Anyone heard of SimpleTech???

I spotted a 500GB external USB 2.0 hard drive at Best Buy for $120. This is about $30 less than a similar sized WD, Maxtor, or Seagate. Anyone have any experience with SimpleTech? Just wondering if this is a deal or a dud? I'm intending to use it for a Time Machine backup drive.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Had no feedback on this brand however suggest you look for Firewire 800 compatible external drives. USB2 is just an option on Macs and Forewire is ever so much faster,.

Office Max has a 1TB SimpleTech drive for $250 right now. I looked the drive up on Amazon and there was only 1 review and it was recent. I'm curious about them too.

SimpleTech uses Western Digital drives (usually). Most of the ones I have cracked open have had WDC drives.

You may want to go to NewEgg and check out SimpleTech Hard Drive products. They have the drive you saw at BestBuy for $115. No reviews on it but the reviews on the other SimpleTech products don't sound too promising.

dalison said:

You may want to go to NewEgg and check out SimpleTech Hard Drive products. They have the drive you saw at BestBuy for $115. No reviews on it but the reviews on the other SimpleTech products don't sound too promising.

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I think I have a discount coupon for 12% off a purchase over $100 at Best Buy floating around here somewhere. This ends up being a better deal and I don't have to wait or worry about shipping. Thanks for the info though.

I've been using a 60gb SimpleTech for over a year now to back up some of my pictures - no problems.

I got my 500gb Western Digital from Staples for 120, just watch around the local ads, they on sale all the time around here.

I have been using two SimpleTech 160gb USB drives for over a year without any problems.

I have Simpletech NAS drive that I've been using for about 8 months or so now. No problems to date, very satisfied with my purchase.

I purchased an 120GB SimpleTech USB 2.0 Laptop external for my iBook. Works GREAT so far. Very happy with it.

If you're looking for a small portable drive, Simpletech wouldn't be my first choice. They use a larger hard drive and requires an external power source. The WD 2.5 drives are driven by the USB 2.0 Bus which make them perfect for portability, and no powerbrick to lose. The Seagate is also very speedy and great for Video. The WD 2.5" drives are slow, and wouldn't be a good choice for Video, but great for backup, or use as an external for standard files, and Itunes. I have 90 GB of tunes on mine.

If you're looking for a desktop and speed, the Seagate Pros are a great deal, often on sale, have Firewire, USB 2. and Esata connections. The powerbricks are also small and light, and one piece rather than the standard two piece. They are also in a vertical case so they take up very little space. I bought a 750 GB new on sale from Amazon for for $199 on special. Later, a second drive at Costco, $215 with a $10 rebate. The Seagates also have no fans using the brushed aluminum case for a heatsink. A very quiet drive that will also power itself down when not in use.