External HDD

[Cream Soda]

Looking for recommendations on an external HDD, preferably USB 3.0 and at 1 TB.

Not looking to buy any time soon, but maybe thinking of a black Friday type of things and just seeing what I should be looking out for. I was looking at several models on newegg and amazon and even though there were few on each, the bad reviews all turned me off (like one model the guy bought two of and both shit on him after 6 months of non heavy use)

[Tyche]

http://slickdeals.net/f/5141876-Targ...-and-MORE-YMMV

[Cream Soda]

hmm is that all locations or a specific one because Target online says $99

[xerodok]

It really doesn't matter what kind of external HDD you purchase, if I were you, I'd just buy a nice external inclosure. Look for good deals on bare hard drives from now or Black Friday, purchase a cheap(er) HDD, and an inexpensive inclosure, and you'll have yourself a nice external solution.

Sometimes though, there are external drives that are cheaper than buying them in parts. I seen at Staples for example, on their clearance rack a WD 1TB external drive for $79.99? Which is a good deal.

Just keep your eye out for the best price.

[Caiyuo]

^ I think it's more common for the enclosures themselves to shit the bed than the actual hard drive, so using your own at least means you can swap it out if that happens.

[Bardicrune]

I've personally used the WesternDigital My Passport series. I've purchased for my business about 40-50 of these and have only had one go bad (dropped off 2nd floor balcony). They're small, USB3 and capacity up to 2TB. The 1TB unit is currently $99.99 directly from WD's site.

[chiyio]

I have one of these. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182237 and love it.

[Cream Soda]

Black Friday coming up, been saving a bit and haven't picked one of these up yet. Looking around, I've been seeing bad reviews in general on a lot o external HDD. Should I possibly be looking into an internal and getting a decent enclosure? (seeing 1tb internals at about 50 on newegg as a deal, so cyber monday should be even cheaper, no?)

[Tajin]

Its the same shit on both to be honest.
Any drive will eventually give out if you take it on bike tips daily

[Khajit]

I'm actually semi in the market for a new set of HD for all my crap as my old ones look like they might fail in a few months. They aren't dead yet but I don't trust them.
Solid state drives last longer and take a wee bite more punishment right? Having said that I'm not opposed to having the stuff I'm backing up and leaving at home connected to a docking unit with a secondary HD or two I transfer about for when i need to physically give stuff to friends.

[Kohan]

Black Friday coming up, been saving a bit and haven't picked one of these up yet. Looking around, I've been seeing bad reviews in general on a lot o external HDD. Should I possibly be looking into an internal and getting a decent enclosure? (seeing 1tb internals at about 50 on newegg as a deal, so cyber monday should be even cheaper, no?)

Buy an enclosure.

As others previously noted, if the enclosure breaks, that's acceptable. You get a new one, but retain all of the data on your HDD.

If an external HDD breaks, ordinarily, things are not so simple. In some cases, the HDDs can be removed from those cases, and you'll be fine (but you'll still need an adapter, and the know-how to attach it to a standard PC); sometimes, that won't happen.

For someone who isn't very technical, it's easier to fix the former problem (broken removable enclosure) than the latter (broken external HDD).

[Cream Soda]

Any opinions on this enclosure (or any recommended ones)

Seems to have pretty good ratings and it's marked down quit a bit/looks better than anything else I can find in the same price range

http://www.amazon.com/Mediasonic-2-5...+usb+enclosure

[Kohan]

I cross-referenced with NewEgg for reviews (something I recommend doing with all computer-related products), and that exact model fared poorly over there. Fortunately, another was well-reviewed on both sites.

http://www.Newegg.com/Product/ComboD...ist=17-576-016

[Cream Soda]

Link borked

[Kohan]

I don't recall its model number now, but you can find it. Search on NewEgg for Mediasonic enclosures, and compare to Amazon. I think they only have two 2.5 models, so it should not be hard to find.