Storage Solutions External / portable hard drive questions

shaunak

shaunak

Adept
Hi,

I am in the market for some external storage that I can lug around.

My primary requirements are to store some processing data [20-30 GB each set = total may be 300GB-ish (Prediction)] and papers / articles / text books [5 GB ish] and some songs/multimedia [ 5 GB-ish ] . So I figure I need a 320GB / 500GB drive.


I have a few questions regarding that:

1.
Should I get a 3.5" drive with a supply or a 2.5" portable drive? Do I gain significantly with a 3.5" drive in terms of reliability and speed? (because a non external powered drive is very convenient on the go). To be honest the more I think of it - unless there is a significant cost difference - I would like to go for a small drive powered off USB

2.
Is it cheaper to buy a 3.5" internal drive and stick it in an case than buy a branded drive today? And does the price difference justify the loss in reliability?

3.
I do not like the look of the USB3.0 mini flat connector (fig 3)
tongue.gif
It looks fragile. Are some discs available with square connectors (fig 2) as well? [ http://photos.appleinsider.com/dual-bus-usb3-cables.jpg ]

What's my lowest cost option in the market?
I found a Seagate 500GB drive for 2900 RS - I did not ask if it was 2.5" or 3.5" (externally powered)

Whats the price difference for a 1TB drive?
 
2. There is no loss of reliability... I have used a Seagate 300GB in an external case that actually burned some parts on the disk. The disk still works just fine, and my friend runs it as his system disk now. As long as you have a decent case (not one with an Indian or cheapo brand, I learned that lesson) you will be fine. I have over six disk/case combos now, one is an IDE case dating back to 2006 and it still runs absolutely fine. I also have a bunch of WD-branded portables and they run much slower than aftermarket options (to be fair I bought them for price advantages, not performance).

3. AFAIK all portables come with the low profile USB-mini connector. Some bigger cases will have the USB-B connector, the Sedna 3.5" cases I use have the latter and a Olmaster 2.5" case I bought off Dealextreme uses the former. It is not at all fragile, just a little fiddly to seat. Once connected, it feels a lot more secure than USB 2.0 mini or micro connectors.
 
Cranky - Can you suggest a good case to go with a 3.5" drive and a 2.5" one?

Im looking at the WD Cavier Green 500GB 3.5" drive and the Seagate Momentus 500 GB 2.5" one
 
I buy all my external cases from Dealextreme now, since no one in India offers low-cost cases that perform well. The Zalmans (available with Prime) are very good but cost a lot, among cheaper cases Transcend has some chance of not blowing up your drives. Stay away from the ones offered by your local reseller that cost about Rs. 500. Those are terrible.
 
Allright thanks. I will look into it.

Id really appreciate some advice on pre-made 2.5" drives as well. Namely:

1. Brand: WD, seagate, adata, buffalo? Which one?
2. Capacity versus cost: Which makes for sense money wise - 500G or 1TB?
 
1. Not sure. I only use WD because it saves a trip to meet people of dubious quality at service centers. It may not be that important to you. When in doubt, get the cheapest.

2. Larger capacities are more cost-efficient usually, but also cost more and backup of larger capacity is also more expensive. Your call, really.
 
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