9 replies to this topic

[Chrissaysay]

Well, I've been wanting to get an external drive to store some of my files and such for awhile since my largest external storage device is currently a 4GB flash drive from PNY. It was sufficient for transferring MS Office files and such in high school, but as an Information Systems/Networking major in college it's wayyyy too small.

I'm not sure if I should just get a bigger flash drive--I've seen up 64 GB--or if I should go ahead and get an external hard drive with hundreds of gigs that will take longer to fill up and that I can also use for backing-up my computer in addition to transporting files to and from school. The external is tempting me since I could do more with it in the long-run, but it would be less portable and it would also be slower, yes? I really need a plug & play type device.

Important Features that I Want/Need:

1. Portability
2. Fast Read/Write
3. USB-Powered
4. Ability to simply drag & drop files to save them to the drive
5. Ability to efficiently run portable applications from the drive--Most importantly a desktop email client and a browser other than internet explorer, which is the only web browser installed on my college's library computers >.>

Encryption/password protection would be awesome too, but I could live without.

A flash drive seems like it would be better for what I'm mostly wanting to do, but I want to know if a full external drive could work as well. The dual functionality it could have is attractive, but only if it works equally well for both purposes. I'm not sure how different the performance would be for running portable apps from a flash drive vs an external hard drive.

Sooo, yeah, hardware isn't my forté I've been researching online, but I wanted to ask my fellow nerds for their opinions. If you have specific suggestions (like brand, min specs, etc.) please share. Cause that'll be the next thing I need help with XD

Thanks, guys /

[SpleenBeGone]

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822178113
Honestly, size/cost I'd go with a portable hard drive if you need anything over 16 gigs.

[Chrissaysay]

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822178113

I don't see any indication that this comes with [pre-installed] software for automatic back-ups and whatnot...Which is GREAT. I don't want/need that or any of the other crapware that is often packaged with external hard drives--I've heard that Western Digital is especially notorious for this shit. I would use the drive for backing-up files, yes, but I would prefer to add files to it manually, on my own time, without an annoying background process via simple drag & drop (ala flash drive), which this drive supports apparently

I've heard both great and terrible things about Seagate, though their only major competitor I've noticed is Western Digital, who I've also heard very polarized opinions on...and it seems that you can only support one or the other. Like how in New York you can't like The Jets and The Giants.

However, this product in particular seems to have a more agreed upon consensus (based on Amazon customer reviews).

The bare desktop hard drive that I had to purchase for my Networking class awhile ago is actually a Seagate drive that my professor recommended. We could choose any brand we wanted as long as it met the required specs, but I decided to trust him since I had no idea I haven't been able to test it yet, but in class tonight we're going to start using them.

Thank you for the link, Spleen. Seems like it's exactly what I want and it's in my price range. I haven't come across any other external hard drives that are advertised as being this simple. I will definitely consider it

[SpleenBeGone]

Even if it does have bloatware on it, you can just reformat the drive.

In the computer world, generally everyone is a Seagate or a WD fan. At one point, Seagate offered a better warranty, afaik, that's no longer the case, so it's really just whichever fits your needs at the time,

[Chrissaysay]

Even if it does have bloatware on it, you can just reformat the drive.

...but I so lazyyyy >.< I ought to change my display name to Lazayzay

[SpleenBeGone]

It's ok, I'm lazy too.

[Chrissaysay]

I ordered this, though I got it from Amazon because I have 6 months of Amazon Prime for free

[SpleenBeGone]

Let us know how it works out for you.

[Chrissaysay]

This thing is awesome! Does exactly what I want exactly how I want it to

Thank you for the recommendation, Spleen. It's perfect!

Edit: and free 2-day shipping ended up being overnight shipping o.O It arrived like, 12 hours after I ordered it. Was awesome XD

[SpleenBeGone]

You're welcome, glad it's working well for you.