Windows 7 - A New Fast and Reliable External HDD Needed

I've been using a 160GB WD Passport HDD for a very long time and just recently it has decided that I've over used it.

I'm looking for another hard drive that I can replace it with. I'm not looking for something with massive space, something similar would be good.

I used it as a place to install most of my programmes and all my games so that when getting a new computer or reformatting I wouldn't have to re-install everything. For this reason I need something that is fast and will last me for a good while.

Any suggestions?

the Iomega desktop Prestige is quite nice; various gb sizes .

It's too big for what I want to use it for. Both in terms of size and memory.

okay, they do nice laptop equivalents

get a 120gb SSD and stick it in a caddy if you have USB 3.0 its even better!

Great thing about SSD's, no moving parts! soo you can drop it and bash it around in your bag as much as you wish.

The problem with SSD's is that they cost way too much.

Is it really worth getting one for such high prices?

External hard drives are a gamble lately and most of the manufacturers won't tell you what brand/model drive is inside. For reliability, it's all about the drive. Try Newegg and look through the reviews for different external drives. For Western Digital, the only ones I'll use are Scorpio or Caviar black drives. Seagate has a few decent drives (stay away from 7200.11). Keep away from refurbished drives too.