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I'm looking for something cheap, it doesn't have to be very large, I don't really need more than say 80GB. Thanks in advance!
2011-03-31 11:59:00
what about hitachi XL series drives? anyone has experience of those?
2011-03-30 20:31:00
Maplin's have got an 60Gb one for £24.99. USB 2.0 - no idea what it's like. I've got a 500Gb Seagate and 250Gb red one - if I find it I'll let you know the nake, but it's red and pretty ;-). Bought from Amazon, no probs with either of them (other than finding the red one!). Seagate's permanently connected to my main pc.
2011-03-30 08:24:00
Ignoring additional features like one-touch backup and networked file storage, all external drives are the same as internal, they just connect through USB. There really is no difference between them, other than the differences you would expect in any other hard drive. Look for higher RPM (5000 is slow, 10000 is about the best you can I think), and USB2. You'd be hard-pressed to find a commercially available model that small though, I think.
2011-03-30 18:03:00
Mike recently made a point that getting higher RPM was actually a bad decision. The gain in speed was not worth the loss in lifetime (increased heat buildup). What do others think? Maybe this is true only for internal hard drives and not for external ones?Also, I always wonder who the manufacturer is because some are known to be crappy. Personally, I have made bad experiences with hard drives produced by Maxtor. I think that is the kind of advice Nick is looking for. Any opinions which manufacturer delivers the best quality or hardware lifetime?