Help me make a choice .

[majithia23]

Yo Homies ,

how you all doing ...! :)

A happy new year to all ...

i know its late ... :P , but still ... !

Allright guys , need your help to make a decision ...

Thinking of getting an External HDD about 500 Gb .

Narrowed to these ones --

WD My Passport 500 Gb -- http://www.naaptol.c...00GB-2.5-U.html

Seagate GoFlex 500 Gb -- http://www.naaptol.c...lack-500GB.html

Buffalo MiniStation -- http://www.naaptol.c...5-portable.html

which one out of these would be the most worth the bucks spent .?

the best one out of these ?

in terms of performance , durability and reliability ...

i have no experience in HDDs ,

so what brand do you guys recommend from your experience and knowledge that would be the most prudent choice to go for ...

and its not just these makes ,

please do recommend any other brands also , which have worked for you ..

Hitachi ? Toshiba ? Lacie ? IoMega ? Transcend ? etc , etc , etc .....

preferrably with USB 3.0 interface ...

thanks ....

[Nima]

I go for WD one, I'm really satisfied with it's products over these years. ;)

My Passport Essential (for Portable one)

My Book Essential (External one)

[beer]

For me, the warranty period is pretty important and I think it adds good value when considering HDDs(both internal and external drives). I try to buy drives with at least 3 year warranty. Out of the 3 you listed, only the Seagate shows the warranty period, so maybe it's worth while to find out the other 2 if are seriously considering.

Brand-wise, my vote also goes to western digital. They have work great and been reliable for me, and their warranty service is also pretty good in my experience.

[majithia23]

thanks guys for your replies ...

@beer

warranty is not an issue . both the drives are offering a 3 year warranty .

how ever the thing worth considering is the increased cost of hard drives due to the floods in Thailand .

the same drive which is now costing about $80 was available for about $45 or 50 , 2 months back . ! :mellow:

so again i have to make a second choice ( ... though not a major one )

wait for some time , if the prices will fall back some time soon

or

go ahead and make the purchase , esp if it would take some time for the price fall ...

any idea about this too ??

and i just saw a review on popularmechanics.com , where ' IoMega eGo Rugged ' was the one drive that took the most brunt of extreme physical malhandling out of the test lot of hard drives and survived to still be able to plug into the computer and work all well !!

but then , i havent heard of IoMega !!

is it a good one ?

any takes on it from any one ??

[bearoninternet]

Been using about 10 WD's for last five years, never let me down though i had the charger replaced under warranty one time.

No experience with the other brands though, except for iomega which i remember from zip and jaz-drives.

The 'rugged' one is probably just a matter of some rubber antishock housing, price is usually way up on those.

[beer]

thanks guys for your replies ...

@beer

warranty is not an issue . both the drives are offering a 3 year warranty .

how ever the thing worth considering is the increased cost of hard drives due to the floods in Thailand .

the same drive which is now costing about $80 was available for about $45 or 50 , 2 months back . ! :mellow:

so again i have to make a second choice ( ... though not a major one )

wait for some time , if the prices will fall back some time soon

or

go ahead and make the purchase , esp if it would take some time for the price fall ...

any idea about this too ??

I think the answer to this question greatly depends on how important/valuable is the data you plan to store on this drive. If you need something to store or backup irreplaceable data, then definitely consider buying it now(sometimes you won't realize how important something is until it's gone). On the other hand, if your files can be re-downloaded or reacquired from elsewhere, or you are just looking for an upgrade, you might consider waiting for some hot deals.

Currently, there isn't a definite date in regard to price drops, but supply is expected to catch up to demand sometime Q1 of 2012(source). But from what I read, the prices may remain high even past Q1. My data easily worth over $80(especially some project files, and custom content that I have created), and I wouldn't think twice about buying a backup drive if i didn't have one now.

and i just saw a review on popularmechanics.com , where ' IoMega eGo Rugged ' was the one drive that took the most brunt of extreme physical malhandling out of the test...

I have seen Iomega drives, but unfortunately I have zero experience with them. If i were in your shoes, I might take a chance with them if the price was significantly lower. I would also check their support forums to see if they have a good RMA policy in case you have problems.

[grouchysmurf]

Western Digital is the way to go.

Seagate is second

Iomega...ummm...no

[majithia23]

@bear

yup thats right .

the IoMega rugged one is for about $100 or 110 . !

so doesnt seem liked a good deal , when compred to the reputed and the major choice - WD .

@beer

thats right man , back up of back up , is what i believe in . ;)

you never know when some thing would fail .. !

thanks for the info on the market trends ..

i think i ll go for it ..

