I am looking to get an external harddrive to store some extra data. I've been looking up information about them and im all confused now after reading more about them. So far I'm looking at a 250GIG external iomega for about 159.00. Post some experiences up with different type of drives and brands. What to look for and recommendations etc.... thanks...,
External Hard Drives, pros and cons of some
Pros:
can be used on more then one comptuer
Easy to plug and play
Cons:
You drop it when carrying it or knock it off the desk it will probably brake easily
Cost a lot more then an internal hard drive.
can be used on more then one comptuer
Easy to plug and play
Cons:
You drop it when carrying it or knock it off the desk it will probably brake easily
Cost a lot more then an internal hard drive.
I have an external hard drive...generic external hard drive case purchased off ebay. It has both a USB 2.0 and firewire interface. I find my CPU utilization to go up higher when transferring large files to and from the hard drive than when using Firewire. So I use Firewire as much as I could...unfortunately, not all my PC's has firewire.
what u need to look for in an external HDD.
build - it should be sturdy and have a high shock resistant body
speed - ideal speed woulld be 7200 rpm
connectivity - it should support a minimum of usb2.0(usb1.1 is way too slow)and firewire is an added bonus.Some HDD's have 2 usb ports for more power requirements...no need to worry abt that.
size - it depends on how much data u want to store
build - it should be sturdy and have a high shock resistant body
speed - ideal speed woulld be 7200 rpm
connectivity - it should support a minimum of usb2.0(usb1.1 is way too slow)and firewire is an added bonus.Some HDD's have 2 usb ports for more power requirements...no need to worry abt that.
size - it depends on how much data u want to store
Just get an external enclosure and a normal hard drive.
I built my own 20GB external drive for less than $50.
If you choose to do that, let me give you a hint: Partition the drive in a normal setting (inside the computer) before installing in the external enclosure. I havn't come across an OS yet that has support for partitioning an external drive.
Also, note, most external hard drives require an external power supply, so you'll be lugging the power cord along, too.
I built my own 20GB external drive for less than $50.
If you choose to do that, let me give you a hint: Partition the drive in a normal setting (inside the computer) before installing in the external enclosure. I havn't come across an OS yet that has support for partitioning an external drive.
Also, note, most external hard drives require an external power supply, so you'll be lugging the power cord along, too.
Windows XP Disk manager will partition an external drive no problem. External drives are going to be sloooooow. Firewire and USB 2 are rated about 4Mb/s. USB 2 will only peak at this whilst firewire will give sustained performance at 4Mb/s.
Pit that against 1500Mb/s for SATA and it's piss poor.
Other alternatives are external flash disks. Some of these are getting above 40Mb and will be faster at about 13Mb/s So if you don't require too much storage these might be better.
But ask yourself why you need this first, as it's going to be a bit of a lug carting the enclosure around with the (more than likely) chance of dropping it!
If you are still convinced you need one, look at some of the 2½" drive enclosures. They're much neater than 3½" and easier to carry. 2½" drives are a bit more expensive, but the payoff is size. I have one for upgrading laptops and it's only 7.5 x 13.5 x 1.5mm in size. It's USB only, but it powers directly off the USB port, so no need for power supplies or cables.
Pit that against 1500Mb/s for SATA and it's piss poor.
Other alternatives are external flash disks. Some of these are getting above 40Mb and will be faster at about 13Mb/s So if you don't require too much storage these might be better.
But ask yourself why you need this first, as it's going to be a bit of a lug carting the enclosure around with the (more than likely) chance of dropping it!
If you are still convinced you need one, look at some of the 2½" drive enclosures. They're much neater than 3½" and easier to carry. 2½" drives are a bit more expensive, but the payoff is size. I have one for upgrading laptops and it's only 7.5 x 13.5 x 1.5mm in size. It's USB only, but it powers directly off the USB port, so no need for power supplies or cables.
 |