External Hard Drives

Lauren said:
Anyone seen good deals lately on external hard drives?
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2.5" or 3.5"? The former are generally more portable and can usually be powered directly from USB. The latter are bulkier, may need cooling and require their own power supply so probably best for use in a fixed location.
 
Best price I got on eBay recently was for a 120GB Samsung HM120JC in a USB 2.0 housing for about €83 including delivery.
 
Theres a 500 gig drive in Maplins (Jervis Street, Dublin) for something like 129 euro (cant remember the exact number but its low!). I look at it every time I pass by as I think I could do with one.

I'm torn between the idea that you get what you pay for and it might not last and the fact that although there is a unknown brand on it theres a label on it which says the brand is made by Western Digital so I dont know :confused:
 
There are only a handful of HD manufacturers and in most cases they are all pretty reliable and offer good warranties. If in doubt check out the specific make/model online before buying. Sometimes getting specific HD make/model information for a boxed drive can be tricky though.
 
You can also buy drive enclosures, which allow you to add your own drive(s). Need to know if your looking for network or usb, and the drive type/size.
 
If you are interested, I would recommend a multi-media hard drive, i.e. one that you can hook up to your TV and control via remote-good for music and movies etc.

e.g., something like .
 
More a commentary then a note but with external drives being so cheap, people are using them more and more as their main drives. The problem with doing that is you then need another 1 as a backup.
e.g, Ive several 250-300gb drives at home for different purposes at least 1 of which is a backup to the other,whats coming for home users are RAID enabled drives such as this which have 1.5TB raw or 1TB mirrored.
 
If you are interested, I would recommend a multi-media hard drive, i.e. one that you can hook up to your TV and control via remote-good for music and movies etc.
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www.ibood.com recently had a 320gb for 150e delivered to ireland. Got one and was a lifesaver on holidays with the kids waking early. Ive seen that on there at least twice in the last 6 months so subscribe to their daily mail and grab them when they come up.
 
CCOVICH said:
If you are interested, I would recommend a multi-media hard drive, i.e. one that you can hook up to your TV and control via remote-good for music and movies etc.

e.g., something like .
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I recently put something like that together very cheaply by ordering for $29.25 delivered and then separately picking up a 120GB 2.5" drive on eBay for another €50-odd. Works a treat, and you could go for a higher capacity if you wanted to carry around more stuff.
 
Lauren said:
2.5 USB portable type please! Thanks for the replies so far!
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To answer your question specifically I have seen a similarly good value to the 500GB but also portable hard drive in maplin too but the exact numbers escape me for now:( . If I pass by that way again Ill post the numbers here
 
DrMoriarty said:
I recently put something like that together very cheaply by ordering for $29.25 delivered and then separately picking up a 120GB 2.5" drive on eBay for another €50-odd. Works a treat, and you could go for a higher capacity if you wanted to carry around more stuff.
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Very nice Dr. M. Exact same spec as what I have linked to but for less money.
 
car said:
www.ibood.com recently had a 320gb for 150e delivered to ireland. Got one and was a lifesaver on holidays with the kids waking early. Ive seen that on there at least twice in the last 6 months so subscribe to their daily mail and grab them when they come up.
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Yeah, I have seen the ibood offer alright and was tempted. Problem is (well not really a problem!) that I already have an external HD, I also have MP3 input on my home cinema and kitchen stereo and I have a Belkin i-trip, so no real need for anything else!
 
sign said:
To answer your question specifically I have seen a similarly good value to the 500GB but also portable hard drive in maplin too but the exact numbers escape me for now:( . If I pass by that way again Ill post the numbers here
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I don't think that you can get 500GB 2.5" hard disks! I think the max capacity these days is about 160GB?

Some people seem to have missed this key information from the original poster:
Lauren said:
2.5 USB portable type please! Thanks for the replies so far!
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Update: a quick Google suggests that a few hard disk manufacturers have recently unveiled 200GB 2.5" hard disk models.
 
[broken link removed][broken link removed] at Maplin and certainly looks like 3.5" as it is mains powered (and doesn't have a fan).
 
ClubMan said:
I don't think that you can get 500GB 2.5" hard disks! I think the max capacity these days is about 160GB?

Some people seem to have missed this key information from the original poster:


Update: a quick Google suggests that a few hard disk manufacturers have recently unveiled 200GB 2.5" hard disk models.
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Perhaps I could have been clearer but I didnt intend to say the 500GB was the 2.5" hard disk. I intended to say I saw 2 different offers of which both appeared to be similarly good value.
 
sign said:
Perhaps I could have been clearer but I didnt intend to say the 500GB was the 2.5" hard disk. I intended to say I saw 2 different offers of which both appeared to be similarly good value.
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The Maplin one is a 3.5" WD drive in a non-WD enclosure.

A 500GB WD through-and-through external 3.5" drive as in the [broken link removed] can be had for the same price on Komplett.ie (although you have to add delivery @ €13). Looks cooler, can be vertical or horizontally mounted, stackable.

WD also do non-mains powered, i.e. USB powered, WD drives - branded as Passport. On [broken link removed] also - prices from €80 for 120GB to €195 for the 250GB.
 
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