My SD Top 5 (For Compatibility) List-External Fw Drives-Yours?

[yaloxx]

Hey,

I thought this compatibility list may be helpful for people looking for a new external fw hard drive to use with superduper.

My List;

1) The old Seagate (square box-blue hd light) external fw hd, comes in the big square yellow box (300/400 gig). A tad slow compared with the newer drives out there but rock solid for compatibility with superduper.

2) None yet. Maxtor and Western Digital have not been impressive, Lacie is next up

[t3rockhall]

Well, I voted for LaCie, because that's the one I own. I have no idea if it's "best". It just works for me. I think the survey's poorly worded because most of us wouldn't have more than one external drive anyway -- we only know if OURS works properly. No? You have more than one in your home?

[justG]

I would hate to see people make purchases based on the results of a poll like this one. I mean no offence, but hard drive biases tend to be similar to network hardware biases: I like <this> because my experience with it has been great, hate <that> because my experience with it has been awful. Know what I mean? People are pretty opinionated about Belkin vs NetGear vs D-Link vs LinkSys, just as they are about Seagate vs WD vs Hitachi vs Lacie vs Maxtor.

A lot of people might go with a WD My Book Pro because it's priced pretty well, looks nice, offers multiple interfaces, and they have experience with internal WD drives. Others will swear by LaCie and wouldn't touch a WD with a barge pole. Still others would go to OWC and buy their "house" brand (standard drive + their enclosure) because they trust them so much.

My own experience in this area leads me to believe that the top brands with a decent warranty aren't too different from one another; all things considered, I'd get the one on sale, provided it had the space, interface(s), and aesthetics I wanted. My own bias is such that I'd stay away from most of the generic brands that you might find at an electronics retailer. Other than that, I don't think it matters too much.

Of course, ymmv. =)

[dnanian]

My general opinion: make sure you get a drive with an Oxford chipset from a manufacturer that has long supported the Mac.

[t3rockhall]

Originally Posted by dnanian

My general opinion: make sure you get a drive with an Oxford chipset from a manufacturer that has long supported the Mac.

So? Which ones have the Oxford chipset?

[dnanian]

The manufacturers we recommend in the User's Guide have always used Oxford chipsets. When in doubt, ask the manufacturer (and don't let them get away with "Oxford" when they really mean "Oxford Compatible").

[yaloxx]

You Wrote,

"I would hate to see people make purchases based on the results of a poll like this one. I mean no offence, but hard drive biases tend to be similar to network hardware biases: I like <this> because my experience with it has been great, hate <that> because my experience with it has been awful. Know what I mean? People are pretty opinionated about Belkin vs NetGear vs D-Link vs LinkSys, just as they are about Seagate vs WD vs Hitachi vs Lacie vs Maxtor."

well said :-)


"My own bias is such that I'd stay away from most of the generic brands that you might find at an electronics retailer."

another good point


Actually I put the poll in to stir up conversation on peoples experiences with different brands.

I agree people should not rely solely on the poll for buying advice.

Good Post :-)

[anijhenry]

I currently own two Western Digital externals and will soon purchase a third for use with Time Machine. I have experienced zero problems with the brand and SuperDuper! so they easily get my vote.

[yaloxx]

"I currently own two Western Digital externals and will soon purchase a third for use with Time Machine. I have experienced zero problems with the brand and SuperDuper! so they easily get my vote."

Which models? :-)

[yaloxx]

Originally Posted by t3rockhall

Well, I voted for LaCie, because that's the one I own. I have no idea if it's "best". It just works for me. I think the survey's poorly worded because most of us wouldn't have more than one external drive anyway -- we only know if OURS works properly. No? You have more than one in your home?

Actually I have owned several external hds over the years sometimes more than one at a time (home/office) ;-)

[yaloxx]

Some good news,

Picked up the LaCie d2 Quadra Hard Drive 500GB
eSATA, FireWire 800, FireWire 400 & Hi-Speed USB 2.0...

Works pretty well with sd and pgp...

Nice hard shell around it not plastic, lots of interface choices/cables, we will see if it lasts...

The search has ended for now... :-)