Good external hard drive

rohanbee · 13-11-2006, 11:56 AM

im looking for a good external hard drive to put next to my laptop. Anyone have suggestions and pricing............my budget is around 5-7k

mod-the-pc · 13-11-2006, 07:46 PM

How about getting and internal 3.5" HDD and adding an external case to it. But the downside is they're not compact and require external power.

AshishSharma · 13-11-2006, 08:15 PM

^^^ Well no you can go for the Internal Laptops Hard Drives and then put the USB casing over it, doesn't need any external power nd works fine as a USB drive. I've got a 80 GB for Rs. 5000 nd whats cool is that u have 3 years warranty on most Internal Hard Drives nwdays

rohanbee · 14-11-2006, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AshishSharma

^^^ Well no you can go for the Internal Laptops Hard Drives and then put the USB casing over it, doesn't need any external power nd works fine as a USB drive. I've got a 80 GB for Rs. 5000 nd whats cool is that u have 3 years warranty on most Internal Hard Drives nwdays

Would it be possible for you to post a pic plus the model name and brand?? Also the brand name for the external casing??
Would be a great help
thanks

AshishSharma · 14-11-2006, 04:58 PM

Attached 3 Pics of the HDD. It's the Normal Seagate HDD for Laptops and the casing is Zippys. 80 GB should fall under 5K.

rohanbee · 14-11-2006, 07:56 PM

well that suits my budget pretty dan well and so does the size..........i just hope i can easily find one now.....

AshishSharma · 14-11-2006, 08:10 PM

Where r u located ... it's easily available everywhere .... just visit any computer store ...

reddragon · 14-11-2006, 09:39 PM

how much is seagate's external HDD???

AshishSharma · 15-11-2006, 04:33 PM

I guess around 4 K for 80 GB now .... nd the casing is for around Rs 200 - 300.

rohanbee · 15-11-2006, 05:36 PM

ya i just got quoted 4400 for a hitachi drive?! and 4000 for a western digital one as well?!
Somebody even suggested going in for a normal hard drive and get a cover on it?!
Never tried that?! will it work? is it worth it??

mod-the-pc · 15-11-2006, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rohanbee

Somebody even suggested going in for a normal hard drive and get a cover on it?!
Never tried that?! will it work? is it worth it??

It works. I got a normal Seagate 250GB HDD and added an external casing to it.

AshishSharma · 15-11-2006, 09:05 PM

Yeah but with that U need external power and it's bulky. I thought abt it myself but then decided against it bcz I use Laptop and it sucks if I can't access the HDD when there's no power.

But otherwise an obvious low cost solution. All depends on ur needs dude

rohanbee · 16-11-2006, 12:51 PM

Well thats true..........ashish..............whats the point if it cant work with the laptops power also.........it might shut down applications which you are working on without saving. Thats why my laptop is such a boon for me.
Also the laptop hd is quite small i belive....
Do you think a 40gb would be too small if i wanna store my music and movies in it?? im gonna have one withn the hour on a trial basis first!!

ax3 · 16-11-2006, 01:13 PM

u can get a normal HDD & use external USB case with power option ....... power is drawn from USB port only .......

it was shown in digit mag some months back...........

a_medico · 16-11-2006, 02:43 PM

Prices 1 mon back on lamington road :-

Seagate 300 GB HD + External USB 2.0 casing = Rs 6500

Laptop Harddisk 100GB + External USB casing = Rs 4200

Laptop harddisk is slim and handy with NO EXTERNAL POWER SUPPLY.

The seagate one is Bulky (as it is internal hard disk in a case) and extra cables (2) need to be attached. One for power supply, one for usb drive.

If your aim is data trasfer between comps at diff places, laptop drive is better.

If the aim is massive storage and backup, 300gb is a good option.

goobimama · 16-11-2006, 03:13 PM

I've found all these cheap casings pathetic in performance as well as build quality. The only good one's are made by Vantec, but the price doesn't go in favour of them. So what one is left to is to buy a branded external HDD. LaCie's external HDDs are quite good.

