Which kind of external HDD should I go ?

[Syd]

I own a MBP with the stock HDD. I'm am looking for an external HDD that I'll only use at home, so no real need for portability.

Should I go USB2.0 or Firewire 400/800 ? Should I get a standard 3.5" hd with an enclosure ? I believe this would be the cheapest way to go ?

Syd

 

[Benjamindaines]

Depends what you want to do. If you want to do video editing go with the FireWire (800 for HD). If you only need to throw files on it then get USB. If you want to do a bootable backup I suggest FireWire, USB will not have very good performance.

Also, FireWire is faster in general than USB.

 

[MDavid]

western digital makes external's with usb/firewire support also.

 

[Rambaud]

I use both options (external, and hard drive + enclosure).

I prefer Firewire to USB2, but often you can buy them with both.

It used to be that the going separates is cheaper, but I have seen a LaCie 500Gb eternal drive for £75.00 + VAT (Sales Tax in the UK), which is only about £5 more than a 500Gb SATA drive, and then there's the enclosure to buy on top of that.