Posted: 10/28/2006 8:14:22 AM EDT
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What to get. What to stay away from. I would like a self-powered one. About 300GB - 500GB range. Thanks. |
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If you are looking for a USB drive that needs no external power then I'm afraid there is nothing in the 300-500gb range. Most all your drives will need to have a separate form of power. Save (some) laptop drives and some special others. But they still aren't near the size you want. You can buy a 3.5" drive of any size and put it in a $30 USB enclosure provided it has the correct drive interface and power requirements. -Foxxz |
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Yep, USB ports only provide 5vdc Hard drives require 12vdc All external enclosures require a power supply. If it didn't go to the wall outlet, I would not buy it.  btw, Seagate has best warranty and best shock protection. I'd stay away from simpletech, maddog, any other no-name/store brand. Personally, I'd just buy only Seagate. |
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The ones that don't need extra power are ones that use laptop-computer drives, as noted. There's not many that are more than 100Gb or so, and those are expensive (they are the largest available). If you must have one that's 300-500Gb, then (as far as "what to buy") just remember that the enclosures cost maybe $25, and then look up the price for the bare hard-drive. It used to be that manufacturers charged a crapload of money for external USB hard-drives, when they were still a novelty--some places would charge $50-$100 OVER the price that the bare drive and enclosure would cost. But now, many charge right down around what they should--about what the parts would cost you, if you put it together yourself. In case you did not know: external hard drives should not be defragged. MOST enclosures do not have any cooling fans, and there is a danger that the drive may overheat and lose data. Last time I tried it, none of the free HD-temp reporting programs would report the temperature of a drive over the USB connection, but the outside of the external enclosure does get scary-hot. If you want a drive you can use a lot (even defrag) and not ever worry about this, then get one that has its own cooling fan. Also--if a external drive doesn't say what brand of hard-drive it uses, then it probably uses the cheapest in that size they could find. I tend to prefer Seagate drives, they run quieter and have fewer problems than the cheaper ones--but there are now some Western Digital drives that have 5-year warranties, just like the Seagates do. (one more reason I tend to buy the parts, so I know exactly what I'm getting.....) ~ |
I've had a "firelite" 80 GB for 2 years now. Survived a trip to the desert, and sub zero temps. Still runs like a champ. Every now and then, best buy has em on sale for under $100. It can run either USB powered, or with an encluded PS2 passthrough cable. Little bigger than a pack of smokes. Combine that with Truecrypt encryption, and you've got an awesome setup.
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