And if you are looking for a 3.5inch version, then the Western Digital MyBook Essential/Premium is an excellent buy. Don't get the Iomega or Maxtor one's.

My two paisa's

rohanbee · 16-11-2006, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goobimama

I've found all these cheap casings pathetic in performance as well as build quality. The only good one's are made by Vantec, but the price doesn't go in favour of them. So what one is left to is to buy a branded external HDD. LaCie's external HDDs are quite good.

And if you are looking for a 3.5inch version, then the Western Digital MyBook Essential/Premium is an excellent buy. Don't get the Iomega or Maxtor one's.

My two paisa's

Thanks for the info!! but you didn't mention any prices...........approx at least. How much is expensive...........if a non-branded case is for 300 odd and a branded one for 1000 odd i dont mind spending on the branded but some info on that will help because i dont seem to be getting any info on the branded cases locally in my town....

goobimama · 16-11-2006, 11:32 PM

Well, the Vantec 3.5" external casing costs 2.5k.
The Vantec 2.5" External casing costs 1.5k
MyBook Premium 250GB costs around 7-8k (not sure about the essential edition)

rohanbee · 17-11-2006, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goobimama

Well, the Vantec 3.5" external casing costs 2.5k.
The Vantec 2.5" External casing costs 1.5k
MyBook Premium 250GB costs around 7-8k (not sure about the essential edition)

Ok thanks now let me check if these are available here to see..........oherwise now im thinking back to getting a normal hd 300 gb odd and it will be cheaper........and get a casing for it.........per gb i will save a lot ......no??!!
Mostly i want it to store pictures , music and movies.........fun stuff......and yes some work/personal back-ups as well............
Do you think a 80gb(laptop hd w case) is enough or should i go in for a 300gb internal desktop drive w case??

goobimama · 17-11-2006, 02:48 PM

Quote:

You can get both MyBook Premium 500Gb as well as 250GB

500GB MyBook Premium is Rs. 17600/-
250GB MyBook Premium is Rs. 8800/-

Regards
Vinayendra Singh
Product Manager - WD
Mediaman Infotech (P) Ltd.
Tel. 91-22-23823100/3200/8100/8200
Fax.91-22-23877418
Cell 91-9324298778
email: vinay@mediamangroup.com

This is the email that i got from the Western Digital dealer in India. The MyBook Premium edition has got a free space indicator as well as Firewire400 support. The essential should be much cheaper and good enough for your needs.

Trust me, I don't think using a normal HDD with a cheap casing is a good option. The casings come off within a few weeks and there are connectivity issues.

The 3.5" v/s 2.5" debate has to be settled by you alone, depending on your needs.

rohanbee · 17-11-2006, 03:32 PM

Thanks!!!
helps clear out a lot of issues............but wondering if i still wanna spend 8800 on a disk.......
even more confused now!!1
but not because of you comments though..

goobimama · 19-11-2006, 12:51 AM

8800 is not for the essential. The premium edition is costs much more than the essential edition for which i dont know the price, but it should be around 5-6k for 250GB....

ashu_dps · 28-11-2006, 09:31 PM

Can anyone enlighten me on hw the 3.5" HDD can be powered by USB ?
Actually i m not aware if it's possible n have only seen such casings with external power.

AshishSharma · 28-11-2006, 09:36 PM

True dude the Laptop HDD's can be assembled with USB casing which doesn't require power but for the normal 3.5" HDD U need external power for sure.

ashu_dps · 28-11-2006, 11:41 PM

Ya abt lappy's HDD i knw bt somewhere in this thread someone(ax3, i guess) mentioned that even normal HDD's can draw power frm USB, wht abt it ?

AshishSharma · 29-11-2006, 02:01 PM

Hmmm that'll be interesting ... I am interested in buying one if it's possible...

May the real Ax3 please stand up .. nd reply ....

ax3 · 30-11-2006, 05:57 PM

am really searching THE MAG ........

cant remember which month it was .....

will post ASAP .... the detailed instructions abt THAT external casing ........