Seagate or Western digital External HDD?

[D3ftOn3Z]

Would like to ask for your recommendations.I'm deciding on buying a new external HDD later on..But i'm not sure which is better?Seagate freeagent or WD's my passport essentials?Am planning on getting a 320gb type..

Looking forward for your replies..Thanks.

 

[noyb]

I think it would be better to get an enclosure .. And a good quality Hard Drive of your choice ..
and build your own .. There's advantages of being able to get to the HDD

Something like these parts ..
Newegg.com - Rosewill RX-358-S
Newegg.com - western digital caviar black
See the 5 yr warranty on the HDDs ??

 

[Night Hawk]

Either! They both make good drives. One thing to know however is that the drives placed in external enclosures will tend to run warmer then seen when installed inside a desktop where far better air flow is expected.

WD just revealed a new USB 3.0 MyBook model external drive reportedly screamed past the same thing in the USB 2.0 form. First USB 3.0 Tests: Western Digital?s My Book Sails Through - PC World

The new 3.0 standard itself is something to consider. The external 3.0 drives will still work on 2.0 ports however but won't be able to take advantage of that seen on new boards coming out. I'll be waiting for new external enclosures that will be using the 3.0 interface there where you can slide any drive into a well cooled external enclosure being more versatile.

Note one other thing that the drives sold in presealed external casings are the energy efficient models suited for storage. Other models of the same line of drive by each manufacturer are better suited for OSs.

 

[richc46]

Since I am not using either of your choices, I cannot help you decide. I can tell you where to get help. Ebay maintains an excellent ratings section for HD. I have used this souce for other electroic purchases and always got what I expected.



eBay -: western digital Reviews & Guides

 

[D3ftOn3Z]

Thanks noyb..However i move around alot..Would like to purchase a portable one..That fits in my pocket or pouch..Seagate's freeagent also has 5 years waranty..
WD's also got good review..I'm at lost now...

 

[Frostmourne]

I've always gone for Western Digital for external, and now Seagate for internal - up to you, and as has been mentioned you can build your own.

 

[D3ftOn3Z]

Thanks guys for your fast responses and links..Will look into it and maybe consider on getting WD's..Looks good though...

 

[pparks1]

I've been using a WD passport for the past year, every single day at work and it's been flawless. It's the 400GB model. It travels to and from the office each day in my laptop bag...so it's certainly had it's fair share of abuse and it's been solid.

 

[Night Hawk]

I haven't used the pocket sized not generally using a laptop here but considered one for going from desktop to another or a 64gb flash drive. It depends on how large a drive you need as well.

I've been running WD drives for some 13yrs. straight and never have any major issues with them. I removed two out of the internal casings for internal use with one still new in the box when removed to add storage space with the larger of the two.

 

[noobvious]

See my sig for my recommendation. Granted, I share a Seagate 500GB external with my sister, but my uncle put it in an enclosure for us. I've heard that WD drives hold up better in general, but that's hearsay.

It gets pretty darned hot during a full backup, as Night Hawk alluded to.....but that is partially because of USB 2.0 speeds backing up my Caviar Black 640GB internal drive. The OS partition doesn't take long enough for it to really get hot, but the data partition does.

I'm hoping to score a new external drive at tax time, that can utilize my tower's front esata port, then I will give this Seagate up to my sister. So hopefully Uncle Sam is feeling generous this year!

 

[Night Hawk]

USB 3.0 supposedly will be matching eSata there as far as external drives are concerned. But that also means going with a newer board as well. While you are shopping for a new drive I'll be shopping to build a few more cases plus people wanting help on theirs!

 

[Frostmourne]

USB 3.0 supposedly will be matching eSata there as far as external drives are concerned. But that also means going with a newer board as well. While you are shopping for a new drive I'll be shopping to build a few more cases plus people wanting help on theirs!

What about a USB 3.0 expansion card?

 

[noyb]

I'm hoping to score a new external drive at tax time, that can utilize my tower's front esata port,

Connecting an external via eSATA may be a problem.
You'll probably have to reboot the computer before it'll recognize the eSATA ...
and do NOT disconnect it before you turn the computer OFF.

Several reboots may be required to fix the problem this'll cause.

The only reason I connect my externals via eSATA ...
Is if I want to boot from an operating system in the external.

