buying a new harddisc - but which one...

Helli78 · Sun 19/03/2006 00:27:27

... should or could i buy.

i need to archive some data, want to put on my music (mp3 and wave, for a try of mixing, ie) on it, and so on....

in my eye (ouch .... that hurts....

) i focus a disc between
250 to 300 gb ....

but i cant choose one because i dont know which 'opinion' i want to have...
a few ones here / should it be:

- s-ata (1 or 2), or the old IDE?
- 300 GB, how much of the disc i can REALLY use for data (260 GB)...
- internal or external (they are existing converter cables with which i can use an internal drive as an external....)
- which company could be good?
- size of cache (8 or 16 MB)....
- rpm??? 7,200 ... are this is enough...

i spent more time to select a HD than any other person :

so, i am open for any idea, clue, suggestion....

DanClarke · Sun 19/03/2006 00:38:47

im not sure on the tech specs, but i recently picked up a 250gb USB LaCie (Porsche designed) HD for a reasonable Â£85 from Staples in the UK! I use it for my music storage and to back up my college work etc.

LimpingFish · Sun 19/03/2006 00:39:46

I recently bought a Lacie External USB2 Harddrive. 160GB. Seems solid enough.

Lacie seems to be a good make. And they are fairly reasonably priced.

Helli78 · Sun 19/03/2006 00:51:18

one question to the two users of this external harddisc

- how long do you use it? (whole time your pc is turned on)?
- how much noise do the drive produce? what about the temperature?
- why Lacie (i saw this product in a local store here only once at a well-high price)?

- do you compare(d) prices or do you just said, i need a good and i buy it, no matter what?

DanClarke · Sun 19/03/2006 00:59:58

Quote from: DeepHitz on Sun 19/03/2006 00:51:18
one question to the two users of this external harddisc

- how long do you use it? (whole time your pc is turned on)?
- how much noise do the drive produce? what about the temperature?
- why Lacie (i saw this product in a local store here only once at a well-high price)?

- do you compare(d) prices or do you just said, i need a good and i buy it, no matter what?

The drive of mine makes next to no noise at all, and i just leave it plugged into the back of my mac at all times. LaCie are renowned for being a good quality, and the aesthetics of the drives themselves mean they look good too. Try using kelkoo to find a good deal:

www.kelkoo.com

LimpingFish · Sun 19/03/2006 21:56:10

Actually it depends where you place the drive, in regards to how much noise it produces. The drive itself is virtually silent, but if its on a metal or wooden desk it can vibrate. Some kind of "Anti" vibration material underneath the "feet" of the drive usually solves the, admittedly minor, problem.

Also, make sure you have a USB 2.0 port on your PC if you want to get decent data speeds.

InCreator · Mon 20/03/2006 06:37:44

Smaller (by disk size) disks tend to work faster and better. So why so large disk space? It's not like DVD burners weren't invented yet...

Matt Goble · Mon 20/03/2006 17:09:36

I don't want to go against what others have said here, but companies I've worked for have had very bad experience with LaCie drives, and so I personally don't hold them in high regard.

Used to have an internal samsung drive - really quiet, until it started making a continuous clicking sound, and then died a horrible death...

Since then, I've used nothing but Seagate drives - just ordered a 300GB drive from Savastore.com, along with an external case and it came to Â£100-ish. And the Seagates have a 5 year warranty, which is nice...

Just my 2p worth

Renal Shutdown · Mon 20/03/2006 23:43:45

I'd recommend something with a faster rpm, 10 000 or so, which will aid in the mixing. Go with 16 meg cache, too. SATA if your motherboard supports it, but I'm not so sure it means you need to get an pci card to use sata. That might slow it down, somewhat.