External hard disks

[marnix_moed]

For use on my Windows Vista laptop, I am looking for a 1 terrabyte external
hard disk, and I am considering between the Iomega Prestige and the Lacie
Neil Pouton.

There are 3 important issues for me:

1. Are they quiet/silent in use? A friend of mine has the Western Digital
Mybook Essential, which does not need a fan for cooling. Is this also the
case with the Iomega and Lacie?

2. Do they go on standby after a time of inactivity? The Western Digital
goes to standby after a time when it is not read/written by the computer. The
hard disk stops turning (not running on a lower speed, according to Western
Digital) to save energy and minimize wear. Is this also the case with the
Iomega and Lacie?

3. Do they turn on/off together with the computer. The Western Digital does,
which saves you the trouble to manually turn it on/off.

If you have experience with the 1 terrabyte (TB) Iomega prestige and/or
Lacie Neil Poulton, could you please answer these 3 points?
Other comments (e.g. easily broken, many write errors, etc.) about these 2
external hard disks are welcome too.

Grt,
M

(For the people wondering, why not simply buy the Western Digital??? Two
reasons: 1 the Iomega is made of alluminium (which is more durable for
transport), 2 The Lacie is stackable (which saves som room on my small
computer table). Otherwise, the Western Digital seems like a great external
hard disk.

 

[Carey Frisch]

Any hard drive will generate heat and cause it to deteriorate. I would
strongly
recommend purchasing an external hard drive enclosure that is "fan cooled"
and
install your own hard drive.

Example:

Thermaltake N0012US Aluminum & Plastic 3.5" Silver USB 2.0 & eSATA External
Enclosure
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153061

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148274

 

[Mike Moreland]

You CANNOT stack the Iomega. You CAN stack the Lacie. The Lacie is quiet to
the majority of reviews that I've found and read. It seems that the Iomega
tends to be considered a bit louder. It really depends on what you'd
consider loud, right?? As far as the standby issue goes. You'll decide that
for yourself within the control panel settings. It's similar to monitor
settings; on whether it stays on (or not) after inactivity. It's not the
hard drives decision... It's yours. You can get almost any question
answered, (plus more) at the hard drive manufactors website. Anything else
you'll find on review boards like Newegg, Amazon, Toms hardware, etc. etc.

http://download.iomega.com/com/launchkit/prestige/pri_hd_34275_updated.pdf
http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?pid=11016

 

[Randall Flagg]

You can get almost any question answered, (plus more) at the hard
drive manufactors website. Anything else you'll find on review
boards like Newegg, Amazon, Toms hardware, etc. etc.

IOW... spend the effort and do your own research.

 

[Rich Greene]

For use on my Windows Vista laptop, I am looking for a 1 terrabyte
external
hard disk, and I am considering between the Iomega Prestige and the Lacie
Neil Pouton.

There are 3 important issues for me:

1. Are they quiet/silent in use? A friend of mine has the Western Digital
Mybook Essential, which does not need a fan for cooling. Is this also the
case with the Iomega and Lacie?

2. Do they go on standby after a time of inactivity? The Western Digital
goes to standby after a time when it is not read/written by the computer.
The
hard disk stops turning (not running on a lower speed, according to
Western
Digital) to save energy and minimize wear. Is this also the case with the
Iomega and Lacie?

3. Do they turn on/off together with the computer. The Western Digital
does,
which saves you the trouble to manually turn it on/off.

If you have experience with the 1 terrabyte (TB) Iomega prestige and/or
Lacie Neil Poulton, could you please answer these 3 points?
Other comments (e.g. easily broken, many write errors, etc.) about these 2
external hard disks are welcome too.

Grt,
M

(For the people wondering, why not simply buy the Western Digital??? Two
reasons: 1 the Iomega is made of alluminium (which is more durable for
transport), 2 The Lacie is stackable (which saves som room on my small
computer table). Otherwise, the Western Digital seems like a great
external
hard disk.

Plenty of useful replies here. My suggestion is to purchase a good 2.5"
external
enclosure that you can put in your pocket. Purchase a 1TB 2.5" hard drive
if
you can find one in the retail chain and do your own installation. Use
Windows
computer manager to manage your hard drives and format it. You may or may
not need drivers for it depending on what features it has. Keep in mind
that
you will be responsible for your own support if something crashes. Start
doing
your own work and you will save a lot of money and get edu-me-cated at the
same time. It's not as hard as you might think. All one needs to build a
complete
desktop system is a friggin Philips and flat screwdriver (demagnetized).

Any reputable computer store can answer your questions, just be sure it's
not
a 'fly by day, rip off by night" outfit.