15 replies to this topic

[DanDoesWork]

Hey guys thanks to anybody in advance who puts their input on this! Now I never bought a external HD other then a small flashdrive so I'm not sure what I need to know about these products. So here goes!

I recently saw some ADs for a Seagate 3Tb external HD for about 80-90 dollars which in my mind is a pretty damn good deal BUT I've done some research on this product and found out this thing will overhear very very fast due to poor ventilation which isn't good for it at all. What I was wondering is what would you guys recommend getting? Which company would be the most reliable? I'm probably looking for something 1.5Tb and up. Windows 7 user here.

[Scot]

I have a 3TB WD MyBook ($150) and 1.5TB WD Element ($70). WD is the only external brand I(and you should) trust.

[lluvia]

I personally have never had a HUGE hard drive but I use a WD (Western Digital) 250 GB external hard drive. It's about filled up now after about a year (holds two computers' worth of files) but I love it and I've never had any problems with it. I keep my entire life on there. XD

But I may be biased because my dad works for WD. But I do have to say, my external hard drive has always worked fantastic (fantastically?).

[neobrah]

I use a 1TB WD Passport Essential SE - which is awesome if you need to carry it around and bring it places

[jonahfinn]

I'm using a seagate GoFlex 3.0 500GB, about $70 AUD
mind you it's a portable HD so no power required. and it's USB 3.0 connection for faster speeds (only if you have 3.0 ports on your computer)

[DanDoesWork]

Scot, on 28 November 2011 - 01:56 PM, said:

I have a 3TB WD MyBook ($150) and 1.5TB WD Element ($70). WD is the only external brand I(and you should) trust.

Wow thats just about what I'm looking for. 3TB is the only option for myself right now since I have probably over 1.5TB worth of media. Are those the prices on the website? or did you take a chance on Ebay?

neobrah, on 28 November 2011 - 01:59 PM, said:

I use a 1TB WD Passport Essential SE - which is awesome if you need to carry it around and bring it places

Nah lol won't be needing it to be portable since I'm really just looking to keep it around my PS3 to view it from there, or my laptop just in case I want to make some videos

jonahfinn, on 28 November 2011 - 02:03 PM, said:

I'm using a seagate GoFlex 3.0 500GB, about $70 AUD
mind you it's a portable HD so no power required. and it's USB 3.0 connection for faster speeds (only if you have 3.0 ports on your computer)

I'm actually looking to upgrade my hub to 3.0 but it seems like too much work lol

Overall though it seems WD seems to have the best reviews out of them all. But my question is how is the life on these things? Do you find yourself replacing them often? Also externals can be formatted to fat32 from ntfs correct?

Edited by DanDoesWork, 28 November 2011 - 02:16 PM.

[lluvia]

I have no idea about the formatting because I just use the default settings for formatting when I format my hard drives.

I've been using mine for over a year with absolutely no problems. I'm sure it'll continue to last since it shows no sign of breaking down or ANYTHING.

Never had to replace mine.
I think I have WD hard drives in my home computer too (but they're internal hard drives - is that what they're called?) and I've never had a problem with those either.
well, I did have a problem once but I don't think it was on a WD drive.

[DanDoesWork]

Hmmm would anyone on this board have a extra one laying around they might sale?

[nymh]

I have two. One is a.. uh.. WD My Book Pro 1.5TB
One is an Iogear 260 GB Tri-Select

I definitely prefer the WD. But mostly because it's beefier and more solid with bigger capacity.

Why would you want to format to Fat32?

[DanDoesWork]

Well Apparently thats what the format I need to use in order to use it on my PS3...am i wrong?

[Therion]

I personally prefer seagate over WD, only drive I've had fail on me was a WD mybook.

That said, buy a 3.5inch 3TB HDD straight up. Buy a HDD USB enclosure. You now have a (possibly cheaper at the 3TB range) 3TB external HDD with none of those piss-poor generic cases that lead to the overheating problem thats been reported.

[Scot]

DanDoesWork, on 28 November 2011 - 02:14 PM, said:

Wow thats just about what I'm looking for. 3TB is the only option for myself right now since I have probably over 1.5TB worth of media. Are those the prices on the website? or did you take a chance on Ebay?

One I bought from Walmart during a price drop, the other was a temp deal on Amazon. The 3TB one is also USB 3.0 compatible so get that one.

[DanDoesWork]

Scot, on 28 November 2011 - 11:18 PM, said:

One I bought from Walmart during a price drop, the other was a temp deal on Amazon. The 3TB one is also USB 3.0 compatible so get that one.

Unfortunately for myself my laptop is only 2.0 capable lol I'm looking into upgrading it to 3.0 right now. So far it seems like it's not just about replacing the hub -__-

[Darkthrone]

DanDoesWork, on 28 November 2011 - 02:14 PM, said:

Nah lol won't be needing it to be portable since I'm really just looking to keep it around my PS3 to view it from there, or my laptop just in case I want to make some videos

Look into NAS enclosures. If you intend to just use it as a stationary drive to store shit on a NAS would make sharing a lot easier.

[Turnip]

I've had... some 1TB Seagate (not portable)external hdd for the past two years and some 1TB Samsung portable one for a couple of months! They're still working great! Just make sure you don't drop it, heheh... I accidentally dropped my WD Passport off the table (it wasn't a very far away from the floor, to be honest) and it broke ;w;

Samsung and WD make great quality hdds! Also I agree with Darkthrone, look into NAS enclosures as well!

[davidh93]

well first you need to decide whether you want something portable or to be put on a desk