Best external hard drives to buy right now?

Benjamin King2 said:Converting an internal drive into an external one is straightforward; you simply need an enclosure, ensuring it matches either PATA or SATA depending on the drive type:

Is the process really just sliding the drive into the case and plugging it into the computer via USB, or is there some hidden complexity I'm missing?

There aren't any hidden catches here.—really, nothing at all.

Benjamin King2 said:There isn't any catch.

So, you're essentially just turning an internal drive into an external one by sliding it into an enclosure?

Does it draw power directly from the USB port, or does it require its own dedicated power supply? And how is the heat managed?

Is there anything specific one should look for when shopping for an enclosure?

Most 3.5" enclosures usually require their own external power brick—standard stuff—whereas 2.5" drives can just run off the USB bus without any extra fuss. Cooling is mostly passive in these setups, though if you dig through the larger enclosures, you might stumble upon one with an actual fan tucked inside. If you're looking for something to house a 3.5" drive, you could grab something like this from ADM: $70 http://www.spire-corp.com/main/produ...sp?ProdID=1005

I was wondering if anyone could point me toward some budget-friendly portable drives in the 250 to 500 GB range? Or, looking at the discussions here, would I actually be better off just picking up a standard internal drive and slapping it into an external enclosure? I see a lot of you folks mentioning that route lately... thanks

http://www.adm.com/product_info.php?c...ducts_id=10660

Look, buying an external drive and a separate enclosure is just a bad move—you're basically throwing money away when you bundle them. Besides, finding anything smaller than 500 GB in the portable market these days is nearly impossible, and if you actually manage to find one, expect to shell out about $233 for the privilege.

Hi there,

I’m in the market for an external hard drive—currently browsing through Best Buy and similar retailers—but I’m feeling a bit lost regarding the pricing logic here. It seems completely arbitrary; for instance, I've noticed some 320GB drives are priced identically to those with 500GB or even 1TB capacities... It’s a bit baffling, really. If anyone could shed some light on the actual distinctions between these two specific options—which happen to be the cheapest 1TB models I can find—I would truly appreciate it.

http://tiny.cc/z1cjl and http://tiny.cc/86juj

Thanks much,🙂

It’s going to be pretty much impossible to get a straight answer from anyone since those pages don't list a single shred of actual technical data on the drives. Usually, the variables boil down to this:

The physical size—2.5" versus 3.5"—is a big one; the larger ones cost more, plus you're looking at price jumps every time the capacity climbs (and honestly, most of those smaller 2.5" drives usually top out around 750 GB anyway)
USB 2.0 versus USB 3.0—obviously, 3.0 carries a premium
And then there's the spindle speed—5400 rpm versus 7200 rpm—faster speeds mean higher prices

So, what kind of storage capacity are we actually talking about here, and what's your rough budget looking like?

Benjamin King2 said:It’s going to be tough to get a straight answer from anyone there—mostly because those sites aren't actually providing any specific technical specs for the drives. Generally speaking, though, you'll see variations based on a few factors:

The physical size—2.5" versus 3.5"—larger ones tend to cost more, and obviously, the price climbs as capacity goes up (though most of those smaller 2.5" drives usually top out around 750 GB)
The connection type—USB 2.0 versus USB 3.0—with 3.0 being the pricier option due to the speed advantages.
The spindle speed—5400 rpm versus 7200 rpm—where the faster 7200 rpm models come with a higher price tag.

So, what kind of storage capacity are we talking about here, and what’s your rough budget looking like?

I need something around 1TB that won't break the bank; the two I found online are roughly $700$267, does that sound reasonable to you?

That price seems way too low to me—I mean, seriously, what kind of grocery store are we talking about here?

Benjamin King2 said:That price seems a bit too low to me—I mean, which store are we even talking about here?

They're from Best Buy—here are the two links for those items: http://tinyurl.com/8ysfngh
http://tinyurl.com/7w8r2hf

They’re probably cheaper because they only come with a 12-month warranty—plus, you're looking at slightly older models here—but honestly, I doubt you'll find a better deal than this anywhere else.

Benjamin King2 said:They’re likely priced lower because they only carry a 12-month warranty—plus, we're looking at slightly older models here. Honestly, I don't think you'll find anything cheaper than this.

Yeah, those really were the lowest prices I could track down... though, if I'm being honest, I wouldn't justify spending a single cent more than what's listed there. So, I think I'll just grab one of these options. Thanks for the hand!

http://www.bestbuy.com/external-drives/adata/0140290/ I stumbled upon this one—does anyone have any experience with it, or perhaps some insight into whether it's actually worth picking up?

It’s a solid drive... and honestly, you can't beat that price.

Fantastic—the price is an absolute steal! thanks

There is this "Backup" button physically located on my hard drive, but whenever I give it a click, absolutely nothing happens—it’s just dead air. I am assuming there is some sort of proprietary software required to actually trigger the process? I can't help but wonder how the mechanism would even function if I did have the right software installed in the first place; does it just initiate a direct clone, or is it more of a managed sync?

You can grab the software right here (under section 1. Programs): http://www.adata.com.tw/index.php?ac...&cid=2&piid=98

Basically, the backup function just takes everything on that drive and syncs or copies it over to another drive in your PC—standard stuff. Whether you want to manually drag and drop files via copy/paste or just hit that button in the software, it’s all functionally the same thing in the end.

Can anyone give me their honest take on this Western Digital Scorpio Blue laptop hard drive? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136387...

How reliable is it really, and is it actually worth dropping $80 on right now?

You can actually snag a larger drive here for a bit less cash:

Though—if you want my two cents—I’d honestly suggest grabbing a faster drive, like a 7200 rpm model. The price gap is pretty negligible, but the performance jump is massive:

And just a heads-up, you won't be able to buy anything from Newegg unless you're living right here in the USA.