External HDD review requried - 250GB+

I'm in need of an external HDD with decent read-write speed. Due to wide acceptance of USB 2.0 I'm ditching IEEE1394 and going in for the former.

Need feedback on external HDD with a minimum capacity of 250GB. The more the better but haf a price constraint of about 6-7k. I do not wish to buy the laptop HDD + casing. Want a molded one. Kindly pour in your views.

for a budget of 6-7 k u'll easily get a segate free agent 320gb HDD. it has awesome speeds and looks good too! you shoud check it out

Ankur bought one few months ago, cant find the link of his post in this forum, but here is the review on his blog

*www.ankur-gupta.com/blog/reviews/western-digital-250gb-passport-review

Do a search in the forum, as I think he also posted here in the forum, the thread had too info in following discussion

Review by Ankur Gupta: *www.ankur-gupta.com/blog/reviews/western-digital-250gb-passport-review

Same one by me: *www.beingmanan.com/wp/2008/02/quick-look-at-western-digital-passport-250-gb-external/

If you are gonna buy 1, get a WD, they look slick, great performance and reliable.

@Choto: *www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=75344

While there is no doubt that the Passport series are really "passports"

am a bit skeptical about them; prolly coz my stint with them hasn't been a pleasant one. But then that was a year and a half ago. Things would've definitely improved by now. What are your thots on the Passport after using it for couple of months, iMav?

I do see at theitwares that in the 500G category, Freeagent is available for Rs.5.4k, MyBook Essential for 4.9k and MyBook Home for 5.5k. I do not see the Passport series. While portability is not the only deciding factor (but still important), which one would the Digitians recommend?

Edit: Oh I guess MyBook is ruled out since it requires an external power adapter

Forgot about that!

buy the 500 GB one from maxtor or seagate

tharu said:
I am Tamil Cinema Director Tharani.I am a homosexual.My films you know Thill,Thool,Killi,Kuruvi.My telephone no is 9144426213. Call me.O.K|?

Damn you.. already spammed 50+ posts!!!!

reported....

I love the passport, looks slick and behaves as well! So far it has been good to me.

tharu said:
I am Tamil Cinema Director Tharani.I am a homosexual.My films you know Thill,Thool,Killi,Kuruvi.My telephone no is 9144426213. Call me.O.K|?

thats the best spam I have seen in a long time to come. :lol:

iMav said:
I love the passport, looks slick and behaves as well! So far it has been good to me.

Any idea if Passport is available in 500G capacity and cost? Whats teh warranty like? 5 years?

Not really sure on how much is the warranty. I think it is either a year or 3. And no, it does not come in 500, it has 320 max. Check this page out. See the Passport Elite.

Bought Transcend Storejet 25 Mobile 250GB for Rs.4250. The Passport was on its way out.. being replaced by the flimsy WD Elements. Seagate Freeagent is shamelessly expensive.

Pretty impressed by this Storejet. Has the toughest protection I've ever seen for an external drive (apparently meets the US Military drop test). Speed is impressive; a sustained 28 MB/s Write. Also has one-touch backup (button).

^My friend payed Rs.4300 for the 160GB :lol:

What a rip off! @Anirudh-You bought it from SP road?

^^^ Yep.

4.3k for 160GB??!! Lol.. :))

infra_red_dude said:
Pretty impressed by this Storejet. Has the toughest protection I've ever seen for an external drive (apparently meets the US Military drop test). Speed is impressive; a sustained 28 MB/s Write. Also has one-touch backup (button).

Wow! If that's true then it's the best choice for external HDDs.

Have you tried dropping it from top floor of your house?

narangz said:
Have you tried dropping it from top floor of your house?

hehe..

I was planning to do it.. but seems someone actually did it 3 times and it still works flawlessly (as posted by that guy on some forum)... :lol:

guess there are bigger fools than me! :))

Haha!

If that's really true then it's the best thing to buy for data storage.

Transcend Storejet 320GB bought yesterday for 6350/-. It rox.

A review puhleeze

infra_red_dude said:
Bought Transcend Storejet 25 Mobile 250GB for Rs.4250. The Passport was on its way out.. being replaced by the flimsy WD Elements. Seagate Freeagent is shamelessly expensive.

Pretty impressed by this Storejet. Has the toughest protection I've ever seen for an external drive (apparently meets the US Military drop test). Speed is impressive; a sustained 28 MB/s Write. Also has one-touch backup (button).

SP Road ? Shop Address please. I am paying good old SP Road a visit this Sunday.

Visit any shop.. Bangalore computer, Sahara, Surabhi etc. All will sell around the same price.

No reviews.. yaar.... too lazy.... but the 320GB was surprisingly fast to transfer data. A lot faster than I expected it to transfer. Actual rates can b checked out elsewhere.

Also... rubberised exterior gives it a secure feel (& kool looks).... i actually heard some guyz, unsuccessfully, tried droppin it a coupla times to damage it.

It was thinner than my 8GB N95 by a few mm!!!*img508.imageshack.us/img508/876/dsc02222newkn0.th.jpg

Overall, I feel it's worth the price & I am actually surprised my hasty decision (to buy it... then & there in the shop itself!) had gone extremely well.
All I can say... speedwise, it's on par with the WD Passport 320GB (which was actually recommended in a Digit/Chip mag this/last month); lookwise... mayb better....; sturdiness.... far better.

G

@ koolbluez, how much WD Passport 320GB costs now? Also is HDD use in Transcend Storejet 320GB SATA or PATA?

^^^ Thats SATA.

It costed ~400Rs lesser than the Storejet.

Transcend Storejet & WD Passport r both SATA.