I have been looking at simpletech and western digital portable hard drives (80gb and up). Which of these is best? Or if not these then what brand is best?
2007-12-20 10:41:27 · 10 answers · asked by DiNoto 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Add-ons
Can't go wrong with Western Digital. I've still got a 40gigabyte hdd I bought from them five years ago that runs as if it's barely been used. Their passport drives are cheap and small. As for the other brand, I've never really heard of it-so I can't say much for it. Good luck in your search.
2007-12-20 10:45:42 · answer #1 · answered by ɹǝsn ooɥɐʎ ǝɯos ʇsnɾ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've got an old Simpletech drive that I've been using for years without any problems. (And it's gone cross country a few times in airplanes.) One thing I like about it is the case is metal rather then plastic so seems strong. (Though I'm not sure about current Simpletech drives.)
I'm also not sure what brand the actual drive is, but chances are Simpletech didn't make the drive itself. (It could be a Western Digital drive for all I know.) An external drive is usually an internal harddrive of some sort inside an enclosure that translates the drive's interface into an external interface. For those who want more options it's possible to buy enclosures and drives seperately if you don't find one that suits your needs.
Western Digital and Seagate are quality brands that have been around a while. I've got Western Digital harddrives in my desktop computer.
One thing to keep in mind is different drives support different interfaces. Three that are currently in use are USB2.0, Firewire (IEEE 1394), and eSATA. (Some drives/enclosures support 2 or even all 3 interfaces.)
eSATA is the newest and fastest interface but the least common to find support for. Some drives come with a PCI bracket that connects an eSATA port (which you plug the drive into) to an internal SATA connector in a desktop.
Firewire is older but faster then USB2.0. Support for it is more common but not as common as I think it's creators wanted it to be. (I don't think it caught on as well as they wanted.)
USB2.0 is pretty universal but is also the slowest of the three speeds. My Simpletech drive is USB and works with USB1.1 as well.
As far as putting together your own drive from an enclosure and an internal drive, the main things to remember are to make sure the internal interface (either IDE/PATA or SATA) and the formfactor (2.5" = laptop drive, 3.5" = desktop drive) on the enclosure and the drive itself match. A 2.5" drive won't work in an enclosure designed for a 3.5" drive, and an IDE/PATA drive won't work in a SATA enclosure.
Some Newegg links
External Harddrives:
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=414&name=External-Hard-Drives
External Enclosures:
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=92&name=External-Enclosures
Internal Desktop drives:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010150014+1036007800&Configurator=&Subcategory=14&description=&Ntk=&srchInDesc=
Internal Laptop drives:
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=380&name=Laptop-Hard-Drives
2007-12-20 11:10:12 · answer #2 · answered by EdrickV 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would personally stay away from the WD Mybook series, its not really a portable hard drive, its more of a "stay put outside my computer somewhere just incase theres a powersurge" drive,
Why i'm saying this is that it defeats the purpose of an external due to the fact that you have to hold the power button over 30 seconds to shut it down, and its backup functionalities are strange,
if you want a large one (ie 250GB 320GB) you will have to get a 3.5" one, these have great connections and reliability connecting through either usb, e-sata, or firewire depending on the brand, i recommend the Seagate Free Agent Pro
if you want portability, ie (160 or lower usually) i recommend any 2.5" laptop drive (WD, Seagate, whatever) in a basic 15 dollar enclosure, this way, you do not need an external power source, just a usb in your pc.
2007-12-20 10:58:02 · answer #3 · answered by Dharmesh M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Western Digital is OK there are literally hundreds out there. Be wary of No Name brands similar to the other you mentioned.
You will always have better luck with Brand Name External Drives like. Lacie, Maxtor, I-Omega, Mercury,
As you are already aware they come with USB or Firewire connections, USB will be handier in most cases.
Don
2007-12-20 10:50:43 · answer #4 · answered by Don M 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the difference is, portables are potable. did that help? portables are usually small enough to fit in a pocket. externals are designed to not be moved much. you could use a portable as an external, and vice versa, but it would be inconvenient. you cannot usually save data directly to either, if you mean, automatically. you usually have the one extra step of telling the computer to save it to the external/portable. but, yes, anything you can save to the hard drive can be saved to the external/portable. operating systems and their files should not be save to an external/portable. unless you know of a way for your computer to work when yopu remove the portable/external.
2016-05-25 05:34:49 · answer #5 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'd go for a Western Digital, but it doesn't really matter. For the most part, all of the externals are the same. They come cheap these days so stack up on memory!
2007-12-20 10:45:55 · answer #6 · answered by Me 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They all have about the same failure rates. You could try picking the best speed but sometimes the external interface will limit that anyway.
Best thing is take the dollar amount and divide it by gigabytes... then you'll find out dollars per gigabyte.
Even then they will all be pretty close to the same so, pick what you think looks stylish on your desk.
2007-12-20 10:47:32 · answer #7 · answered by gunslingerfrank 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'd go with Western Digital...I just bought a 120GB..(not 80gb)..But I got it with awesome price...$$75...It works well. If you are interested in this one, this is the deal I find for it.
http://dealstudio.com/searchdeals.php?deal_id=73618
2007-12-20 11:31:00 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Western digitals are great, and so are seagates. You can also get enclosures that let you place your own 1.8", 2.5" or 3.5" hard drives inside.
2007-12-20 10:47:29 · answer #9 · answered by Simon L 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Assuming you wont drop your HDD, then seagate might be good. 5years warranty, cant go wrong with that. Though seagate is bit more louder than WD.
2007-12-20 10:51:00 · answer #10 · answered by Jase K 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