[wellylug] Recommendations for external hard drive

[Brent Wood]

--- John Thomson <jthomson72 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> Does anyone have recommendations for an 200-250GB external hard drive that
> works well with Linux? Or even some general recommendations of what to buy.

I have sold several, 250-500Gb. They are generally quicker & easier to set up
under Linux than Windows.

A fast HD is wasted, coz the effective speed is limited by the USB connection,
so a cheap Seagate drive is fine. There are a number of cheaper plastic 3.5"
enclosures available, aluminium ones tend to be more expensive, but do offer
better heat dissipation. I'd avoid an enclosure with a fan for active cooling,
it shouldn't be necessary & is one more thing to go wrong. 

Most of the cheaper ones are limited to drives of about 300Gb. The better ones
will support in excess of 500Gb drives. This may not be an issue for you.

The Noontec enclosures from www.vst.co.nz are OK, & include a USB hub & card
reader in an aluminium alloy case, which is handy, I'd rate these as one of the
better generic ones, if they actually have some stock :-) The best quality ones
I've used, with 500Gb drives, is the Vantec Nextstar3 from
www.overclockers.co.nz. A bit more expensive, but well engineered.

I have a 250Gb Seagate in a Noontec you can try if you like. 

see:
http://www.overclockers.co.nz/product/e-box/hdd-35.shtml
http://www.vst.co.nz/ (click storage/enclosures)


Others may be as good, or even better, but I've had good success with these.
Some generic USB devices can do nasty things. Like attaching a USB->serial
adapter that simply shuts down the PC. Sometimes you get what you pay for. 


Cheers,

  Brent