Good 1TB external drives

Racist Joke · November 2009

Hey guys, I am in the market for a reliable 1TB external hard drive. I have been looking at this one but I keep seeing different reviews on it. I want to know a good brand to buy for a decent price (around $100-$160 price range).

Thanks.

Edit: Forgot to mention. I do have an e-sata port so I'd like a drive that has that.

useless4 · November 2009

I have had nothing but great experiences with the Freeagent Extremes (Which is odd, because I have had nothing but horrible luck with internals from Seagate)

I have seen the Freeagent Extreme 1.5tb and 2tb well under 200 on clearance at Best Buy. You might want to check them out if you live close by.

My dad runs 2, I run 3 and my friend runs 2 all 24/7 as iTunes drives for large movie collections. They have been going strong for over two years.

GrimReaper · November 2009

Why not just buy a hard drive and a caddy? They typically work out slightly cheaper.

1TB HDD (£57.99) USB + eSATA Caddy (£15.89)

BTW, I've got a Samsung F1 1TB drive. It's very nice.

KSK · November 2009

I bought this one:

Iomega 34579 Select Desktop Hard Drive - 3.5", 1TB, USB 2.0

I bought it for $80 bucks when it went on sale, but I've noticed that they put the thing on sale about every other week. So far, it has worked beautifully for me. The only complaints that I have heard about it is that it doesn't have a "Power" button. That doesn't really bother me much though, because I just leave the thing on all the time.

Phthano · November 2009

I second the recommendation for a 1TB+ FreeAgent Go. I've used one for media for about a year and it's perfect. No problems at all, no corruption, no problems. It's fantastic. I paid about 120 bucks for 1TB.

Reboot · November 2009

I'm currently using the Western Digital myBook:
http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=730
WD is a reliable brand, and the black-gloss finish works well with my desktop. The gray areas light up blue. Not sure if the pricing is within your range (it should be). Quite a few people I know are using this and so far there were no complaints.

A more expensive option from LaCie, also a reliable brand (glossy black with blue LED again... heh):
http://www.lacie.com/asia/products/product.htm?pid=11016

The Seagate's FreeAgent Go is also a good choice, but take note that the 1TB version is thicker than the regular FreeAgent Go. There's just no way to make the 1TB storage "slim", yet:
http://gizmodo.com/5378476/quick-test-seagates-1tb-portable-freeagent-go

EDIT: many of the external storage options still use USB as prime connection and you'll find there's usually a premium for eSata. Personally I treat these storage as archiving solutions so high speed access isn't a biggie for me.

Racist Joke · November 2009

Thanks for the replies guys. I actually never knew about hard drive enclosures. I actually have my sister's hard drive sitting on my desk (her motherboard fried), so I decided that getting an enclosure would be the best thing. I also bought a Seagate Barricuda 1.5 TB drive with it. So glad I'm using e-sata, cause transferring shit is quick.

GrimReaper · November 2009

Racist Joke wrote: »

Thanks for the replies guys. I actually never knew about hard drive enclosures. I actually have my sister's hard drive sitting on my desk (her motherboard fried), so I decided that getting an enclosure would be the best thing. I also bought a Seagate Barricuda 1.5 TB drive with it. So glad I'm using e-sata, cause transferring shit is quick.

Bonus to a separate enclosure is easy removal of the hard drive and putting a new one in there if needed. I've got an old 2.5" external drive that I used to use with my Macbook Pro, it died on me and it is nigh on impossible to open it up without breaking it.

Other bonus is that if the caddy itself dies you can simply buy another for £15 or so and plop your hard drive in that.

Reboot · November 2009

Racist Joke wrote: »

Thanks for the replies guys. I actually never knew about hard drive enclosures. I actually have my sister's hard drive sitting on my desk (her motherboard fried), so I decided that getting an enclosure would be the best thing. I also bought a Seagate Barricuda 1.5 TB drive with it. So glad I'm using e-sata, cause transferring shit is quick.

Glad you found the best solution for your requirements. :P sounded like you got tempted into buying that 1.5TB...

there's always room for more storage, imo.

Azio · November 2009

Racist Joke wrote: »

Thanks for the replies guys. I actually never knew about hard drive enclosures. I actually have my sister's hard drive sitting on my desk (her motherboard fried), so I decided that getting an enclosure would be the best thing. I also bought a Seagate Barricuda 1.5 TB drive with it. So glad I'm using e-sata, cause transferring shit is quick.

yea enclosures are the way to go

products sold as "external hard drives" are generally overpriced and no better or more reliable than a hard drive and enclosure that were purchased separately

Racist Joke · November 2009

Reboot wrote: »

Racist Joke wrote: »

Thanks for the replies guys. I actually never knew about hard drive enclosures. I actually have my sister's hard drive sitting on my desk (her motherboard fried), so I decided that getting an enclosure would be the best thing. I also bought a Seagate Barricuda 1.5 TB drive with it. So glad I'm using e-sata, cause transferring shit is quick.

Glad you found the best solution for your requirements. :P sounded like you got tempted into buying that 1.5TB... there's always room for more storage, imo.

I called my new drive The Warehouse. I feel it is appropriate

I dumped all my shit onto it, and it barely dented the thing. God it's awesome.

And yeah, being able to switch hard drives easily is a godsend. My computer is a bit cramped inside, and having to install anything in there is a fucking pain and a half.

Penny Arcade

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Good 1TB external drives

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