@grouchy

thanks for the reinforcing the WD choice ... !

one more thing , i just found this USB to eSata adapter on eBay --

http://www.ebay.in/itm/USB-2-0-SATA-eSATA-Bridge-Converter-Adapter-PC-/350378363479

my laptop has the eSata port but not the USB 3.0 .

so untill i get a new lappy , i was thinking of using the eSata for speedier transfers ....

do such type of things work ? i mean do you get increased speeds ??

any experience on such adapters ....

[DKT27]

First, HDDs prices may not really go down for next 3-4 months, but that's my prediction.

No experience in eSata, but it seems that as per Wikipedia, e-Sata is generally up to 4 times faster than USB 2.0.

naaptol.com, you buy from it or just refer? Is it a good site? :)

[majithia23]

@ D

how u doing buddy .

Naaptol , naa , never bought any thing from the site .

in my search for the best price for the drives , just landed up here .

it sure mentions the best price , but there is no mention on 'How to buy' at that price !

contacted the customer care and even those guys have no idea ..!

Fools on a Foolish site !!

the shop giving the best price is some - Bhagwati Infosys at Lamington Road , Mumbai .

and dont know when the prices shall fall , but i called up the all so Nototiously famous IT Market -- The Nehru Place at Delhi .

and the guy i called up seemed to be a good chap , as he advised me to wait till the end of this month coz the prices just might fall . he said most likely they should ..

so ... lets see ...

[Brrownie]

WD My Book Essential USB 3.0/2.0 Desktop External...Sleek, small, fast and quiet! Worth Every Single Penny! :thumbsup:

[beer]

one more thing , i just found this USB to eSata adapter on eBay --

http://www.ebay.in/i...C-/350378363479

my laptop has the eSata port but not the USB 3.0 .

so untill i get a new lappy , i was thinking of using the eSata for speedier transfers ....

do such type of things work ? i mean do you get increased speeds ??

any experience on such adapters ....

Like DK27 said, eSata drives can transfer up to 4 times faster than USB 2.0, but I want to add that your speeds will be limited to the connection with the lowest transfer rate. Meaning that, if you use an eSATA/USB2.0 adapter, your transfer speeds will never exceed that of USB2.0. For your consideration, my eSata transfer speeds are 50~80MB/s vs USB 2.0 drive 15~28MB/s (transfer speeds vary due to size of files, disk fragmentation, and etc).

If I were in your situation, I would either:

• Buy a drive with native eSATA connector (so you actually get the benefit of eSATA)
  
• Buy the USB3.0 drive and just use the USB2.0 connection for now, and call it a day.
  

[majithia23]

but I want to add that your speeds will be limited to the connection with the lowest transfer rate. Meaning that, if you use an eSATA/USB2.0 adapter, your transfer speeds will never exceed that of USB2.0.

good point beer . i just forgot this . so theres no need to add any esata adapters .

the only portable drive available with esata port is the Seagate GoFlex . but even in that you have to buy the esata cable n port separetly and they are expensive . around $ 25 .

i m going for the WD my passport edition with USB 3.0

@brownie

thanks for reassuring my choice mate .. :)

[DKT27]

Lamington Road, Mumbai is the city market of computers, I've never visited there myself, but it's like, 80% of computer items sold in Mumbai would be from Lamington Road. Things you don't get anywhere else, go to Lamington Road. Can't find cheap one, Lamington Road. Want to see unlimited options Lamington Road. :)

The Nehru Place at Delhi, well, it seems that all the imported products land there and then get distributed all over India. So yea, it's quite famous and people there would be knowing well about it.

I personally don't shop online, first due to no credit card policy of my family ( :P ) and second, I always better rates from retails, etc. when I or my engineer visit them.

[mrsmith]

Beware the infamous VCD "partition" and the WD SmartWare Software that is incorporated into new WD external HDDs.

http://imnotbruce.bl...ook-studio.html .......g/l

[majithia23]

Beware the infamous VCD "partition" and the WD SmartWare Software that is incorporated into new WD external HDDs.

http://imnotbruce.bl...ook-studio.html .......g/l

thanks for the heads up Smith ..

i am familiar with the WD Smartware thing , but this is what WD says about it now --

" WD SmartWare Software

The Western Digital My Passport Essential SE offers the WD SmartWare software that provides automatic, continuous backup and data retrieve through a visual control center. In addition, the software lets you customize your backup, set drive security, run diagnostics, manage the power settings and more. And if you prefer, you can choose not to use the software at all. "

so they say you can turn it off .

will that be good enough or does that still cause an issue ?

your takes/review on it ... ?

