# Advice needed to purchase USB HDD



## freebird_9924 (Aug 10, 2008)

i want to buy a portable usb hdd within around 4K INR


which one do u suggest? which company and model?

atleast 160GB or more space it shd have.

My engineer was referring for westerndigital and maxtor.


----------



## Deleted member 3 (Aug 10, 2008)

According to Google: 4 000 Indian rupees = 63.5386667 Euros

Maxtor doesn't exist, as for the remaining companies, there aren't many nowadays. I personally like Samsung, though I can't say I dislike any. Nowadays you can get 1TB for 110 Euros, so I think you should be able to get a larger drive for 63.


----------



## xu^ (Aug 10, 2008)

i have a Buffalo Ministation usb ,does the job and seems reliable,have had it for almost a year so far.


----------



## freebird_9924 (Aug 10, 2008)

can you suggest one from here?
price is in INR there.


----------



## xu^ (Aug 11, 2008)

no idea on those prices ,but if u stick with Buffalo / Western Digital /Lacie you cant really go wrong .ive not really heard of Transcend until now and ive never been a Maxtor fan.

id just say get 1 of the 3 above mentioned brands size+price thats ok for you.


----------



## ktr (Aug 11, 2008)

DanTheBanjoman said:


> Maxtor doesn't exist



Maxtor still exists, they are owned by Seagate, and they mostly do external hard drives. http://www.maxtor.com/en/index.html#

As for portable hard drives, any will do. Just make sure it has a long manufacture warranty. You can save a couple of bucks by a normal hard drive and popping it in an usb enclosure.


----------



## Deleted member 3 (Aug 11, 2008)

ktr said:


> Maxtor still exists, they are owned by Seagate, and they mostly do external hard drives. http://www.maxtor.com/en/index.html#



I stand corrected. I thought Seagate dropped the name completely.


----------



## ktr (Aug 11, 2008)

Seagate doesn't really promote Maxtor, and their enclosures are ugly.


----------



## xfire (Aug 11, 2008)

Which city in India do you live in?
You can get a W.D(Western Digital) external HDD 160Gb for 3,500INR.
edit-you can save 1000 INR buy buying HDD+enclosure.


----------



## freebird_9924 (Aug 16, 2008)

xfire said:


> Which city in India do you live in?
> You can get a W.D(Western Digital) external HDD 160Gb for 3,500INR.
> edit-you can save 1000 INR buy buying HDD+enclosure.



i'm from Gujarat.
my conputer enginner suggested me another company also "freecom"
anyone using it? reviews?


----------



## wolf2009 (Aug 16, 2008)

Well India is very overpriced due to products being imported from other countries . When I lived there it was the biggest problem in purchasing PC Hardware . You cant even build a good gaming PC in under Rs 40000 . For the same money in USD here in US you can get a great PC .


----------



## xfire (Aug 17, 2008)

The prices have fallen very much and you can get on in 40,000.
Freebird just get an Western Digital or if you find transcend is cheaper get transcend.


----------



## freebird_9924 (Aug 17, 2008)

xfire said:


> The prices have fallen very much and you can get on in 40,000.
> Freebird just get an Western Digital or if you find transcend is cheaper get transcend.



40,000????
or 4,000?


----------



## xfire (Aug 18, 2008)

40,000 for a good gaming PC.
Rather than buying online try getting it in the local hardware shop where it's cheaper. Like I've been saying from the starting it will cost 3,500(in hyderabad atleast). If you need to know where these shops are located you need to visit some of the indian forums and ask or ask your engineer where the shop is located.


----------



## freebird_9924 (Aug 19, 2008)

xfire said:


> 40,000 for a good gaming PC.
> Rather than buying online try getting it in the local hardware shop where it's cheaper. Like I've been saying from the starting it will cost 3,500(in hyderabad atleast). If you need to know where these shops are located you need to visit some of the indian forums and ask or ask your engineer where the shop is located.



i'll buy from my local place only, but i just wanna make sure that whtever hdd i'll buy is running product. my enginner is recommending freecom [5,500] 1st, then westerndigital or seagate. [both 4,000]

He is saying that freecom is more efficient and it won't loose data even it'll fall down and it has recovery software along with it and much..

so i want to get reviews from you guys.. anyways, i'll go to e-zone and other shops within 2-3days and will buy freecom or WD according to your reviews.

Thanks.


----------



## freebird_9924 (Aug 21, 2008)

i've finally decided for 160gb WD and went to purchase from my vendor but he washed my mind.
he told me repeatedly to buy freecom tough 160/250gb.

plz you guys advice me, is freecom really better than WD and i shd purchase it? or not? i want to purchase it within a day now. 

Thanks a lot to all to guide me.


----------



## wiak (Aug 21, 2008)

get one with eSATA and thank us later 
USB = max 30 MB/s
eSATA = same as SATA


----------



## freebird_9924 (Aug 21, 2008)

wiak said:


> get one with eSATA and thank us later
> USB = max 30 MB/s
> eSATA = same as SATA



i didnt understand. 


