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11/07/2008 07:48:30 AM · #1 |
| need a new drive-- anybody keeping up on the best deals on something good and cheep? was hopeing to find something in the 500 g to 1 t under a couple hundred but am really not sure what brand. thoughts from someone that keeps up on this stuff? thanks in adv. |
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11/07/2008 07:53:06 AM · #2 |
| I'm currently very impressed by the Seagate FreeAgent Extreme. I picked the 1TB version up about 6 weeks ago for about $175. It has triple interface (USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and eSATA). I've used it in both FireWire 400 and eSATA modes. It's quite a bit faster in eSATA mode, but at a constant 50MB/s it's not bad in FW400 mode either. |
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11/07/2008 08:19:42 AM · #3 |
kirbic--do you use yours to just bsckup your files or just to store your photos? //www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcat17080&type=page&qp=crootcategoryid%23%23-1%23%23-1~~q70726f63657373696e6774696d653a3e313930302d30312d3031~~cabcat0500000%23%230%23%2311a~~cabcat0504000%23%230%23%233y~~nf398%7C%7C53656167617465&list=y&nrp=15&sc=abComputerSP&sp=%2Bbrand+skuid&usc=abcat0500000
found 3 here that are interesting a 500 for $89 a 1 t f0r $199 and a 1.5 T for $229 the only differences seem to be the software on the 1 which i couldn't find a refrence on as to what it actually does and the firewire---not sure if i should go with the cheep 1 as prices will probably drop again by the time i fill it up or go with the 1.5? thoughts |
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11/07/2008 08:25:40 AM · #4 |
I bought an external casing:
Antec MX1 , Black , external enclosure for 3.5" SATA hdd , carbon-glass filled frame to reinforce the strength of the enclosure , 2 layers material design + built-in silicone pad to reduce hdd noise , with blower fan : e-SATA + usb 2.0 - also comes with e-SATA adapter ( connect from on board s-ata to pci back plate )
ANd then a Seagate 500mb/32mb cache.
It works out cheaper - plus, the casing is awesome (ive had some bad experiences in the past), and you can always upgrade the drive or swop it for a new one if you have to) |
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11/07/2008 08:37:14 AM · #5 |
| I like the Seagate Free Agents (non pro) as well. I use one 500 gb for at home and one portable Free Agent Go 160 gb to complement my laptop. This way, I can keep my laptop's HD free of some stuff (like my music and photos) to keep it quick but still have great portability. I take it to work and do whatever when I have the time (I work night shift... talk about ebb and flow...). Plus they have like a 5 year warranty |
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11/07/2008 08:39:53 AM · #6 |
I picked up a 750 Gb Seagate Freeagent a few weeks back for $120 at Fry's Electronics. USB, Firewire and ESATA connections. It seems to work well, and has a nice orange glowy stripe. (Oddly enough, the orange is subtler than a bright blue). It does not have a power switch however. It stay on and powers itself down when there is no activity.
I did read some reviews of the Freeagent before I bought it, and all the reviews were positive, with no more than minor criticisms.
Message edited by author 2008-11-07 08:41:25. |
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11/07/2008 09:06:54 AM · #7 |
If you stare at the pulsing orange light long enough, you'll go into tunnel vision and get sudden inspirations for photos, especially if you have them in tandom, one vertical and one horizontal. That's the real reason to buy the thing. Or at least that's what Best Buy told me.
Message edited by author 2008-11-07 09:07:21. |
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11/07/2008 11:44:25 AM · #8 |
Originally posted by rider:
kirbic--do you use yours to just bsckup your files or just to store your photos? |
I am using the FreeAgent specifically as a backup... I have an internal 1TB Seagate drive as a main data drive. that's not to say that, using eSATA, it's too slow to use as a main data drive; it will kick out just over 100MB/s on a read test at the outer platter edge, and around 55MB/s at the inner track. Here is a link to where I bought mine. It looks like the price has actually jumped up a little in the meantime. Still a great deal.
Message edited by author 2008-11-07 11:44:41. |
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11/07/2008 12:13:16 PM · #9 |
| I have a WD MyBook Mirror (1TB Raid) which I have been happy with so far - I replaced a smaller 250GB My Book with it and that was always faultless |
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11/07/2008 12:50:48 PM · #10 |
| Just a thought: If you have an e-sata port, why not just use an internal HDD, and protect it well when it's not connected--that should turn out quite a bit cheaper...? |
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11/07/2008 01:11:08 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by Medoomi:
Just a thought: If you have an e-sata port, why not just use an internal HDD, and protect it well when it's not connected--that should turn out quite a bit cheaper...? |
It's not really much cheaper, perhaps $25 or so for a 1TB drive, and when you factor in the features you should get in a product actually designed to be used as an external drive (protective case, multiple interfaces, attractive design, proper heat dissipation, warranted for use as an external...) you are typically better off with a "packaged" product. |
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11/07/2008 01:20:46 PM · #12 |
I got a 1TB MyBook from Costco for $199 a few weeks ago. It works well. Quiet, cool. I think there are others that are faster, but since I'm just using it for backups, I don't much care.
