its time to buy an external one, the only problem being I don't know squat about them!
So:
1) Any brands I should steer clear from/ towards to?
2) I think a 500gb should be fine for my needs, unless some one heard of a 1tb on special offer that isn't much more in price?
3) I assume they are all Plug&Play, rather than messing about with installing software etc. If not what terms should I look out for in regards to non Plug&Play models? For example I have noticed one brand (Western Digital?) That use the term "passport" on some models but not others.
4) Im also new to internet shopping, can anyone recommend any good, reliable sites for me to check out? I have had a quick look at the usual suspects (Amazon, PC World etc).
5) Are there any other pitfalls regarding drives I may not have realised?
Many TIA!  |
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fatreg
Joined: Jul 26, 2003
Posts: > 500
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I've had a 500gb seagate HDD that I got from Ebuyer ages ago and I've never had an issue with it...
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pmerryman
Joined: Jun 02, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Oldham,Uk
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I have one of these, after a few recommendations off here, no issues with it so far.
http://www.comet.co.uk/shopco[....]cm_sp=FeatureEnd-_--_-position
One Day, Men Will Look Back And Say I Gave Birth To The 20th Century. You have to have a piss in the sea, its the law. The A-Z of Trusted Traders[img]http://a-zott.com/images/A-Z |
p900 lover
Joined: Jan 08, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: London
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I too went for a Western Digital, if you have a firewire 800 port port on your laptop/pc then try and get a harddrive that has one too, you will pay slightly more but get faster transfer speeds. |
fatreg
Joined: Jul 26, 2003
Posts: > 500
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I don't believe he's a mac user 
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jcwhite_uk
Joined: Feb 18, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Dorset, UK Phone:Xperia Z1
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Another thing to consider is the HD size (physically).
A 3.5" drive (desktop) are higher capacity for a lower price (about £50 for 500GB) but require external power.
a 2.5" drive are more expensive per mb (about £50 for 250GB) but are smaller and dont need an external psu.
A 2.5" drive can easily be taken around with you as it doesnt need the external power.
All drives are plug and play (unless you are using Win98 or older). In my experience Western Digital or Lacie make reliable drives.
[ This Message was edited by: jcwhite_uk on 2009-10-17 16:12 ] Checkout my photos at My Website"Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the world together." |
arien617
Joined: Feb 01, 2006
Posts: > 500
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£50 for 500mb?! I got 320GB for £100 
Anyway, I've had my Seagate FreeAgent Desk Mac for a number of months now doing regular Time Machine backups and it's faultless. Powers down when not in use, and only takes ~5 seconds to (automatically) start up again when I do need it. Turns on and off with the computer, obviously, and I have it connected via FireWire 800, which is also brilliant. Definitely recommend it!
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jcwhite_uk
Joined: Feb 18, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Dorset, UK Phone:Xperia Z1
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Desktop 3.5" Hard drive 500GB : £47.29
Portable 2.5" Hard Drive 500GB : £70.01
[ This Message was edited by: jcwhite_uk on 2009-10-17 16:12 ] Checkout my photos at My Website"Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the world together." |
arien617
Joined: Feb 01, 2006
Posts: > 500
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You're still posting them as MB.... 
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HornyNick
Joined: Mar 09, 2008
Posts: 77
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Cheers for the replys guys. I had a quick look around, and I think Im best off going for a 3.5" drive. My lappy stays in one place and it has precious little horse power as it is so I will be better off with a drive with its own power supply.
Also there is little price difference between 500gb and 1tb with the 3.5"s so I might as well get a 1tb.
I've seen this one and dont think I will get any cheaper, unless someone knows better?
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/166600 |
arien617
Joined: Feb 01, 2006
Posts: > 500
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Just double check Hitachi drive failure rates. That's more or less the most crucial point when it comes to HDDs.
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HornyNick
Joined: Mar 09, 2008
Posts: 77
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Where would I do that? |
arien617
Joined: Feb 01, 2006
Posts: > 500
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Just read around for reviews and see what owners generally think. Don't know about others, but a hard drive is something I buy without any intention of ever having to return it because it's full of such important data.
The one you're looking at seems to be quite good according to all of these reviews.
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jcwhite_uk
Joined: Feb 18, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Dorset, UK Phone:Xperia Z1
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On 2009-10-17 15:41:55, arien617 wrote:
You're still posting them as MB....
Doh!
Changed now.
Checkout my photos at My Website"Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the world together." |
sitnet
Joined: Jun 30, 2008
Posts: 325
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I have a Seagate Desktop portable, a 1 TB. Never had problems and definitively recommend it. But you should maybe get the extreme with Firewire and e-sata.
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Posted: 2009-10-17 06:35
