I'm phasing out my external hard drives, but my favourite ones have been the IcyBox Raid Subsystem (separate charger)



I've bought 4, and one has fucked up.

But they fit 2 hard drives (you supply them), can be run as one big drive, mirrored raid, or striped raid.

I reckon the way to go now is NAS, plus a USB 3 hard drive dock for backups

HP Proliant Microserver (fits 4 drives, plus more with a bit of DIY work)



Astone USB3 dual hdd dock:



Unless you want a little one to take with you, then just go into any shop and pick up a 2TB WD external drive, done. This is the sort of thing my dad would use:



Seagate makes them too, but I hear they overheat more.



last edited by thermite at 20:04:20 27/Jun/12

how much does a Raid system cost?how are they for portability? I was planning on having the external HDD plugged into my tv and be able to take to friends house etc.

how much does a Raid system cost?how are they for portability?

expensive and not at all portable, just something to think about for serious media hoarding

you probably want the dicksmith/officeworks/HN thingo (last pic I posted) if you're gonna be taking it over a friend place

last edited by thermite at 20:50:14 27/Jun/12

I've had a Seagate 1tb and it regularly shits itself, still contains data, but has problems booting and likes to make noise. I now use the WD 2tb somehow got it for $94 but now costs upwards of ~$120. Might go for a raid system as my 2tb external is now full and I like my media and want more.

I was thinking of one of these: http://www.computeralliance.com.au/parts.aspx?qryPart=12441
It's just for random shit to take to work, friends houses, etc.

Don't get that one, the WD and Seagate portables aren't particularly reliable. If I got a dollar for every time someone whinged about theirs flaking out and dying suddenly ...

I'd instead recommend the Buffalo 500GB for $79 (or the 1TB version for $139):

http://www.computeralliance.com.au/parts.aspx?qryPart=13232

While it has a WD OEM drive inside it, the USB interface is quite reliable - which I'm convinced is where many portable drive failures occur.

User ratings/reviews backing up my opinion: WD 500GB USB3.0 vs Buffalo 500GB USB3.0

With the bus powered ones, are they like my usb powered cd drive, and they use up 2x usb ports?

Never had to use two ports for a portable HDD, even on a laptop. I need one for a USB DVD drive though.

last edited by parabol at 01:32:38 28/Jun/12

Silly question in coming:

What is the max size that a usb only hdd can get to?