Which External Hard Drive should I buy/Do you suggest?

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justin1083

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Hi, I'm looking for a 500 GB hard drive (that's ideal, but 300-400 could also work) to use to store video files for editing. It's important that this drive be reliable and not prone to randomly breaking and destorying my files, because there won't be any backup (though I could easily recapture all the files from the original DV). In people's experience, what's the best/most reliable brand and model for a 500 GB hard drive? I hear there are problems with LaCie, but that may only be for windows users. Are they ok for Macs? Thanks!!
 

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Off topic, I would recommend making back ups. As you know over time tapes can go bad or even break. Plus you could be in the middle of a job and have a hardware failure. You don't want to start from scratch unless you have too.

On-topic: I have only used a Maxtor 200GB one touch drive for my video work and back ups. So far I, have had no problems as of yet.
 
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There is no reason why a hard drive would be more or less reliable based on the OS of the system that it is plugged into. In my experience no HD manufacturer is perfect, but I think WD and Seagate are better than some of the others.
 
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I've used two different LaCie drives. The first was a 250GB USB 2.0 Porsche drive, and I was utterly unimpressed. There could be three reasons to my dissappointment however. The first was that it was USB and it would frequently freeze-up in the middle of transfers. The second could be the fact that I had formatted it to FAT32 so I could use it between my PC. The third could be that it was just a dud.
I gave LaCie a second chance, though, and tried the 250GB d2 Extreme Triple Interface. So far I've had no problems whatsoever and I am thoroughly happy with the purchase. It may be because I'm now using the Firewire instead of the USB 2.0 or it could be that I've formatted the drive to Mac OS instead of FAT32. Either way, I recommend this drive based not only on its reliability but also on its price. Since you want something larger, then I'd suggest the 500GB LaCie Big Disk Triple Interface.
 
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I have the 250 gig lacie porshe drive. Mine is firewire though(NEVER TRUST USB FOR ExHDDs!!!). It works perfectly. Lacie seems fine for mac, my guess is the reviews on amazon and stuff are by windows users dumb enough to use usb.
 

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I have never had problems so far with any LaCie Drive or Burner even. BUT I am using them Firewire. I always use Firewire if I have the choice for external drives. I did try my drive on USB2 once to see how it worked. It worked fine but was slower so I went back.

Seagate right now as far as drive brands go, makes a very reliable hard drive. WD is very good also.

There has been some very good advice here so far.
 
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I also agree the Lacie drives are by far the best. just get firewire and NOT USB.
 
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Biturbo V12 AMG

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whats wrong with USB 2.0 external HD's? i have 2 of them i got an external HD kit and placed my PC's old HD's in them. 1 of them has USB only and the other USB and Firewire. USB 2.0 is faster afterall 480mbps vs fire wires 400mbps.
 

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You get better through put with the firewire than usb (constant speed).
 
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mynameis said:
In my experience no HD manufacturer is perfect, but I think WD and Seagate are better than some of the others.

100% Agree.... Have used both of those manufacturers as well as many others and WD and Seagate have been the most reliable for me. Many Lacies and Maxtors have died on me... but my WDs and Seagates just keep chuggin away. And yes... Firewire is much more reliable for video capturing.
 
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Biturbo V12 AMG

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crg23 said:
I have the 250 gig lacie porshe drive. Mine is firewire though(NEVER TRUST USB FOR ExHDDs!!!). It works perfectly. Lacie seems fine for mac, my guess is the reviews on amazon and stuff are by windows users dumb enough to use usb.


i guess what i ment to say was why cant you trust USB for and External HD?
and you are right over the long run Firewire is faster than USB 2.0. but to say that USB cant be trusted for external HD's needs explanation.
 
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meatychi

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I got me a 300GB Lacie triple tingy and I have it partitioned with Fat32 and MACOS - No problems experienced so far ( 6 months old ). Would be better if it was powered by the firewire but you can everything at budget price!

Well recommended!
 
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Bmw M Power05

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Im running a 80GB external HD right now on USB 2.0 and I have yet to run into any problems.
 
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Here's the lowdown on the LaCie "problems". For the most part LaCie makes the best external drives (although Maxtor is starting to have some nice ones). The issue is the drives designed by Porsche. Avoid those like the plague as they have known quality issues and tend to have failure problems. LaCie's d2 line is rock solid.
 
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I back up my files on Lacie 80GB (designed by Porsche) via USB 2.0 for over 6 months now and have not had a problem. The HDD gets carried everywhere (bike, car, plane). From reading all the posts, I shouldn't be using this drive (especially not at the rate I treat it). But since I'm not having any problems, is it worth changing it?

My whole PhD is on the laptop and it would be three years down the drain if anything happens to it....
 
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AndrewK

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I have had a Lacie Big Disk Extreme 400gb firewire 800 drive since March and it has been running great.
 
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Bohemian

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Who makes the best external hard drives?

I need an external hard drive, at least 250gigs in space. Who makes the best. I've heard really bad things about LaCie.

Best,
Chris
 
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I'd be interested in this one too if anyone can point me in the right direction. I need something huge for maybe about £150 - £200 with as much space as possible (I want to get all my music on the bugger).

I have looked at Lacie as well and I'd been considering one of theirs. I did buy a compact DVD writer from them a while back and I have absolutely no complaints. Even through the Firewire port it's still faster than my Mac Drive!
 
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Bohemian said:
I need an external hard drive, at least 250gigs in space. Who makes the best. I've heard really bad things about LaCie.

Best,
Chris

You can make your own for the cost of the harddrive plus $40 to cover the cost of an external case. You can get a lot more versatility and can save about 50% by doing it yourself. Here are some instructions that show how easy it is.

(outdated link removed)
 
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timswim78 is right. Watch for sales and build your own, you'll save some money and get a product that is just as good or better than the prepackaged ones.
 
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