External Hard Drive recommendations

[mccoady]

I'm wanting suggestions on a 1TB external hard drive for hopefully around $100 (but might go as high as $130 if necessary) there seems to be a lot of of 1TB drives on Newegg for around $100 but I'm not sure which to get. A USB drive would probably be sufficient for my needs because that's how I will be using it although I wouldn't turn down a USB/eSata one. Portability is not a big issue but I would like to be able to move it around the house from computer to computer.

The way this drive would be used is I would plug it in, connect it and backup some files then disconnect and unplug it so it wouldn't be running all the time. I would like it to be NTFS so do some already come formated that way? Should I stay with Western Digital or Seagate?

[edDV]

Like you say they all are priced similar and the drives are probably 5400 RPM at that price. The case SATA to USB2 circuitry or power supply are what fail most on these. Go with the one with the best name and warranty.

Most come unformatted so they can be used with a variety of OS. Others pre-format NTFS.

[Soopafresh]

Or get something like a 1TB NAS server, connect it to your internet router, and share the drive amongst the computers in your house. The one below also has a USB connection in addition to 100Mb Ethernet.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822165128

[mccoady]

Or get something like a 1TB NAS server, connect it to your internet router, and share the drive amongst the computers in your house. The one below also has a USB connection in addition to 100Mb Ethernet.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822165128

I want to use as NTFS.

[edDV]

Or get something like a 1TB NAS server, connect it to your internet router, and share the drive amongst the computers in your house. The one below also has a USB connection in addition to 100Mb Ethernet.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822165128

I want to use as NTFS.

If it comes unformatted you can format it NTFS from your OS. For XP you would right click on computer, then "Manage" then right click on the new drive and format any way you want.

[Soopafresh]

Or get something like a 1TB NAS server, connect it to your internet router, and share the drive amongst the computers in your house. The one below also has a USB connection in addition to 100Mb Ethernet.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822165128

I want to use as NTFS.

If it comes unformatted you can format it NTFS from your OS. For XP you would right click on computer, then "Manage" then right click on the new drive and format any way you want.

True, just not on the device I suggested. Still, there must be other NAS devices which do support NTFS.

[Video Head]

I usually just buy an external case with the appropriate interface(s). Then I can purchase any drive I want, install it and change/move/swap it later if I chose. The external cases are inexpensive and work well these days. OEM drives are always on sale.

[edDV]

With a NAS device, user accesses the drive over Ethernet, similar to a network drive. The drive format is invisible to the user OS unless special software is used. Normally a home NAS drive settings are accessed by a remote control panel similar to a router.

[cal_tony]

I have quite a few 1tb external drives. The brand that I've settled on so far is the Fantom drive. New Egg and TigerDirect sell them and they are priced between $95 to $100. They seem to run cooler than I would have expected and they come with both ESata and Usb ports. They come preformatted Fat32. But windows will quick format them to NTFS in about 1 min. My last one came with a Hitachi drive.

Tony

[mccoady]

All the other NAS drives on Newegg are getting out of my price range so I think I should probably focus on a regular external drive, and it's not like I would be moving it around all that much.

I suppose I'm open to buying an external case and drive separately just haven't gave it much thought before. Wouldn't these internal drives (OEM?) that would go into these external cases have longer warranties than the normal one year external drive warranty? Also wouldn't you have more choices for a 7200RPM drive?

Could you provide a link to a decent external case there are too many to choose from?

[edDV]

7200 RPM won't help for USB2 (~30MB/s sustained or less real world). It will have minor seek advantage but also run hot and make more noise vs. 5400 RPM. To get any advantage out of 7200 RPM you need to use the eSATA connection.

[VegasBud]

Like cal_tony, I've gone several different ways with external 1tb drives, but for the last couple of years I've been using Fantom drives. Whenever I need a new one, I just put GF1000EU in newegg's search, and order however many I need. As a matter of fact, UPS is supposed to bring me two more today.

They do come formatted as fat32, but it doesn't bother me to reformat to ntfs. I like running a scan of a new drive anyway, so the reformat is just part of my do-it-once-new-drive-prep ritual.

Update:
While I was writing this, UPS delivered the drives. I love the smell of new gf1000eu's in the morning...it smells like...victory.

[mccoady]

VegasBud, cal_tony do these Fantom drives come with drives made by Hitachi, WD, etc. or are these their own drives?

It seems guys either love the Fantom drives or have had nothing but trouble with them when comparing them to WD or Seagate so I'm not sure what to think.

VegasBud what is the difference between the GF1000EU and this the GD1000EU?

It looks to have a 2 year warranty and with the rebate is cheaper than the GF1000EU so is this a better deal?

[VegasBud]

mccoady,

I checked 6 (random selection) of the older ones I have, and the actual hard drives were all WD (assorted models) except for one, which was a Hitachi HDT721010SLA360. The two that came today both contain WDC WD10EAVS-007B1 hard drives.

