External Hard Drives

insinkerator

Im a complete noob when it comes to ths kind of thing, but i am going on a spree updating my computer. Im running the G5 1.8 GH 17 inch imac with leopard, with all the standard specifications. And being honest, its all getting rather slow.

So i am upgrading. I am getting 2 CT407782 1GB, 184-pin DIMM memory things from crucial.com(if anyone has any feedback it would be great) And i also feel the need to upgrade my hard drive space, as the 70 odd Gigs i have at the moment just isnt cutting it. So i am basically looking for a hard drive that:

-Between 250 and 500 GB storage
-Connects through firewire (only because i have herd this is the fastest)
-Is as quiet as possible
-Is fast enough to run my itunes library from(this isnt essential, but it would be nice)
-Is as cheap as possible.
-Size, as in dimensions, and style/appearance are completely irrelevant
-they must deliver to ireland.(obviously:P)

If anyone has any suggestions i would be eternally grateful!

charlesD

Connects through firewire (only because i have herd this is the fastest)

Firewire is generally the fastest, but it does have the downside that a lot of non-macs don't have it.

This probably won't be a concern for you at home, but one of the nice things about an external drive is that it is not tied to one specific computer.

I am not trying to dissuade you, because firewire is probably the best choice for your situation. It is just important to know that not all PCs have firewire, so depending on where you are going to use the external drive, this could be an issue. For instance if you were attending school and wanted to take it with you...

insinkerator

i dont need to worry about that. This drive will be connected to nothing but my mac for the forseeable future. I have an 8GB pen drive for any moving that needs to be done.

I need the new drive because as it stands, my music collection wont fit on my mac, most of it is stored on my 160GB ipod. But i want a permanent har drive, that stays in one place, with low risk of breaking.

charlesD

I certainly understand the need for an upgrade. 70 Gigs goes pretty fast (for me anyway )

insinkerator

ya like i said, my music alone wont fit at the moment. Its rather annoying

SickBoy

This Western Digital My Book looks like it will do what you require.
Very reliable from the reviews I've read.
The only downside is it requires it's own power supply which makes it slightly less mobile than a Western Digital Passport
Both have firewire but the Passport is powered through the USB/Firewire port which makes it very portable.

insinkerator

That digital my book, looks like the right job,just one thing though. if it has a mains supply, does it need to be plugged in all the time? As in is it ok to plug it out when im not using it/ will it survive a power cut?

SickBoy

It's like any electronic device, leave it plugged in and press the power button when you require its use.
Will it survive a power cut? I don't see why not.

insinkerator

ahh good stuff, i may look into pgetting that one so!

cheeers

gzoladz

Max Burns (off O'Connel st, on Bachelors Quay) sells 500gb portable Lacie external HD 2.5, no external power needed for 139. This is without firewire.

I recall to have seen this weekend a similar one with firewire but I think it is above 200.