Please check this. Whether it's ok or westerndigital sata 160/250gb?
freecom tough


----------



## xfire (Aug 21, 2008)

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/164649/freecom-toughdrive-pro.html
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Freecom toughdrive review&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8


----------



## Cybrnook2002 (Aug 21, 2008)

I have one of these

http://gadgets.in/component/page,sh...acturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,26/

but the 120 GB version and I love it. Its super quiet and powered by one USB cable. So there is no need to plug it into a second USB slot or into the wall.


----------



## DR.Death (Aug 21, 2008)

humm they are small i would say go with one og the big names i have a lace drive and i have had it for about a yea now not even a lost byte it used a seagate drive is my memory is correct and they are good drives i would say ether build your own or but lace, wd or seagate


----------



## xfire (Aug 21, 2008)

la-ce isn't really that good in India. WD's are the best else transcend.


----------



## freebird_9924 (Aug 25, 2008)

xfire said:


> http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/164649/freecom-toughdrive-pro.html
> http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Freecom toughdrive review&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8



i've googled it but not found any reviews by users.
Anyways, i've ordered it and hopefully i'll get it upto today evening.
I'll write my review here.
Thanks a lot to everyone.

Price at my place by my vendor: 
Freecom tough 250gb - 5,000INR 
WD 160gb - 3400INR
WD 250gb - 4400INR


----------



## Deleted member 24505 (Aug 25, 2008)

I bought myself on of these caddys and a wd 160 perp drive to go in it.The caddy hotswaps in the bay so it is really fast when plugged into it,and no messing with usb cables.It has sata/usb connectors on the back,so you can use it with e-sata too with a e-sata to sata lead.











Ask him what drive is inside the freecom unit.


----------



## freebird_9924 (Aug 25, 2008)

@tiger, 





> Ask him what drive is inside the freecom unit.



i didn't understand wht to ask excatly. ???
can u check urself whether freecom is ok or not?
Thanks.


----------



## Deleted member 24505 (Aug 25, 2008)

I think that freecom will be fine.


----------



## Chewy (Aug 25, 2008)

I bought myself one of theses and a WD 500GB harddrive to put in it.

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=18867&vpn=NST-360SU-BL&manufacture=VANTEC

 What tiger wanted to know was what brand of HD comes in the freecom unit.


 Edit: yes that freecom looks very portable and rugged.


----------



## Mussels (Aug 25, 2008)

the OP didnt seem to understand.

These units are a 'cage' or enclosure, with a hard drive inside them. As freecom do not make hard drives, it will be another brands drive inside it.
 (the major brands are samsung, western digital and seagate - maxtor do not exist anymore, seagate own them now)


----------



## Skrabrug (Aug 25, 2008)

i have a 500gb Maxtor OneTouch 4 i got for the price of a generic 160gb HDD (they put the wrong price tag on and i stood in the store for about half an hour arguing with them until they sold it to me for the marked price xD)

you can configure it to automatically back up selection locations fo your internal HDD's (I have mine set up to back up game saves/downloads folders)


----------



## lemonadesoda (Aug 25, 2008)

A VERY IMPORTANT question is what you want to do with it.  Is it for occasional backups? Is it an "installer drive"? Is it for video and MP3? Do you want to network it across your PC, laptop and other devices on your network?  Do you want to move it to other locations? Do you want to travel with it?

All these questions need to be answered before you will find the ideal solution.

Personally, I think there are only 2 options TODAY:

1./ A cheap USB flash stick, 30GB, or
2./ A NAS device


----------



## xfire (Aug 26, 2008)

NO cheap USB flash stick in India.
OP already seems to have bought it and I doubt if he will come back.


----------



## freebird_9924 (Sep 9, 2008)

xfire said:


> NO cheap USB flash stick in India.
> OP already seems to have bought it and I doubt if he will come back.



I'm back. 
had exam so wasnt logging in for last few weeks.

I got my freecom 250gb hdd. While inserting first time, during driver detection, it was showing samsung. so i think they are using samsung hdd.

it's light in weight, quite handy, attractive..i hope it'll not disappoint me.
NTI shadow backup software is free along with it. 3 yr warranty.


----------



## freebird_9924 (Sep 9, 2008)

guys i need your help.
plz check this thread.
Thanks.


----------



## xfire (Sep 10, 2008)

one needs to be a member to check that site.


----------



## Mussels (Sep 10, 2008)

xfire said:


> one needs to be a member to check that site.



the conclusion that follows is that we're too lazy to sign up just to read a post asking for help, of which we have no idea if we can even help.


----------



## xfire (Sep 10, 2008)

whats the point in signing up just for a single occasion while th OP who is need of help is equally lazy to post it in this forums.
Think of all the spam you can get by signing up to so many forums.


