1 TB fast external hard drive

Mike · 28-09-2009, 13:16

Hi all

I need to buy the above but reading reviews on amazon some people say certain units are slow !

Would that be a issue with the drive or the PC ?

Any recommendations on what to look out for in terms of speed or a good unit it's self.

Many thanks

Mike

highway1 · 28-09-2009, 13:40

best drive is a sata 300 if ur board does it. or sata next unsure sata3?

Druchii · 28-09-2009, 14:04

highway, he said external, not internal

I'm guessing the reason many people class these external drives as slow is because of the USB2 interface.

Graham M · 28-09-2009, 14:05

He wants external.

As long as your PC has a free USB 2 Port, USB can do around 40mb/sec which isn't bad. External hard drives are much of a muchness to be honest, just go for a well known brand

In the long run, if it's speed and reliability you're looking for then an internal drive is the way to go, but at the end of the day, this is down to whether you want to move the drive around or not.

28-09-2009, 14:06

fit yourself either and esata pci card or route an existing sata to esata backplate and buy an esata external drive or buy a docking station and a standard drive ( assuming your mobo does not already facilitate esata)

chrome · 28-09-2009, 14:38

what is the best, external or internal, i know i have a spare place for a internal drive in my desktop but can't make my mind up. i shall get the best i can afford and lookin at 1TB drive. can i put any size drive in the desktop or are there limits

Aragorn · 28-09-2009, 16:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrome

what is the best, external or internal, i know i have a spare place for a internal drive in my desktop but can't make my mind up. i shall get the best i can afford and lookin at 1TB drive. can i put any size drive in the desktop or are there limits

What is the best for what?
An internal drive will almost always be faster than an external drive.
You have an internal drive bay free - what about a spare Sata2 header on the Mobo? If not, an external USB2 or firewire may be faster than IDE.
There is no limit on the capacity of drives you can put in a system - as long as you are using a recent OS (ie not Windows 98 etc!).
WD tend to make some of the best drives or maybe a Samsung drive.
Novatech have a WD 1TB Caviar Black drive (performance version) for Â£67.

28-09-2009, 16:53

Internal wont be faster if the OP goes with the Esata option as they will be the same theoretical speed

In real terms IDE isnt a huge amount slower than Sata 2 . USB 2 in my experience just does not cut the mustard when connecting a HDD to

Taf · 28-09-2009, 18:39

I have an Iomega one that runs fast enough for me...

Can't wait for USB3 though... it zips along!