External Hard Drives -- Question

  • Thread starter Thread starter Debris
  • Start date Start date
D

Debris

Hello,

I'm planning to invest in an external hard drive (desktop, not portable) --
general specifications ~ 250 GB, 7200 rpm, USB 2.0 connection.

My initial idea was to use the drive as sort of an "archive" for those files
I don't access a lot, such as photo / video / music files. I say "archive"
as opposed to backup as I have the important stuff backed up securely
elsewhere.

My question is, are these external drives robust enough / fast enough /
whatever to use as "everyday" storage? For example, can I rip a CD directly
to one, or do I need to rip the CD to the internal drive first, then move
the files? Can I edit video directly from one?

BTW, I'm avoiding mentioning brand names, but I guess my first choice would
be a Seagate drive.

Thanks,

D
 
Debris said:
Hello,

I'm planning to invest in an external hard drive (desktop, not portable) --
general specifications ~ 250 GB, 7200 rpm, USB 2.0 connection.

My initial idea was to use the drive as sort of an "archive" for those files
I don't access a lot, such as photo / video / music files. I say "archive"
as opposed to backup as I have the important stuff backed up securely
elsewhere.

My question is, are these external drives robust enough / fast enough /
whatever to use as "everyday" storage? For example, can I rip a CD directly
to one, or do I need to rip the CD to the internal drive first, then move
the files? Can I edit video directly from one?

BTW, I'm avoiding mentioning brand names, but I guess my first choice would
be a Seagate drive.
Click to expand...



Yes, USB 2 is fast enough to burn a cd directly from the drive...
you should have no problems
 
Debris said:
Hello,

I'm planning to invest in an external hard drive (desktop, not
portable) -- general specifications ~ 250 GB, 7200 rpm, USB 2.0
connection.

My initial idea was to use the drive as sort of an "archive" for those
files I don't access a lot, such as photo / video / music files. I say
"archive" as opposed to backup as I have the important stuff backed up
securely elsewhere.

My question is, are these external drives robust enough / fast enough /
whatever to use as "everyday" storage? For example, can I rip a CD
directly to one, or do I need to rip the CD to the internal drive first,
then move the files? Can I edit video directly from one?

BTW, I'm avoiding mentioning brand names, but I guess my first choice
would be a Seagate drive.
Click to expand...

I've got a 500gig Seagate FreeAgent drive. It's silent, shuts down
automatically with the PC and looks kinda cool. I use it to archive any
files that I may need to access, but rarely do. It's been stable for almost
a year. I'd trust it as much as any other drive - internal or external. It
should be fast enough to use for ripping CD's.
 
I've got a 500gig Seagate FreeAgent drive. It's silent, shuts down
automatically with the PC and looks kinda cool. I use it to archive any
files that I may need to access, but rarely do. It's been stable for almost
a year. I'd trust it as much as any other drive - internal or external. It
should be fast enough to use for ripping CD's.
Click to expand...

In general I'd agree -- However, is it just me or is the power button
more then a little temperamental?

(Personally, I just leave it on and let it do it's own thing -- But it
seems like an odd thing to be so moody)
 
DevilsPGD said:
In general I'd agree -- However, is it just me or is the power button
more then a little temperamental?
Click to expand...

Mine doesn't have a power button. It comes on as soon as the USB powers up.
Doesn't run from USB power though.
 
Hello,

I'm planning to invest in an external hard drive (desktop, not portable) --
general specifications ~ 250 GB, 7200 rpm, USB 2.0 connection.

My initial idea was to use the drive as sort of an "archive" for those files
I don't access a lot, such as photo / video / music files. I say "archive"
as opposed to backup as I have the important stuff backed up securely
elsewhere.

My question is, are these external drives robust enough / fast enough /
whatever to use as "everyday" storage?
Click to expand...

Robust, not necessarily unless you have a mild climate or it
has a fan inside. Some also have rather poor power supplies
but sticking with the name brands is a good idea.

Speed depends on several factors, notibly the USB bottleneck
and especially that if you have a lot of very small files
opposed to larger ones.
For example, can I rip a CD directly
to one, or do I need to rip the CD to the internal drive first, then move
the files?
Click to expand...

??
Ripping a CD isn't a realtime activity, no matter how slow
the external was you could still do it ok, it would take
more time to copy to thei internal drive first then copy off
to the external. However, in general you can write to an
external USB2 drive faster than the CD can be ripped, so it
shouldn't ever be a factor.

Can I edit video directly from one?
Click to expand...

You could, but I don't think you'd want to (depending on
exactly how/what/etc you're editing. Highest throughput is
handy to have snappy performance while editing. If you put
the source files on an internal drive and your final
compressed destination were to be written to the external,
that would tend to be fine since compression speed is slower
than the external write performance (usually). The other
factor for this is if the job takes a long time you're left
running the external all the while. If you'll be using this
external powered a lot, it might be as well to just buy
another internal drive instead.


BTW, I'm avoiding mentioning brand names, but I guess my first choice would
be a Seagate drive.
Click to expand...

You can read some customer reviews at places like
http://www.newegg.com . In particular the problem reports
or "cons" there are useful, while the "pros" are often
obvious or expected unless otherwise stated.
 
kony said:
On Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:31:07 -0600, "Debris"


Robust, not necessarily unless you have a mild climate or it
has a fan inside. Some also have rather poor power supplies
but sticking with the name brands is a good idea.

Speed depends on several factors, notibly the USB bottleneck
and especially that if you have a lot of very small files
opposed to larger ones.


??
Ripping a CD isn't a realtime activity, no matter how slow
the external was you could still do it ok, it would take
more time to copy to thei internal drive first then copy off
to the external. However, in general you can write to an
external USB2 drive faster than the CD can be ripped, so it
shouldn't ever be a factor.



You could, but I don't think you'd want to (depending on
exactly how/what/etc you're editing. Highest throughput is
handy to have snappy performance while editing. If you put
the source files on an internal drive and your final
compressed destination were to be written to the external,
that would tend to be fine since compression speed is slower
than the external write performance (usually). The other
factor for this is if the job takes a long time you're left
running the external all the while. If you'll be using this
external powered a lot, it might be as well to just buy
another internal drive instead.




You can read some customer reviews at places like
http://www.newegg.com . In particular the problem reports
or "cons" there are useful, while the "pros" are often
obvious or expected unless otherwise stated.
Click to expand...

Lifetime ratings vary a lot.


NT
 
500gig FreeAgent Desktop
Click to expand...

Look on the base, near the front-right corner, see the embossed power
logo? Press it and hold it for a few seconds while the drive is turned
on (but not busy, obviously)
 
Doesn't run from USB power though.
Look on the base, near the front-right corner, see the embossed power
logo? Press it and hold it for a few seconds while the drive is turned
on (but not busy, obviously)
Click to expand...

Nope. I've had this apart and know that there isn't any power switch.
 
Nope. I've had this apart and know that there isn't any power switch.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I'll have to do some research and find out when and why
they added it. I'm also unclear as to when you'd want to power the
drive on without a computer connected (which is possible with my unit),
although I suppose I can potentially see the desire to power the drive
off (or powercycle)

The switch on mine is just a push/release button, and it's definitely a
soft feature, when the drive is running I need to hold it several
seconds to power off (And the soft on/off works as expected based on
whether the PC is connected to the drive or not -- I can turn it off
with the switch, then reboot and the drive powers back up)

Just seems like an odd additional expense on an already low margin
product.
 
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