External drive suggestions

[screwballl]

I have been watching the external drive reviews and such closely lately and after checking the price, it is difficult to decide if I should go with enclosure and drive separately or just buy one with the drive built in already.
The recent review of the TT Max 4 got me thinking. The prebuilt and the case+hd cost is about the same overall so I would assume it is just the backup software that would be the deciding point.
I was trying to decide to go with NAS or eSATA based since it will be used by all the computers on my network but the price premium on NAS is a bit higher than I would prefer. So this leaves me with an SATA drive of some sort with an eSATA enclosure.
The only specs I have decided on is around 500GB and eSATA connection (I don't think any have an IDE drive inside using the eSATA do they?).

Ideas? Suggestions? Experience?

I will not be buying this until the new year so I got a few weeks to look everything over.

[Stormcrow]

Independent enclosures are nice because once the hard drive is full, you can swap in a new one not have to go through deleting things to free up space. If you just want a simple backup drive/extra storage, either is fine. But if you're using it for storing data you don't want to lose, I'd go with the enclosure.

[gvblake22]

I think for ease of use, flexibility, and cost, the individual drive and external enclosure is a hard combo to beat. I have use both the Tt Max 4 and Antec MX-1 with good success. Overall, I would have to say I like the Antec MX-1 better, but it also costs a good bit more. The MX-1 feels more sturdy and features active cooling (although it can be "noisy" in a silent room, but you can just unplug the fan if you want). Enermax appears to make some decent enclosures as well.

[Tyreal]

I actually have an MX-1 right now. It's a really nice product and I will do a review on it as soon as I get a hard drive for it. I plan to use it to hold all of my music, pictures etc. on the network.

[garetjax]

Originally Posted by screwballl

The only specs I have decided on is around 500GB and eSATA connection (I don't think any have an IDE drive inside using the eSATA do they?).

No, you're right. All external hard drives that utilize eSATA data connections have SATA drives inside them. As far as choosing an external HDD enclosure, I've read great things about the Seagate FreeAgent Pro. If I had to choose, I'd choose THIS one. It's at a great price point, and it's got a ton of sweet software that comes with the drive. =)

[Tech Geek Deluxe]

Heya Screwball ...

I have tried a number of externals and the best I have found for price and speed [on individual PC's] is the Beyond Micro single drive esata Beyond Micro BMMD3CS ... it is inexpensive and has a super simple design and the features you need. Comes with everything ya need [Just drop in a Sata Drive] and has the on-off button in front. Has internal fan ... important!

[The 1TB Cavalry Raid 0,1 external looks nice too but the $229 deal is gone from buy.com] Cavalry CADA001SA2

Here is a current deal on a network storage drive Iomega StorCenter 500GB Network Hard Drive (NAS)

Haven't done a ny research on it tho.

I also tried Gigabit Nas and had troubles ... found the best and reliable was by Ximeta 10/100 ... uses IDE and is surprisingly fast ... basically trouble free ... can add larger drives. I have used one for 3 years now and all 6 home PC's can access it as a file server. They are inexpensive as well.

[tiredoldman]

Me, I'm just downright poor. I use my ide drives with cheap ADS usb external cases.
All 4 of my Mator Diamond 10's ( 2-300gig-2-500gigs) work just fine for me.
El chepo's work for me.

[Tech Geek Deluxe]

Wow ... those MX-1's look very nice ... I like the cooling system they have ... very nice.

On sale with free shipping and rebate now at Buy.com $30

[[Dr. V]]

Seagate FreeAgent Pro is the best I've seen. Looks sexy, and it's very fast and reliable. From personal experiences and opinions from others, that's the one I'd choose.

[screwballl]

my problem is that the only "loose" drives I have floating around here are all 500MB (yes MB) to 10GB and not worth using as a backup drive.