Good external HD?

[alyssastep]

So I have a laptop with 60 GB of memory on it, but I'm looking to amp it up a bit by purchasing an external hard drive.

The student store has various external options, but I found this 500 GB for $99 to be the best deal (though it is a bit bulky and unattractive). However, I don't really know anything about the difference in quality from brand to brand.

500 GB for $99:
UNC Student Stores - LaCie 500GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive

There is another one, the same brand, but it's 129.99. Why is the smaller memory more expensive? Possibly just a smaller device?

Last, I'm considering the external HD because it's a bit cheaper than putting a new one into my laptop. But - does anyone know of a good, inexpensive internal HD for laptops? It's a Lenovo Thinkpad, I know, I know, I don't have my specs up, I'm working on it (well, not really). I'll be using it to store music, photos, documents, movies, tv shows, games, etc. But over 500 GB seems a bit excessive.

Oh, and one last thing. I found out today that I can get any Microsoft software for real cheaps because I bought my computer through school. Thus, Vista Ultimate: regularly 400 bucks, a mere 20 for me. No, I didn't forget a zero on the 20! Ahh, yeah, sorry, just thought I'd brag about that, it made me really happy.

[screwballl]

first, do you have any eSATA ports? If not then it may be beneficial to get a card with the ports for this purpose as the file transfer speeds are massively faster via eSATA then it would be using USB.

[garetjax]

Originally Posted by alyssastep

So I have a laptop with 60 GB of memory on it, but I'm looking to amp it up a bit by purchasing an external hard drive.

As well you should! Hard drives with large storage capacities are extremely affordable these days.

Originally Posted by alyssastep

The student store has various external options, but I found this 500 GB for $99 to be the best deal (though it is a bit bulky and unattractive). However, I don't really know anything about the difference in quality from brand to brand.

I guess you could buy that, although it may be cheaper to buy a separate hard drive and an external enclosure for it. With purchasing a separate hard drive and external hard drive enclosure, you can take advantage of SATAII performance with an eSATA interface.

That is if your laptop supports it. Which by the way, what is the model of your notebook so I can do some research and find what storage solution would be best for you.

Originally Posted by alyssastep

500 GB for $99:
UNC Student Stores - LaCie 500GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive

Yuck. That enclosure is big and bulky. You definitely want to go with a smaller external storage enclosure, especially if you are planning on being mobile with your computer gear.

Originally Posted by alyssastep

There is another one, the same brand, but it's 129.99. Why is the smaller memory more expensive? Possibly just a smaller device?

It's more expensive because it is a laptop hard drive which is a 2.5" formfactor, instead of 3.5" like the one you linked. There is really no difference between the formfactor of the two hard drives, performance wise, although 2.5" laptop hard drives are capped at 320GB max, if I remember correctly. I think there is a 500GB model on the books here pretty soon though.

Originally Posted by alyssastep

Last, I'm considering the external HD because it's a bit cheaper than putting a new one into my laptop. But - does anyone know of a good, inexpensive internal HD for laptops?

I purchased a Western Digital Scorpio 320GB hard drive for about $190 from Newegg a few months ago. Sweet little hard drive, very fast. I highly recommend the Scorpio line as they great performers and last quite a long time.

[alyssastep]

That's massively helpful, thanks! I don't know if the laptop supports the eSATA or not, I'll have someone look at it this weekend. I'm sure it does, it's only a year old, and a pretty nice computer.

ThankYou
ThankYou
ThankYou
ThankYou
ThankYou

[garetjax]

If you take a peek at the underside of your laptop, you should see a placard with a model number on it. This would be immensely helpful in us helping you. =)

As a side note, I recently wrote a review on an external hard drive enclosure, you may be interested in reading it: EagleTech Consus L-Series. The device itself costs $20, and by purchasing a Western Digital Scorpio 320GB hard drive for $130, this solution will give you oodles of storage opportunities in a really sleek, mobile package.

Of course, if you don't like the look of the Consus L-Series, there are plenty of other options out there, such as THIS, which I am writing a review on as we speak, and THIS, which I also reviewed not too long ago as well.

Seriously though, forget the 3.5" hard drives, and stick with a 2.5" laptop hard drives instead. They are smaller, generate less heat, eat less power (which is important when running the external device off your laptop), and are much more mobile friendly. You will thank me in the long run, trust me. =)

[screwballl]

Options:

Hard drive:
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3500630AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives - $80

External enclosure with both USB and eSATA:
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more! - $20+

I myself have had good luck with Thermaltake and their warranty center/support so I am inclined so suggest this one:
Newegg.com - Thermaltake MAX 4 N0003US Aluminum & Plastic 3.5" USB2.0 & eSATA Combo External Enclosure - External Enclosures


The one I got is no longer in stock but it was this one:
Newegg.com - Thermaltake A2398 Aluminum 3.5" USB 2.0 Silver River R3.5 Enclosure - External Enclosures

[garetjax]

None those options are truly portable...

[alyssastep]

Originally Posted by garetjax

If you take a peek at the underside of your laptop, you should see a placard with a model number on it. This would be immensely helpful in us helping you. =)

As a side note, I recently wrote a review on an external hard drive enclosure, you may be interested in reading it: EagleTech Consus L-Series. The device itself costs $20, and by purchasing a Western Digital Scorpio 320GB hard drive for $130, this solution will give you oodles of storage opportunities in a really sleek, mobile package.

Of course, if you don't like the look of the Consus L-Series, there are plenty of other options out there, such as THIS, which I am writing a review on as we speak, and THIS, which I also reviewed not too long ago as well.

Seriously though, forget the 3.5" hard drives, and stick with a 2.5" laptop hard drives instead. They are smaller, generate less heat, eat less power (which is important when running the external device off your laptop), and are much more mobile friendly. You will thank me in the long run, trust me. =)

There are quite a few numbers on the bottom. So, I'm going to take a stab at it and write a random one, and hopefully I've correctly chosen the model number!

8745UN7

*crosses fingers*

Oh! And that Western Digital HD off New Egg looks mucho excellente! Definitely good that it won't heat up as much, this laptop tends to get hott.

[screwballl]

Originally Posted by garetjax

None those options are truly portable...

what do you mean? they are external enclosures and as long as she has a USB or eSATA port (and in some cases access to a power outlet) then they should work fine...

granted for TOTAL portability... a enclosure powered off the USB port and most likely with a laptop hard drive may be the only way to go but also limits the storage space available.

[alyssastep]

Originally Posted by screwballl

what do you mean? they are external enclosures and as long as she has a USB or eSATA port (and in some cases access to a power outlet) then they should work fine...

granted for TOTAL portability... a enclosure powered off the USB port and most likely with a laptop hard drive may be the only way to go but also limits the storage space available.

Hmm..good point. I'd really prefer something powered by USB, and I forgot that limits the memory capacity to an extent. All things considered, coughing up the money for an internal HD to replace the one I have now doesn't seem like a terrible option.

Thank you all lots and lots for the help. If you have any more suggestions, I'm all ears!