ambinate Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 i don't know a whole hell of a lot about this so i'm looking for a little advice. i want to pick up a new external hard drive that i can dump sample libraries onto and use while i'm making music. from the reading i've done it seems like i should be looking for a drive that's 7200 rpm with firewire to keep it as speedy as possible. i figure anything 500 gb or more will be good since i don't have a ton of samples to store yet. i've read some good things about g-tech and lacie drives but the handful of shitty reviews they've each gotten about reliability make me a little concerned. if anyone's got any recommendations (those brands or any other ones), i'd really appreciate it. thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moseph Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 This is for a laptop, right? I ask because if it's a desktop you're better off adding an internal drive (or getting an external eSATA drive if you have an eSATA port) -- the data transfer will be much faster making it much better suited to sample libraries. I have a LaCie external drive that I've never had any problems with. I used to run samples from it on my laptop (via Firewire) and have retired it to backup duty now that I primarily use a desktop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambinate Posted June 2, 2011 Author Share Posted June 2, 2011 This is for a laptop, right? I ask because if it's a desktop you're better off adding an internal drive (or getting an external eSATA drive if you have an eSATA port) -- the data transfer will be much faster making it much better suited to sample libraries.I have a LaCie external drive that I've never had any problems with. I used to run samples from it on my laptop (via Firewire) and have retired it to backup duty now that I primarily use a desktop. yep, for a laptop. sorry for not specifying earlier! thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nabeel Ansari Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 If you have an eSATA port on your laptop, forget about firewire. It's really overrated. Go for the external hard drive. I personally would get a Caviar Black Internal Hard Drive and put it in an eSATA/whatever port you want enclosure to turn it into an external. If neither eSATA nor USB 3.0 ports are on your computer, then USB 2.0 or firewire will have to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambinate Posted June 3, 2011 Author Share Posted June 3, 2011 If you have an eSATA port on your laptop, forget about firewire. It's really overrated.Go for the external hard drive. I personally would get a Caviar Black Internal Hard Drive and put it in an eSATA/whatever port you want enclosure to turn it into an external. If neither eSATA nor USB 3.0 ports are on your computer, then USB 2.0 or firewire will have to do. i don't have an eSATA port, so firewire 800 is the quickest i've got. i figured a ready-to-go external drive with firewire would be the least hassle for now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 firewire 800 is faster than USB 2.0, however the extra hassles that come with it will really get annoying quickly. i'd suggest just going with a USB 2.0 drive. for several years i mixed on a laptop with a usb external drive housing all my stuff, and honestly i never outran the transfer rate. if you do, and you're using a 500gb drive or under (therefore implying that you don't have big sample libraries you're referencing), you're doing something wrong =) you'll find it's tough to find a good hard drive that's that small simply because drive sizes are increasing so rapidly. my advice is usually to figure out how much space you think you'll need - in your case, 500gb - and double it. you'd be horrified how fast that'll fill up if you store your iPod's music on it, or some movies, or whatever. plus, the difference in cost between a 3.5" 500gb drive and a 3.5" 1tb drive is like 20 or 30$. minimal at best. when you get into 2.5" drives - drives powered off of the USB bus as opposed to a wall socket - then you need to worry more about size, since it'll get pricey fast. you'll find there aren't a lot of 7200rpm drives available, so going with an external enclosure and a caviar blue or black drive might be a better option. this is a good enclosure for 30$ with free shipping, complete with a fan to keep things cool. slap a 1tb caviar black in there for 80$ or so, and you're set with a great external that has eSATA for when you upgrade your computer (or buy a desktop from me!). hope that helps. edit: i wasn't clear. do you have a mac? if you do, roll with a firewire drive. if you've got a windows PC that happens to have 1394 on it, don't bother with it. terrible drivers, no support, and you wind up getting almost comparable performance in USB...and it fits on other computers, too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.