@D

no credit card policy is fine ... not an issue .

the online shopping is so much rampant / viral nowadays , you just need to select a product of your choice at any of the many online shops ,

and the websites shall give you a whole sh!t load of options to pay .

cash on delivery , debit , credit , cheque , EMI interest free etc etc ... and at discounts ranging from little to jawdropping huge . !

picture this -

i just bought a Buffalo Portable DVD writer ( http://www.buffalotech.com/products/optical-drives/mediastation/mediastation153-8x-portable-dvd-writer-with-led-power-indicator-dvsm-pc58u2vb/ ) priced at about $ 50-60 , Rs 2500

for just Rs 1000 , $ 20 ..!! :rolleyes:

so it definitely pays , given you know how n where to shop ...! ;)

[mrsmith]

Beware the infamous VCD "partition" and the WD SmartWare Software that is incorporated into new WD external HDDs.

http://imnotbruce.bl...ook-studio.html .......g/l

thanks for the heads up Smith ..

i am familiar with the WD Smartware thing , but this is what WD says about it now --

" WD SmartWare Software

The Western Digital My Passport Essential SE offers the WD SmartWare software that provides automatic, continuous backup and data retrieve through a visual control center. In addition, the software lets you customize your backup, set drive security, run diagnostics, manage the power settings and more. And if you prefer, you can choose not to use the software at all. "

so they say you can turn it off .

will that be good enough or does that still cause an issue ?

your takes/review on it ... ?

I actually owned a 1TB WD ext HDD and Yes you can choose not to install the software as WD says but it will still periodically pop up and "warn" you about how you would be better off with it etc etc. Plus the fact that you have wasted and unrecoverable space on the drive. Also if you do not install the software some of the "features" are rendered useless. The VCD will still show in device manager with a yellow ? mark beside it too if you do not install the software. I am just against any company forcing me to use what they "think" is good or necessary. I sold the drive I had and went to Best Buy and had them find me an older model of WD ext HDD before they incorporated such non-sense but that was almost 1yr ago so I doubt it would be very easy to find an older drive now....g/l

[majithia23]

I actually owned a 1TB WD ext HDD and Yes you can choose not to install the software as WD says but it will still periodically pop up and "warn" you about how you would be better off with it etc etc. Plus the fact that you have wasted and unrecoverable space on the drive. Also if you do not install the software some of the "features" are rendered useless. The VCD will still show in device manager with a yellow ? mark beside it too if you do not install the software. I am just against any company forcing me to use what they "think" is good or necessary. I sold the drive I had and went to Best Buy and had them find me an older model of WD ext HDD before they incorporated such non-sense but that was almost 1yr ago so I doubt it would be very easy to find an older drive now....g/l

thanks Smith for the reviews ...

of course it's stupid to force something upon someone to use without there free will.

dont know why a company of such repute would amount to such obssessively irritating ritual !

but as of now , WD seems to be the best option to go for a portable drive and

from what i have read is , you can turn the VCD off or say hide it , but cannot remove it from the WD drive .

a 2 Tb drive gives you about 1.8 Tb to use in reality .

so how much space does this VCD actually take up in addition to already less available space ?

and i just checked up , the WD Elements Edition drive does not feature this Smartware .

so it should be a good option .?

any performance difference b/w the Elements and Passport editions ..?

[mrsmith]

and i just checked up , the WD Elements Edition drive does not feature this Smartware .

so it should be a good option .?

any performance difference b/w the Elements and Passport editions ..?

no I can not offer any info about performance and WD is a good drive. If as you say the Elements edition does not incorporate the VCD and Smartware software then that is the drive I would choose....g/l

[majithia23]

thanks Smith for the response ..

Appreciate it ..

cheers ... !

[majithia23]

update ---

bought the WD Elements SE portable HDD today .

its small , light n works good .

dint go for the My Passport Edition , all because of the irritating n stubborn VCD thing embedded deep into it , for which many users reported that they did not like it ..

seems good as of now .

one little question , if any one could answer -

this WD has the USB 3.0 interface , but it comes with the cable with 3.0 interface on one end and 2.0 interface on other end .!

so , in order to enjoy faster and speedier transfer rates of 3.0 , i would have to buy a new cable with 3.0 interface at both the ends . Right ?

[bearoninternet]

I think you are just confusing the male and the female port.

It's very unlikely there is a 2.0 usb connector on one end side because 3.0 is backwards compatible to 2.0 so no reason for that.

Please read here and here.

[majithia23]

@bear

thanks for clarifying my doubt mate . the links were good , !

i had never seen a 3.0 interface , so thought of this upper interface as being the new 3.0 and the bottom one as standard 2.0 .

when in fact both are 3.0

the upper one micro 3.0 b and the lower one as new 3.0 :P

Right .. ?

[bearoninternet]

You're welcome :)

Enjoy your new disk and it's speed. :rockon:

[beer]

Curious myself, what kind of transfer speed you getting on USB3.0?