Looking for hot deal on 500 gig external HD

Mike Dzurko · « **on:** 4 Nov 2009, 02:55 pm »

The title says most of it. Need to add a 500 gig external USB HD. Best price locally is $70 + tax for a Seagate. A little searching online yielded some $60 possibilities. Any ideas welcome, thanks!

woodsyi · « **Reply #1 on:** 4 Nov 2009, 03:17 pm »

I think that's about what you are going to get. I would caution using these external devices as anything more than a back up. Cooling on these are not good enough IMO to run full time. I would add an internal drive to your PC (providing a slot is available) if you are looking to run the drive full time. Otherwise, you will probably have to pay a little more for a more robust case with fan and PS.

ebag4 · « **Reply #2 on:** 4 Nov 2009, 03:29 pm »

Not a hot deal on a 500G but a very hot deal on a 1.5Tb USB drive. If interested look here:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?sku=A3098103&cs=04&c=us&l=en&dgc=BF&cid=7421&lid=197378&acd=10466193-1909457-

$100. shipped for a 1.5Tb USB drive from Dell. I believe this deal expires today. I haven't pulled the trigger yet but I am definitely considering it.

Best,
Ed

mshan · « **Reply #3 on:** 4 Nov 2009, 05:38 pm »

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90619 (Seagate 1.5 TB external - $105 shipped; don't know seller, just saw his ad)

Got this 15% off Dell Electronics & Accessories coupon I don't need: 5W6VGBHXGVKLSR (expires 11/30)

Also got this previous code 15% off coupon which someone used (but doesn't say one time use): K95K36LW1?LLLQ (also expires 11/30)

Thump553 · « **Reply #4 on:** 4 Nov 2009, 08:05 pm »

I've heard conflicting things about that 1.5TB from Dell, some claim it is built with lesser standard parts. I note it only has a one year warranty and it's specs give it a maximum room temperature of 95 degrees F. Also, if you have an older computer (like mine) it hangs up with trying to boot up with a large USB hard drive (in my case a 1TB Maxtor). Simple solution once you know the problem, just disconnect the HD before booting but it's annoying.

Personally I think externals are fine for music storage-I've used them for years now and they run 24/7/365 in an unairconditioned room. But backup it always essential, because hard drives DO fail.

At this stage I'd wait a bit for the Black Fridays ads to see what deals are up. It's pretty common now to get a name brand 1 TB USB only external for $90-110.

Mike Dzurko · « **Reply #5 on:** 4 Nov 2009, 09:03 pm »

I appreciate the good ideas . . . still thinking about this one. Might go larger if the cost is so close. This HD will be for backup purposes . . .

BobM · « **Reply #6 on:** 4 Nov 2009, 09:08 pm »

I was researching these last year at this time. Bottom line is they all have the potential to fail. Nothing is guaranteed. No brand is immune to this.

I wound up getting a Seagate FreeAgent 500GB and have had no problems so far. I'm still using my main hard drive to run everything and mostly only throwing backups and such on the external drive. I do have some infrequently used secondary programs installed there, but they are rarely used.

roscoeiii · « **Reply #7 on:** 5 Nov 2009, 01:35 am »

Recently got a 1TB external drive from Cavalry for a lil over $70 from buy.com. Review said it was very quiet. Their weekly deals e-mails often include good sales on hard drives. I just waited until one appeared with reviews that praised its low noise.