What are some good external hard drives?

I'm looking to buy an external hard drive for my lappy, but I don't really know much about external hard drives except that some are prone to overheating. So I don't really know what I should lookout for, what to avoid, etc. Any tips before I make a purchase?

Preferably one that is cheap. I was in the market for one and I finally bit on this deal I noticed over at slickdeals.

Maxtor 3200 External 160GB for 45 (with tax) after rebate .
Plus I got a Internal 250GB Caviar that I'm looking to sell which I got for the same price. Therefore if I can find sell it for 90 (retail is like 140) then I can basically get the external drive for free. So far it works just like I needed it to.

Btw if anyone wants the internal hard drive pm me....I'll sell for under def sell it for under 90.

I'm not too sure about your post but I know drives that overheat are surely a problem. But most drives come with at least a year warranty.

[quote57a0705153="mpj31"]Preferably one that is cheap. I was in the market for one and I finally bit on this deal I noticed over at slickdeals.

Maxtor 3200 External 160GB for 45 (with tax) after rebate .
Plus I got a Internal 250GB Caviar that I'm looking to sell which I got for the same price. Therefore if I can find sell it for 90 (retail is like 140) then I can basically get the external drive for free. So far it works just like I needed it to.

Btw if anyone wants the internal hard drive pm me....I'll sell for under def sell it for under 90.

I'm not too sure about your post but I know drives that overheat are surely a problem. But most drives come with at least a year warranty.[/quote57a0705153]

You'll have to compete against NewEgg http//www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144701

Also you're best building your own external drive instead of buying a pre-made one.

Is an encasement that much better? Wouldn't the hard drive still have a chance of overheating?

If u get a good enough case, its basically the same as a reg. ext. HD.
building one literally takes only 10 minutes and u save a bunch of $$.

If you must buy an external, I recommend Western Digital MyBooks.

However I always build my own. Your options are much more flexible and it's typically much cheaper. Overheating is a concern with any external -- whether you buy one or build your own -- and it's also dependent on the environment where it's used. The advantage to building your own is that you can shop for the drive and enclosure that fits your requirements, rather than paying more for less choice.

You can go with cheap, flimsy enclosures that just do PATA to USB2, and as long as they aren't moved a lot and subjected to much abuse, they'll work fine. Or step up to a SATA drive support, and Firewire or eSATA in the $60-$75 range and then you can really scream with a fast drive (especially over an eSATA connection, if you have one). With 500GB drives costing in the $100 range and a nice enclosure, you can save some serious bucks while getting exactly what you want.

I want to echo dmorris. I have four external WD MyBooks and an external WD PassPort drive and love them. I've use a maxtor and a homemade before but ditched those for the MyBooks.

yea, i agree with the mybook. its does the job, does it quietly, and looks good at the same time. design is definite one of the big factors about it.

bestbuy has a 2 day sale where a 250GB WD MyBook is on sale for $89.99

I won't be able to make it to BestBuy today or tomorrow because of work, with shipping it's going to be $103.

I am debating whether or not I need/want it.

-dan

I use a MyBook at work and its pretty nice but I'd rather build one myself. Here is my recommendation
WD 500 GB HDD http//www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136073
Enclosure http//www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817198003

Faster and eSATA for about the same price...

i'm not really good with putting stuff together, so putting an internal hard drive in a case and then hooking it up to my computer is a drawback for me (i don't even know what eSATA is).

how much work is there when it comes to the MyBook? Do you need to install anything or load any software?

I don't want anything too complicated. I want it to be as plug-in-and-go as possible.

-dan

Office Depot has the Western Digital 500 GB My book essential for $150 shipped + taxes.

http//www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?id=468326[]http//www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?id=468326

The MyBook you plug in the power and plug in the USB cable...

yeah

i was going through the rest of the Sunday specials and I noticed that.

500GB is a lot, but it's only $50 more and i'm doubling the storage.

OD is right down the street, I may hit that tomorrow on the way home from work.

-dan



[quotebcdbe114b5="hehehhehe"]Office Depot has the Western Digital 500 GB My book essential for $150 shipped + taxes.

http//www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?id=468326[]http//www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?id=468326[/quotebcdbe114b5]

I have an Iomega and it's pretty nice. It gets hot but I've had it for about six months and no problems.

you can buy an in internal one and then buy an enclosure that will plug into your usb drive. I will sell it to you actually

They were all sold out at the Office Depot down the street, so I had to order the MyBook/500GB through the website. It will be here on Wednesday.

Now I need to upgrade my memory (currently 512mb).

-dan

I bought a 500 gig harddrive for $150 at frys