----------



## freebird_9924 (Sep 10, 2008)

xfire said:


> whats the point in signing up just for a single occasion while th OP who is need of help is equally lazy to post it in this forums.
> Think of all the spam you can get by signing up to so many forums.



sorry. it was my mistake.
i swapped links by mistake.and dc that time..
thread is in this forum only.
link corrected now..plz check..
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=70923


----------



## k0rn_h0li0 (Sep 28, 2008)

i guess i can ask the forum members a question.

which is better an external hdd usb 2.0 plug or external case that supports e/sata2.0 + hdd?

i don't know which is better. i just need it for storage and maybe back ups?

if possibly could i create a network where i can share my files with my friends???

thank you

-k0rn


----------



## Mussels (Sep 29, 2008)

USB 2.0 is stuck around 30MB/s, E-sata is 300MB/s.

I think its obvious which one to do 

(yes you can share it over the network, of course it shares like an internal drive does so your PC has to be on)


----------



## xfire (Sep 29, 2008)

Do you have an e-sata port?


----------



## Mussels (Sep 29, 2008)

xfire said:


> Do you have an e-sata port?



considering E-sata and Sata are completely compatible requiring only a small inexpensive adaptor, i dont think it really matters that much.


----------



## k0rn_h0li0 (Sep 30, 2008)

so i should get an enclosure plus a hdd which is way better than those portable 2.0 usb external hdd's ???

if i'm using an enclosure don't i still use USB 2.0? how do i get that whole esata thing to work where the transfer rate of files is faster??

now i guess the only problem is carrying the enclosures plus the weight of the hdd :/


----------



## xfire (Sep 30, 2008)

Mussels said:


> considering E-sata and Sata are completely compatible requiring only a small inexpensive adaptor, i dont think it really matters that much.


If he's going to use it as a external the adapter to convert sata to e-sata will not be much useful.
k0rn_h0li0
here are the pro's and con's
enclosure
pro's
If one component fails it can be replaced easily(If the HDD fails it can be changed or if the external case is spoilt it can be changed)
It's cheaper than an external hard disk.
con's
It's bigger and requires an power supply.
External
pro's
Smaller and draws power from USB
con's
If the hard disk fails the whole thing needs to be replaced and it's more expensive.


----------



## Mussels (Sep 30, 2008)

xfires explanation is quite confusing.

THere are two sizes of externals, for the two sizes of hard drives. 2.5" and 3.5". EIther one can be replaced with individual parts, Xfire... seems confused there.

2.5" are laptop hard drives, they get their power from USB, they're small, and they're relatively slow.

3.5" are desktop HDD's, require a power brick, larger, and faster.

E-sata is a different cable type. If your PC doesnt have an E-sata port, you'll need to get a sata to E-sata adaptor/bracket. having an adapter or a built in port makes no difference, you'll still get the high speeds as if it were an internal HDD.


----------



## k0rn_h0li0 (Oct 1, 2008)

ic ic. esata ports can only used on pc's and not laptops so both ways i use usb 2.0. but an enclosure is better than the portable cause their easy to swap hdd's out and whatnot. 

thanks for the info guys i  think imma go with the enclosure just hope i can find a way to transfer files faster instead of using usb 2.0 and actually getting esata on a laptop to work/function/configure in some sort of way.


----------



## Deleted member 24505 (Oct 1, 2008)

Just get the caddy i got  If your bord supports hot swap its great,the board treats it like any of my other hdd's and the speed is full sataII read/write speed.Plus no messing about with a usb cable.


----------



## k0rn_h0li0 (Oct 1, 2008)

well thats something i gotta figure out. whats a caddy?


----------



## xfire (Oct 1, 2008)

If the laptop has an e-sata port then you can get full speeds.


----------



## Mussels (Oct 1, 2008)

you're confusing a few things here.

Some laptops DO have E-sata. If it doesnt, well sooner or later you're going to copy files to and from other PC's, and if THEY have E-sata it will be worth it.

The other thing you seem to think external cages/enclosures/caddy, drive cage are different. they arent.

Theres two sizes as i said above, for two laptop sizes - and you can buy them preassembled or do it yourself, but they're the same thing! the pre-assembled can be pulled apart and have the drive swapped around too!


----------



## k0rn_h0li0 (Oct 1, 2008)

Mussels said:


> The other thing you seem to think external cages/enclosures/caddy, drive cage are different. they arent.
> 
> Theres two sizes as i said above, for two laptop sizes - and you can buy them preassembled or do it yourself, but they're the same thing! the pre-assembled can be pulled apart and have the drive swapped around too!



drive cages are the 2.5" and 3.5"s which i think your referring too? if not then clarify a little more on a drive cage.

i do have an esata port phew i thought i didn't have one for a sec.

the assembly seems easy. i was planning to buy an ide/esata enclosure but i guess i'll just buy an esata and have fun with it. 3.5" enclosure with hdd. i should be fine right?


----------



## Mussels (Oct 2, 2008)

drive cage, etc - theres just a million names for "the thing the hard drive goes in"

if you can use a screwdriver, you can put a hard drive in an enclosure.


----------



## k0rn_h0li0 (Oct 2, 2008)

oh yeah. okay i got it.

well i'm done with what i have. what i got was a vantec nexstar MX dual 3.5" sata to usb 2.0, with a samsung 750gig hdd.

so far so good just need to reformat. i wish this had esata so i can use instead of USb 2.0 but imma have to deal with that for now  but i'm happy cheers everyone


----------

