Question about External hard drives

[bucwylde23]

I have been trying to find a good deal on a USB 2.0/1.1 external hard drive, mainly for use of backing up things from my computer, as well as other family computers quickly.

Is it best to buy one of the external drives which are ready to go, or is it just as good to buy a external hard drive enclosure, and buy a drive to put inside of it?

 

[bucwylde23]

Is this a good deal?

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Western-...sm/oid/99809/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Trying to get one as soon as possible so that I can back up a few things. This WD drive is $70 after $60 mail-in rebates.

 

[CalvinHobbes]

Seems like a good price. Check out the hot deal forum and fatwallet for other deals on external drives.

 

[bucwylde23]

But is a 2MB buffer worth that price?

Is a drive with an 8 MB buffer that noticeably faster?

 

[corkyg]

Personally, I prefer the case so I can use my extra drives that accumulate after upgrades. In any case, also read this KB article.

KB

 

[bucwylde23]

I think I'm going to scratch this idea for now. Just got in on the 320 GB SATA drive deal, and will just rely on my dual layer DVD burner for backups. Should be enough space on a DVD for what I need at this point.