External HDD

APoc184

APoc184

Honorary Master
Joined
Sep 6, 2008
Messages
24,941
Reaction score
13,316
Location
Tshwanetoria
What is a good price to pay. Preferred brands or brands to avoid?

I am looking for around 160GB - 250GB. Just want to copy all my music, movies, series etc on there and use it for backups.

Is it better to buy an external HDD or can I buy a normal 2.5" SATA and get an extra enclosure for it?
Will I be able to use the 2.5" via USB?

First time doing this or even looking into it so, I am again clueless regarding this.

Thanks
 
I would say it's better to get an enclosure, I got myself an icydock which costs R600 but the non glossy version is about half the price.

Get an enclosure that supports 1TB+ and it should last you a long time.
 
If I understand you correctly. I should buy a standard 2.5" SATA and then get the enclosure for this HDD.

Or should I buy a HDD branded as ''External HDD'' already complete with enclosure and all?

I will get the hang of this now. :)

EDIT By enclosure I mean casing.
 
APoc84 said:
If I understand you correctly. I should buy a standard 2.5" SATA and then get the enclosure for this HDD.

Or should I buy a HDD branded as ''External HDD'' already complete with enclosure and all?

I will get the hang of this now. :)

EDIT By enclosure I mean casing.
Click to expand...

Yes indeed, get the drive you prefer then get the enclosure/casing to make it portable.

I bought an external HDD before(case and hdd) but the drive was a noisy seagate that got hot easily. The benefit of getting an enclosure is that you can choose your drive and swap drives easily.
 
Aqua_lung said:
Yes indeed, get the drive you prefer then get the enclosure/casing to make it portable.

I bought an external HDD before(case and hdd) but the drive was a noisy seagate that got hot easily. The benefit of getting an enclosure is that you can choose your drive and swap drives easily.
Click to expand...

Cool. I also noticed with an external HDD from a friend that they do get hot very easily.

USB connection? Will this HDD + casing combo be USB compatible?
I guess it would depend on the specifications of the HDD itself?
 
APoc84 said:
USB connection? Will this HDD + casing combo be USB compatible?
I guess it would depend on the specifications of the HDD itself?
Click to expand...

Any standard 2.5" SATA drive is USB compatible, that's the job of the enclosure, just make sure the enclosure supports the drive.
 
Aqua_lung said:
Any standard 2.5" SATA drive is USB compatible, that's the job of the enclosure, just make sure the enclosure supports the drive.
Click to expand...

Okay. Ive got the hang of it now. Thanks

Any brands that you prefer? Seagate? WD?

I had a look at the Icydocks. Very nice
 
Last edited:
APoc84 said:
Okay. Ive got the hang of it now. Thanks

Any brands that you prefer? Seagate? WD?

I had a look at the Icydocks.
Click to expand...

I'm biased so always go with WD :D but I don't know which 2.5" drives are the best.
 
Just go to cna and get the Mecer bravo 750gig for R1300.

I have one and love it. There's not much plastic on it. It's very durable and supports usb2.0 and esata. Copying to the drive using esata was faster than using my internal drives.

Mine has a samsung drive inside. Really is worth the cash.

Gonna get a 1.5TB soon and pop it into the enclosure. 750gigs isn't enough for my series, movies and games.
 
Qwikslver said:
Just go to cna and get the Mecer bravo 750gig for R1300.

I have one and love it. There's not much plastic on it. It's very durable and supports usb2.0 and esata. Copying to the drive using esata was faster than using my internal drives.

Mine has a samsung drive inside. Really is worth the cash.

Gonna get a 1.5TB soon and pop it into the enclosure. 750gigs isn't enough for my series, movies and games.
Click to expand...

I don't know if I really want to buy a Mecer product. In all history, I have always had problems, so that's outta the question.
 
DeFunct said:
I don't know if I really want to buy a Mecer product. In all history, I have always had problems, so that's outta the question.
Click to expand...

I know the bad rep they have. That's why I emphasized how happy I am. I was seriously worried at first. After a couple months of heavy use I really cannot fault the product. It is really really well built and sturdy.

You really cannot go wrong. I have opened up the casing before. Again almost no plastic, no funny pieces that can break off.

I am really 100% happy. Just need a bigger drive to put inside.

:)
 
Well, I just bought myself one of those 2.5" Toshiba (500GB) externals (which don't need an external power supply). Must say, it's very slim and neat, very nice HDD! Then I also have a 500GB Seagate (which I rivived after it died due to firmware failure) in a Vantec Nextar enclosure, which is also nice.

Hope you get sorted!
 
FuNkEr said:
Well, I just bought myself one of those 2.5" Toshiba (500GB) externals (which don't need an external power supply). Must say, it's very slim and neat, very nice HDD! Then I also have a 500GB Seagate (which I rivived after it died due to firmware failure) in a Vantec Nextar enclosure, which is also nice.

Hope you get sorted!
Click to expand...

Where'd you get hold of the Toshiba drive? They are very nice but I can't locate them?
 
Got it through a friend of mine who has an IT company :) I still can't get over the sleekness of the thing, it actually fits into your pocket! Very cool!
You can try these guys http://www.cssi.co.za/frmToshibaExternalHardDrives.html, I know they're the importers of Toshiba HDD's in SA, they'll be able to point you in the right direction! ;)
 
Last edited:
Around R1.2k I think? Remember that ain't retail price, retail you'll be looking at something close to R1.8k - R2k I think.
 
FuNkEr said:
Around R1.2k I think? Remember that ain't retail price, retail you'll be looking at something close to R1.8k - R2k I think.
Click to expand...

And that was for a 500GB? That's quite pricey. I think I might stick to either a Seagate FreeAgent Xtreme or the Vantec enclosure plus Western Digital 1TB HDD idea. :)
 
I agree, it is quite pricey, but I was looking for something small and mobile... Otherwise a Seagate FreeAgent will do just fine, a friend of mine has one, works also very nice.
 
FuNkEr said:
I agree, it is quite pricey, but I was looking for something small and mobile... Otherwise a Seagate FreeAgent will do just fine, a friend of mine has one, works also very nice.
Click to expand...

Yeah, portability isn't a major thing for me since I won't travel far with the thing. It'll sit on my desk storing my media and whatnot and might go with me to friends, but that's as far as it'll travel. Thanks so much for the assistance though, because it remains a future option.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X