 

[noobvious]

I'm hoping to score a new external drive at tax time, that can utilize my tower's front esata port,

Connecting an external via eSATA may be a problem.
You'll probably have to reboot the computer before it'll recognize the eSATA ...
and do NOT disconnect it before you turn the computer OFF.

Several reboots may be required to fix the problem this'll cause.

The only reason I connect my externals via eSATA ...
Is if I want to boot from an operating system in the external.

My uncle, who built this machine, recommended me going that route for the speed advantage over the USB 2.0 drive I have now. But from what you're saying, sounds like it could be troublesome....I guess I have some research to do.

 

[Night Hawk]

USB 3.0 supposedly will be matching eSata there as far as external drives are concerned. But that also means going with a newer board as well. While you are shopping for a new drive I'll be shopping to build a few more cases plus people wanting help on theirs!

What about a USB 3.0 expansion card?

An expansion card is mainly ports on a mounted card you install in a free slot but still reach out and plug into the small block of pins on the board itself and would still go through the 2.0 bus. The new 3.0 interfaces will still work but you won't realize the faster speed on any 2.0 board.

It works on the same principle you would see if plugging any 2.0 device or drive presently seen into an old 1.1 port if it works there. The speed is reduced by the older standard.

 

[Frostmourne]

The USB 3.0 board goes into a PCI/PCI-E slot and has support for the full bandwith of USB 3.0 - you just need to reach around behind your pc to stick in devices.

 

[Night Hawk]

If the adapter used doesn't have an interface it will simply fit into the case opening there where you run the wires over to the additional usb pins typically set up for addition front or top ports on cases. With a PCI interface you are then going through the PCI bus there being limited by that bus to some degree.

You can get those already plus add two 3.0 speed ports with a PCIe card like the one seen at USB 3.0 PCI Express Card, 2 Port USB 3.0 adapter card (PCIe) with NEC chipset

Now to get a 3.0 to replace the 4 port 2.0 used here for flash drives!

 

[Muad Dib]

If the adapter used doesn't have an interface it will simply fit into the case opening there where you run the wires over to the additional usb pins typically set up for addition front or top ports on cases. With a PCI interface you are then going through the PCI bus there being limited by that bus to some degree.

You can get those already plus add two 3.0 speed ports with a PCIe card like the one seen at USB 3.0 PCI Express Card, 2 Port USB 3.0 adapter card (PCIe) with NEC chipset

Now to get a 3.0 to replace the 4 port 2.0 used here for flash drives!

Without upgrading the existing MOBO a system will still be limited to the max speed of the PCIe slot which will top out at 2.5 Gb/s (for Gen 1) slots OR the max speed of a mechanical HDD. So... USB 3.0 (and its associated cost) becomes attractive only for flash drive or SSDs with a PCIe Gen 2 slot. Or am I missing something here?

P.S. How does one tell a PCIe Gen 1 slot from a Gen 2 slot? Inquiring minds want to know....

 

[pparks1]

Without upgrading the existing MOBO a system will still be limited to the max speed of the PCIe slot which will top out at 2.5 Gb/s (for Gen 1) slots OR the max speed of a mechanical HDD. So... USB 3.0 (and its associated cost) becomes attractive only for flash drive or SSDs with a PCIe Gen 2 slot. Or am I missing something here?

P.S. How does one tell a PCIe Gen 1 slot from a Gen 2 slot? Inquiring minds want to know....

My feeling is that USB 3.0 only really benefits a large storage device. So, since hard drives are limited by their own technology as far as speed and flash drives are just so small in comparison and could be filled almost instantly with USB 3.0...I'm not all that geeked about the interface.

 

[noyb]

.....But from what you're saying, sounds like it could be troublesome....I guess I have some research to do.

I've been wondering if a new PCI > eSATA card .. Instead of using the onboard SATA ...
would give me SATA Hot Swap capabilities ...
But have other things to Play with (Buy) right now.

I can imagine that if i had one really Huge file to transfer to an external .. eSATA would be faster ..
But when moving many Small files .. It seems that all the delay is while Windows organizes it's thoughts ... Before it even starts to copy.

I'm not Broken ... Not sure I want to attempt a fix.
I'd probably spend more time fixing the fix .. than I waste using USB.