# Which company is 'better' for ext. hard drives?



## wicked.ludicrous (Jan 5, 2009)

I've heard and read that Seagate external hard drives are quite reliable. I'm looking to get a 500 gb one from either Seagate or Western DIgital. Actually, I might get the Seagate 1 TB for only $70. Considering that the Western Digital 500 GB one is pricier and, would Seagate be the better choice?
THanks


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Actually, there is no "better" hard disk brand. At various times and for various models, all hard disk makers have good ones and bad ones.


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## bp936 (Oct 13, 2003)

Maxtor was and is my best one (the old big box), still working well.
Had 4 Comstar, = 360GB, works well, 2 little ones= work well, and the fourth, the 500 GB I had to return, headcrash withing a week. They recommended to exchange it to LaCie (I think this is how it's spelled), don't know yet how it will be in the long run, but I already don't like the holes on it (fanless) and the shiny black exterior shows every fingerprint, but rating for it are good.
The little 2X3 Comstars, I can carry easily around from computer to computer, to friends and relatives, but they have no off button, just the USB plug.
All others have an OFF button, which I like and have their own power plugs.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

An article that's directly on my point.
[WEBQUOTE="http://www.data-master.com/hard-drives-BestMake.html"]The more complicated answer (but also more informative) from an expert in the field is that every single maker of hard disk drives has manufactured certain models that are in every way best of class, and superior to their competition. And it's also true that every single one of them has put out a model or two (at least), that would make a lemon tree cower with embarrassment.[/WEBQUOTE]


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## Frank4d (Sep 10, 2006)

I think external hard drives (the way many people use them) are not a good thing, so I don't own one. They definitely should not be moved while the disk is spinning at 7200 RPM or you risk crashing the r/w head. And they aren't intended to be thrown into a backpack or briefcase everyday for the ride home from work. USB thumbdrives and DVDs are better suited for portable storage.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Well, I'd have to disagree about DVD's over external hard disks. 

DVD writing has never been that reliable, and when it's powered off, a hard disk can take a surprising amount of abuse.

I did an experiment with an old 20gig hard disk a few years back, the results should be here somewhere. We dropped if from various heights and onto various materials. This was a bare drive, not one that was in an enclosure. It was amazing how much abuse it took before it showed up any errors! The three foot drop onto the garage floor did it in, but it had been abused by a number of drops before that onto rugs and wooden decks from 3 feet.


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## bp936 (Oct 13, 2003)

JohnWill said:


> An article that's directly on my point.
> [WEBQUOTE="http://www.data-master.com/hard-drives-BestMake.html"]The more complicated answer (but also more informative) from an expert in the field is that every single maker of hard disk drives has manufactured certain models that are in every way best of class, and superior to their competition. And it's also true that every single one of them has put out a model or two (at least), that would make a lemon tree cower with embarrassment.[/WEBQUOTE]


so true :up::up::up:


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## Noyb (May 25, 2005)

I like to make my own externals by getting an enclosure then installing a Hard Drive of my choice.
There's an advantage of being able to get to the Hard Drive in an enclosure.

If you feel capable of installing a HDD in an enclosure .. 
Maybe one of these Enclosures with one of these Hard Drives ... with a 5 year warranty.


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## Space Cowboy (Apr 19, 2005)

Noyb said:


> I like to make my own externals by getting an enclosure then installing a Hard Drive of my choice.
> There's an advantage of being able to get to the Hard Drive in an enclosure.
> 
> If you feel capable of installing a HDD in an enclosure ..
> Maybe one of these Enclosures with one of these Hard Drives ... with a 5 year warranty.


I also put togeather my own and used the black Rosewill that you linked to. I went alittle overboard and bought a 10,000 RPM Raptor for it then customized the encloser by using plastic bolt covers for the feet. They act as washers and also give better support for the drive while reducing any vibration. The transfer rate is awesome and the extended feet on both sides keep the drive from getting damaged.

But for the cheap .. go for the best replacement warrenty you can find.

Good Luck

GREAT harddrive encloser .. Catch it on sale for about 25 bucks !


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## Noyb (May 25, 2005)

I noticed that the price of the silver has dropped to $29 w Free Shipping.
I'm thinking the bigger fan in one of these will help run a Black (better) version of the WD Hard Drive

This might be more info than Wicked needs .. 
But they've quit making my favorite Enclosure and I've been watching the Rosewills for the next time around.
It bothers me that the Power Switch is hidden on the back panel and I see no sense running an enclosure all the time.

You could plug it in to one of These and have it turn on or off automatically when the computer is on or off.
I'm using one of the smart strips to switch my several LED desk lamps with the computer power.


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## aka Brett (Nov 25, 2008)

wicked.ludicrous said:


> I've heard and read that Seagate external hard drives are quite reliable. I'm looking to get a 500 gb one from either Seagate or Western DIgital. Actually, I might get the Seagate 1 TB for only $70. Considering that the Western Digital 500 GB one is pricier and, would Seagate be the better choice?
> THanks


My last purchase was a WD..It was a tossup between that and seagate..but they had the WD right there..its an external that I could get apart and put back together...I take it home and open it up and put it in my laptop{ I was wanting to play with W7 beta and not trash my current install}...after opening it up it has the exact same hard drive they sell for the internal.

Performance between it and the seagate were very close..however the seagate is quieter and uses less energy...Seagate did have some bad drives out at one time..but that was taken care of by the company very well.

Seagate has great service....WD isnt as chipper....Seagate have been getting better and better all the time and have closed the gap with WD...I wouldnt be afraid of either one but will lean towards seagate with my next purchase
IMO they will take the same brutal constant use that WD once owned the reputation.

Also something to consider..people dont like the backup software that comes with WD...Most are happy with the segate software though
1 tb seagate for 70 bucks :up:,,,what are you waiting for?


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## calvin-c (May 17, 2006)

Although I've not seen this in an external HD, yet, the laptop I bought recently has an accelerometer chip which, coupled with monitoring software, locks the HD if it's moved too abruptly. Supposedly this reacts quickly enough to lock it before the laptop hits the floor, if it's dropped. I'll leave that for somebody else to test, however.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I know that our Toshiba laptops have a sensor that if you bump the machine it parks the hard disk for a short period and pops up a screen alert. Don't know if it survives a fall, and I'm not going to test it either.


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## calvin-c (May 17, 2006)

A fall is always problematic. Even if the HD survives there's still the screen, keyboard, etc. Maybe I'll test this in 5 or 6 years, when I'm ready to retire this laptop anyway, but I don't expect that I'll remember to post the results back here when I finally do.


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## aka Brett (Nov 25, 2008)

A little reading and a video
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/reviews/4275478.html


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

The key is where the drives running or stopped. A running hard drive is quite sensitive to shock, but a stopped hard disk with the heads parked is much more resistant to shock.


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## calvin-c (May 17, 2006)

The review was for non-running drives. IMO it's more a review of how sturdy the cases are than of the drives themselves-but it's still a valid review (IMO) since it covered portable drives. (I suppose we need to split external hard drives into two categories, as was done at one time with portable computers, pre-laptop. The drives reviewed in this article looked to be those that get tossed into backpacks or briefcases for transport, not the ones that require external power supplies and are more often carefully moved from desk to desk. We could call the first drives 'portable' and the second 'transportable'. Both would have similar chances of being dropped while running, but the portable drives would have a much greater chance, IMO, of being dropped while not running-so the review is valid because that's the type of drive they appeared to be testing. I just wish they'd made that more explicit.)


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I doubt a running drive would have survived the falls mentioned.


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