I've never had a GD1000EU, but my sister has one (she got it because the sales pitch was that it was "green" technology). I've occasionally used hers when I'm at her house, and it doesn't seem much (if any) different (when being used) from the GFs I get. Besides it costing more, I don't know what what the actual differences are...or what makes it "green".

If the GD model has twice the warranty, and with the rebate costs less, that sure sounds like a better deal. You might want to do some research, though, to see if you can find out more details.

[mccoady]

VegasBud have you had any of the Fantoms go bad after a short period? How is their support?

If Fantom basically uses other manufacturers drives in their external drives why not just use their drives instead or are the Fantoms always cheaper?

[MJA]

http://www.techbargains.com/product/External_Hard_Drive

Western Digital Elements 1.5TB External Hard Drive $99.99 Free Shipping

[cal_tony]

mccoady,
My last 2 Fantom drives were both Hitachi's. I seem to remember that the earlier ones were WDs. The differences between the models have to do with the power cords mostly. My last one orderded was from Newegg and I orderded the less expensive model. The power cords either have a transformer that plugs into 115v or they have a 115v plug in cord that is a couple of feet long and that plugs ito a transformer that has about a 3 foot cord that plugs into the drive. Seems like the Eco ones are the second variety and my understanding is that the transformer takes no current when the drive is off.

I haven't had any problems with any of my Fantom drives some are over a year old.

I also have drives in enclosures that I have purchased but enclosures are not that cheap anymore. Last year Tiger direct had some Ultra enclosures for $15 ea. Now the same model is $30. I've now settled on enclosures with Esata support and those enclosures, if purchased separately are over $30 each. I just bought a 51/2'Vantec Drive enclosure from Newegg for a new bluray drive. The Vantec enclosure is great but it was over $45.

Tony

[VegasBud]

mccoady,

I've never had a GF1000EU go bad (in the short or long run), which is why I buy them, so I have no idea what the support is like.

As to why Fantom uses other people's drives, I'm afraid I long ago gave up trying to figure out why corporations do what they do. It does seem likely, though, that profits have something to do with it.

I should probably add that:

My oldest GF1000EU is somewhere between 1.5 - 2 years old, the newest two are still being prepped.

I previously was buying 1 tb WD MyBooks, but they didn't have e-sata connections in addition to the usb connections. None of those have failed either, but one is making a strange thunking sound, and is redundantly duplicated on one of the Fantoms as a precaution.

I've also bought separate enclosures and drives, none of which have failed. As cal_tony pointed out, they are the more expensive route, but you get more control of the components.

I'm not a hardware guru. To me, hardware considerations are limited to what I need to get the job done (reliably). The GF1000EUs are attractive to me because they come as a pre-built block that I can use with minimal preparation and (so far, anyways) count on to not cause me problems.

[mccoady]

I'm getting ready to order either the GF1000EU ($76 with rebate) or GD1000EU ($90 with rebate) should I just get the cheaper one since the Green thing probably wouldn't effect me since it won't be running all the time plus the latter has more cords, or the Green one for $14 more with a 2 year warranty?

[redwudz]

'Green' drives are usually a bit slower, but not enough to notice for most people. They also tend to run cooler. If it has a longer warranty and you are using it mostly for archive storage, the green drives would be fine.

I've had a Fantom 500GB drive (WD HDD) for a couple of years with no problems. The eSATA optional connection is what sold it to me as it runs at the same speed as my internal SATA drives. The USB connection is convenient at times. And I like the all aluminum case.

I also have this external eSATA case from CoolDrives: http://www.cooldrives.com/midudrnasaen.html It has an internal PS and a fan. I did paint it black with some Krylon Fusion spraypaint to match my other computers and I changed out the fan to something more quiet. It has two WD Black 1TB drives in it.

[mccoady]

Thanks guys just trying to find somewhere that gives me free shipping on either Fantom drive you ever see Newegg have free shipping while a rebate is going on?

Do you think the rebate is good from any site that sells the Fantom drives or only from sites that list that rebate I've noticed some don't mention a rebate TigerDirect is an example?

[redwudz]

NewEgg often has their own private rebates, probably a deal with the manufacturer because of volume purchases and other suppliers may not have this available. But you could check around.

Free shipping would be up to NewEgg, not the manufacturer or whoever offers the rebate. Shipping shouldn't be that much anyway for the continental US. NewEgg gets most shipments to me in three days average, even with the cheapest shipping selected.

You could try My Simon or Google Product Search to see if anyone else has the device for a cheaper price, but NewEgg prices seem to be fairly low.

[bendixG15]

Thanks guys just trying to find somewhere that gives me free shipping on either Fantom drive you ever see Newegg have free shipping while a rebate is going on?

Do you think the rebate is good from any site that sells the Fantom drives or only from sites that list that rebate I've noticed some don't mention a rebate TigerDirect is an example?

Just take a look at the rebate form ... tells you all the conditions.

Here's a link for a Fantom rebate drive form from Newegg ........... http://images10.newegg.com/UploadFilesForNewegg/rebate/SH/FANTOMDRIVES22-204-079Nov02Nov1509lt12.pdf