Of course how much additional magnetic storage you need depends on your
requirements. I need about 1.5 terrabytes so I have several external
hard drives connected to my computer. I chose external hard drives
instead of upgrading or adding to my internal ones; there is not really
a good reason to justify one way or another as far as I know, but it was
just easier for me with external drives. Plus, they are more flexible
-- I gave one of my smaller 300 GB drives to my freshman daughter in
college to encourage her backups and to hold the music & videos she will
soon be downloading like any other college student. She knows how to
plug in an external drive.
If you are using an external hard drive for everyday storage to augment
your limited-size internal drive, I recommend one that automatically
shuts itself off when it is not needed (and on when it is needed). If
you are using it only for backups or for some data transfer that is
infrequent, an external drive that has a manual shutoff switch is better.
If you have been happy with 110 GB internal storage, you probably don't
need more than 500 GB external. But it might be tight to get a 100 or
120 GB external drive for backup. Comparing $80 with $100, the 500 GB
drive is a better choice. (The cost of name brands is at the higher end
of the range that I mentioned -- but, who knows, maybe the name brands
are no better than the unknown brands? I believe this is definitely
true for DVD players that I have bought.)
Just my opinion, everyone has at least one.
Ranbo wrote:
Even if my current hard drive is only 110? Maybe I should, at some point,
upgrade that as well. Guess getting 500 for $100 vs. 100 or 60 is a much
better deal. Any need to go higher than 500?
Thanks
Randall
On Mon, Sep 1, 2008 at 12:27 PM, Robert <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
So happens that I was looking last night a Newegg for a USB external hard
drive, and I discovered that these drives cost about $80 -- $100 regardless
of whether they were 300 GB or 500 GB; the 100 GB size cost about $60 --
$90. If it were me, I would buy the 500 GB or larger at a cost of around
$100.
Ranbo wrote:
I need to get something for computer back up. Would an external hard
drive
be the simplest, most economical way to go? If so, what issues or
features
should I take into account? I have a 110 gig hard drive, so wonder how
many
gigs of back up I need. See some on sale that hold 300, 500 or, I think,
1,000 gig. At the moment, would mostly be to back up text, email and some
photos, but guess I'd like some flexibility in the future to back up more
photos, audio files and maybe some videos. I'd like to spend less than
$100. Can anyone suggest a good product to meet these parameters and
where
to get it?
Thanks,
Randall
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