Backup HD

[Suchy]

I am looking for a good external HD (around 300 GB) for file backup.

Which is the best model that I can get?

PS. I have both firewire and USB 2 ports.

[pwrslyd]

I like Seagate, personally. Never had a problem with them. Of course, their external HDDs only come w/ a one-year warranty as opposed to the five-year on the internal HDDs. That's a bit frustrating.

I'm not sure what the going rate for GBs are on an external drive (I know it's more than internal) but the 400 GB Seagate (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822154410) is $0.85/GB.

[pangea33]

There are dozens of quality external hard drive enclosures out there, that have both USB and Firewire connection options. These things come with external power supplies and are designed so that you can simply plug in an "internal" hard drive, and you're all ready to go. Not only is it cheaper to do it this way, you also can get an "internal" Seagate with the 5 year warranty. Nowhere do they say the warranty is only 5 years with drives used internally.

The external enclosure may or may not live that long, depending on how much you travel or how tough you are on it. I suppose the connectors for the USB or power cables can get damaged over time. They can be replaced easily and cheaply though. Prices for enclosures start around the $20 range, and you can get very high quality for around $35 or so. Check NewEgg.

[Suchy]

Like I said the HD would only be for backup, so it would be in just one place all the time. I would like once or twice a month turn it on put some new files on it and turn it off.

Also what is a better option USB or firewire, in terms of speed.

I also found some good deals on Ebay (at least it seems so)
What do you guys think of those, worth it?

http://cgi.ebay.com/EXTERNAL-ALUMINUM-USB-2-0-HARD-DRIVE-MAXTOR-300GB_W0QQitemZ8757513885QQcategoryZ41911QQrdZ1QQc mdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/External-300GB-7200RPM-USB2-0-Hard-Drive-Maxtor-Inside_W0QQitemZ8762201059QQcategoryZ116258QQrdZ1Q QcmdZViewItem

[pangea33]

"Common" Firewire connections are 400mbps (@50MB/sec), while very common USB2.0 is 480mbps (@60MB/sec). There are also higher speed Firewire connections out there running at 800mbps (@100MB/s), but they are more rare.

Considering the infrequency of your backups, and the fact that USB2.0 is much more common, I think it's the better choice if you want to pick only one. My case has both firewire and USB2.0 connections, but I've never used anything but the USB.

That first vendor is charging too much for shipping, and he's also offering a disappointing 5400rpm drive. While it may matter less in an external enclosure, the drive may not be external forever. I'd stay away. The second drive looks pretty decent though, and the seller is highly rated.