Please recommend external hard drive to a newbie!

[AnnBonny]

I'm buying an external hard drive for a friend. He is picky so I need to make sure I get a good one! I know that I need one that has the faster revolution speed and at least 200-250 GB. He is going to travel with it so it should be small, durable, and from a reputable company with a good warranty. It isn't going to be just for document storage and the like. I think he may want to use it to hold music, video and such so that he can entertain himself while on the road. I'm not sure what else you need to know. I'm not particularly stupid (I don't think) but this isn't my area. He's on this site all the time so I know advice from you guys will be the best I can find.

 

[Harvey]

The easiest way to get the drive you want may be to buy an internal drive with the specs you want and an separate chassis that holds the drive and connects through USB. That will probably cost you less than a ready made external drive, and you'll have the advantage of being able to open the box and change drives without voiding the warranty if it fails or if you want to change drives for any other reason. Also, you're more likely to find a good sale on an internal drive than an external combo.

If cost isn't an object, you can buy a 2.5" laptop drive and a box for it. Here's a link to a local dealer I use. This isn't for price, just to show you what's available.

Hope that helps.

 

[0roo0roo]

faster revolution doesn't matter unless you are using esata. firewire/usb are too slow for higher rpm or consideration of drive speed to make a difference.
if you think he would use it on the road a 2.5" would be the thing to get..then speed really doesn't matter that much. firewire/usb is more than fast enough to playback music/video just fine.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

go for a 200-250gb SATA 7200rpm 2.5in HDD
and get an enclosue for a 2.5in HDD with USB2.0 & ESata

 

[vailr]

Get a Newegg.com Gift Certificate for $200 & let him pick what he wants. Or: Buy.com, ZipZoomFly.com.