Any screaming hard drive deals for use with SB3/music files?

mr_bill · « **on:** 7 Dec 2005, 03:13 am »

Hi,
I have the SB3 running into my Benchmark Dac1. I'm thinking of putting all my CD's on to my PC. I use Itunes to manage my files and will use AIFF for ripping. I'm thinking a 250 GB internal drive will do.
Anyone seeing any great deals out there right now - maybe a Maxtor or something quality and quiet? I have no clue what a good hard drive is or if internal is better to get than external.
I need a deal (and some advice)!
Thanks,
Bill

F-100 · « **Reply #1 on:** 7 Dec 2005, 03:10 pm »

Mr Bill,

Here is a nice deal on the Seagate 200GB IDE drive
5 year warranty, $99.99 - 50 Rebate = $49.99 AR
200GB Rebate good 12-2 thru 12-8
http://shop4.outpost.com/product/4008252

You can buy an USB IDE external case for around $20 if you don't have anymore room inside your computer.

Go to the following sites for more good deals:
www.techbargains.com
www.fatwallet.com/c/18/

PM me is you need additional help.

konut · « **Reply #2 on:** 7 Dec 2005, 03:32 pm »

Internal or external? Just saw an IOgear 320gb external USB/FW for $169.XX at buy.com

toxteth ogrady · « **Reply #3 on:** 7 Dec 2005, 03:52 pm »

Scroll down to the storage section. That Seagate is lookin pretty yummy.

http://dealmac.com/

mr_bill · « **Reply #4 on:** 7 Dec 2005, 08:07 pm »

Great tips F-100 and Toxteth,
I checked out the Seagate deals and both the 250gb and 300gb deals are terrific. I'll spring for one of those two I think.
Thanks,
bill

mcgsxr · « **Reply #5 on:** 7 Dec 2005, 08:40 pm »

Those ARE good deals!

I just bought a 200g external HD on eBay, since there are few places in Canada to hit those prices... I paid $100 for it, so I am pleased.

I will likely continue to use the internal HD (there are 2) in my PC, but wanted a place to back up all the music, pics etc.

beatdownvictim · « **Reply #6 on:** 7 Dec 2005, 08:56 pm »

oh boy, piss over me! i bought a friggin acomdata 160gb external hd for $140 locally...... it looks cool, but i'm sure it'll overheat and destroy whatever harddrive is inside. It says it's got a fanless enclosure so i'm scared that the thing will grenade in less than a year.

jermmd · « **Reply #7 on:** 8 Dec 2005, 01:13 pm »

Here's a decent external Hard drive deal. $79 for 200gb USB2 external drive.

mr_bill · « **Reply #8 on:** 8 Dec 2005, 06:51 pm »

Joe,
Do you think there should be any concern with this product? The price is phenomenal for a 200GB external drive.
I'm thinking about purchasing this one. External would be easier to deal with than internal and then you can move it around.
Bill

F-100 · « **Reply #9 on:** 8 Dec 2005, 07:20 pm »

Quote from: jermmd

Here's a decent external Hard drive deal. $79 for 200gb USB2 external drive.

Be sure to check out "outstanding rating" from this seller before doing any business with them.
http://www.resellerratings.com/seller923.html

On top of it, this drive have only 2MB buffer and no further specs such as manufacturer and model #.

jermmd · « **Reply #10 on:** 8 Dec 2005, 07:31 pm »

Bill,

I don't know the company and don't like the looks of it's reseller rating. As for the drive, if you are using it to store music the buffer size won't be an issue. This is about the standard good deal price for a $200 external drive so if you wait a little bit another deal will appear. I bought a nice 300 gb drive for $80 recently but that was internal. Keep an eye on Anandtech and Gotapex.

randytsuch · « **Reply #11 on:** 8 Dec 2005, 08:20 pm »

You can also buy an external usb 2.0 enclosure, and stick an internal IDE drive in it.

This allows you to "archive" hard drives. If I have important stuff, I stick a drive in my enclosure, write the information, and then put the drive away some where.

It is pretty easy to install a drive in these enclosures, so I think even people that aren't techies can do it.

Randy

zybar · « **Reply #12 on:** 18 Dec 2005, 06:34 pm »

Here is a pretty good deal for a Seagate 300GB external drive:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7384582&type=product&id=1122654273195

George

mgalusha · « **Reply #13 on:** 18 Dec 2005, 08:21 pm »

CompUSA (for those in the US) has 250 Gig Maxtor's on sale today for $59.95 after the rebates. Covers both PATA and SATA drives. These are 8MB cache drives.

tdangelo · « **Reply #14 on:** 18 Dec 2005, 09:15 pm »

Buy.com has these:

http://www.buy.com/prod/LaCie_250GB_USB_2_0_External_Hard_Drive_Design_by_F_A_Porsche_300728U/q/loc/101/10359999.html

250 gig usb 2.0 external's for $122 - you can get a $15 off coupon - just search Google for a buy.com coupon. I got 2 delivered with free shipping in 2 days - $230 total for 500 gig - not bad I think

They are nice and fast too.

Tony

Den · « **Reply #15 on:** 20 Dec 2005, 02:38 am »

This week at Best Buy:
Seagate 200GB internal HD.
$50 after rebate.

Nick B · « **Reply #16 on:** 20 Dec 2005, 07:21 am »

Before buying, is there anything else I need to know about harddrives? Like HD speed, PATA, SATA MB cache etc. I couldn't find specific information about those items and what I should look for in my SB2 setup. I'll get at least a 100G main and backup drive. Thanks

EchiDna · « **Reply #17 on:** 20 Dec 2005, 10:36 am »

HD Speed - try to get 7200 rpm at least (it's almost impossible to get 5400rpm these days anyway)

HD Cache - more is better- 8mb is plenty

PATA/SATA - determined by your motherboards connectors or you can buy a card to suit. SATA is newer tech and a bit faster for transfers

this is very generic, but I'd aim much higher than 100gb drives - 200gb at a minimum would be my recommendation.

Thump553 · « **Reply #18 on:** 22 Dec 2005, 09:11 pm »

Here's a thread discussing 300 gig external hard drive for $119. BTW, you may want to bookmark and scan through that Hot Deal forum-you can find lots of hot deals on computer hardware there, especially hard drives.

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=40&threadid=1763598&enterthread=y

Thump553 · « **Reply #19 on:** 28 Dec 2005, 02:21 pm »

And here is another thread about an external Iomega USB 250 gig hard drive for $92 plus shipping, after two rebates:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=40&threadid=1767240&enterthread=y