Advice on reliable external HDD

edcentricedcentric near Milwaukee, Wisconsin Icrontian
edited December 2007 in Hardware
My daughter needs an exHDD. It must be reliable, durable, straightforward to use, and cheep enough for me to afford.
Give me your experience.
Should I stick with a know brand, WD or Seagate?
Should I put one together with a good enclosure and drive?
Let me know guys.

Comments

  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited December 2007
    Should I put one together with a good enclosure and drive?
    YES. That way you know exactly what you are getting. If she needs backup software, get her something standard like Acronis, Cobian (free), or Ghost. There's also another good freeware backup software out now. I forget what it's called. Take a look in a local computer store - I guess Fry's or Microcenter now that CompUSA's out of business, and find a enclosure of your choice. They are all essentially a shell plus an IDE or SATA adapter. The discriminating factor should be cooling ability. If the external drive is used a lot, the heat dissipation qualities of the enclosure become very important. Of course, you can also look for reviews, such as Newegg customer reviews. If you get a prepackaged external drive, I'd go with a major brand. There's some real junk out there with some of the no-names.
  • ThelemechThelemech Victoria Icrontian
    edited December 2007
    I would agree with Leonardo on the enclosure route. If you do decide to go with a non-enclosure; I personally have had great experiences with the Maxtor (One-Touch) and Lacie (Brick). Reliable and good transfer rates.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited December 2007
    If you do decide to go with a non-enclosure; I personally have had great experiences with the Maxtor (One-Touch) and Lacie (Brick).
    I have several separate enclosures and drives, but I also have one ready-made external drive. It's a Lacie. It's very good quality and a decent performer. I can't comment on the included software, as I formatted the drive as soon as I bought and started with the software that I know is good.
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