I have a 500GB Free Agent attached to my Tivo. It runs pretty hot (Tivo recommends not using it because of the heat), and the orange light is annoying. I don't recommend it particularly, but if you like orange, it's probably fine. |
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11/07/2008 02:35:43 PM · #13 |
just a note - maxtor and seagate are the same company.
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11/07/2008 03:47:04 PM · #14 |
| I do believe that Seagate's warranties are longer than WD. (having said that, I do have an old 250gb WD that is perfectly fine, and has been for several years). Also of note: Seagate had a big problem with manufacturing X-Box HDD's... lots of flawed products. Buttttt... since their warranty is so long, if they do crap out, at least you're covered. (my performance has been great though). |
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11/07/2008 04:09:10 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by soup:
just a note - maxtor and seagate are the same company. |
Yes, Seagate bought Maxtor a few years ago. I believe that there may still be some differentiation in the product lines though.
Seagate does AFAIK still offer a 5-year warranty on all their drives, and that is a plus.
FWIW, the FreeAgent Xtreme is different than the FreeAgent or FreeAgent Pro. the Xtreme has the triple interface, and is, IMO, worth the few additional dollars. |
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11/07/2008 05:37:16 PM · #16 |
How about this one //www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/522052-REG/Western_Digital_WDH1U10000N_1TB_My_Book_Essential.html
Note B&H has a few other inexpensive hard drives
Message edited by author 2008-11-07 17:38:15.
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11/07/2008 05:40:16 PM · #17 |
we have an free agent pro4, and a maxtor - each 1TB. another note is it's difficult, if not impossible to use the same drive for both MAC and windows.
Originally posted by kirbic:
FWIW, the FreeAgent Xtreme is different than the FreeAgent or FreeAgent Pro. the Xtreme has the triple interface, and is, IMO, worth the few additional dollars. |
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11/07/2008 05:44:11 PM · #18 |
Originally posted by yospiff:
I picked up a 750 Gb Seagate Freeagent a few weeks back for $120 at Fry's Electronics. USB, Firewire and ESATA connections. It seems to work well, and has a nice orange glowy stripe. (Oddly enough, the orange is subtler than a bright blue). It does not have a power switch however. It stay on and powers itself down when there is no activity.
I did read some reviews of the Freeagent before I bought it, and all the reviews were positive, with no more than minor criticisms. |
Power button is very hard to see unless you are really looking. With the orange stripe facing you and the orange Seagate design on the right, the power button is on the deck, front right. :) I have the same unit. Love it! |
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11/07/2008 05:47:48 PM · #19 |
That is a very low price for a 1TB external... bear in mind that it is USB 2.0 only, which is not going to garner great performance. If it is only a backup and speed is not a concern, it has merit. Personally, I do not by WD.
I have a little differnt perspective than most, I've dealt with Seagate, Maxtor and WD as customers of mine in a former life. I buy Seagate. |
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11/07/2008 05:50:53 PM · #20 |
Originally posted by soup:
we have an free agent pro4, and a maxtor - each 1TB. another note is it's difficult, if not impossible to use the same drive for both MAC and windows.
Originally posted by kirbic:
FWIW, the FreeAgent Xtreme is different than the FreeAgent or FreeAgent Pro. the Xtreme has the triple interface, and is, IMO, worth the few additional dollars. |
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I know that Windows refuses to read a MacOS partition, but I did think that MacOs would read a Windows partition... at least I know that MacOS will read/write to FAT partitions; will it not recognize NTFS partitions? |
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11/07/2008 07:27:18 PM · #21 |
nope
only fat32
that's why i bought the 2nd one ) maxtor ). the free agent pro was partitioned on the MAC 1st and i don't know if that makes a difference. but i doubt it.
Message edited by author 2008-11-07 19:31:41.
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11/07/2008 07:32:50 PM · #22 |
Originally posted by soup:
nope
only fat32 |
Yeh, that would pretty much make a larger drive unusable between platforms. The only real solution to that would be to use a file server or NAS. A NAS unit would be a good solution, but would require a gigabit wired network for decent performance levels. |
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11/07/2008 08:38:22 PM · #23 |
One bad apple spoils the bunch, but two? I got a MyBook for a nephew as a graduation present. As soon as he had loaded it up with all his music and erased he from his laptop, the MyBook quit working. Only a week old. Similar thing happened at work with a ton on electron micrograph scans, also MyBook, also new. Is the deal "If they make it through the first few weeks they are OK?" Double back up?
PS - why is this thread three pages Wide when every other thread fits on one screen?
Message edited by author 2008-11-07 20:39:14. |
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11/07/2008 09:14:07 PM · #24 |
Originally posted by emorgan49:
One bad apple spoils the bunch, but two? I got a MyBook for a nephew as a graduation present. As soon as he had loaded it up with all his music and erased he from his laptop, the MyBook quit working. Only a week old. Similar thing happened at work with a ton on electron micrograph scans, also MyBook, also new. Is the deal "If they make it through the first few weeks they are OK?" Double back up? |
It's not really a backup if you delete the original source files tho, is it...
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11/07/2008 09:21:02 PM · #25 |
Originally posted by violinist123:
? |
It's not really a backup if you delete the original source files tho, is it... [/quote]
Wasn't me! I'm the belt AND suspenders type. Everything important is in four places. |
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