Buying External Hardrive

[attackingmoose]

I need an external. 50 gig or so. Which models are reliable, quick so forth.

I'm running win xp, usb 1.

If I forgot anything, sorry. I'm tired and annoyed. Expect more in the replies tomorrow.

Thanks for your time.

[profdlp]

You might consider buying an external enclosure (http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/SubCategory.asp?SubCategory=92) and adding the HD of your choice.

This one (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817121185) can use either USB 2.0 or SATA (much faster).

This one (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817145746) is USB 2.0 only, but looks cool. :D

If you decide to go that route, pay attention to the size. 2.5" drives are laptop size and will cost more per GB than a comparable 3.5" drive. (3.5" is a standard size desktop drive.) 5.25" can handle either a HD (using an adapter, included with most retail drives) or even a cdrom if you change your mind down the road.

[Leonardo]

Prof is right. Get an enclosure. Then you can upgrade whenever you want and take advantage of sales as you choose. I've seen many, many external hard drives. Almost all of them have been colossal ripoffs - very little storage for the money.

[ronbo]

You might also want to buy a card for USB 2 if you do not have it on your MB. It is Much faster than USB 1.

[attackingmoose]

prof. thank you so damn much for the link to just the exclosures. I REALLY needed that. I read somewhere about how you can save a quick 300 bucks by doing it yourself. I'll consider finding a USB 2 card too. I know they're better but I'm not sure how much they are.

I could care less about the size of the thing, it could be as big as a computer for all I care, just as long as it does it's job.

thanks for the replies

[ronbo]

The USB 2 cards are not that expensive at all. It will not be as fast as a true USB 2 motherboard but it will be an improvement over USB 1.

[profdlp]

One other thing I should have mentioned is that you need to pay attention to the internal connector. Some are IDE, some SATA, etc.