toshiba 1tb desktop external hard drive review image
Corruptor
Good day people! Ever since I purchased a Nikon camera and UNCAPPED ADSL internet, I have been receiving media to the point that it's almost bursting my Macbook Pro's hard-drive open. I am in desperate need of an external hard-drive with a capacity of at least 1TB. I've done moderate research and most of the customer reviews at wwww.amazon.com are average, no "ultimate" or "world's best" hard-drives were reviewed. The criteria I use to judge which external hard drive to buy include the following:
1. It MUST be made out of metal (preferably aluminium)
2. It MUST have a manual on/off switch.
3. It MUST have a fan cooler built into the housing of the drive.
4. It MUST not switch off or go to "sleep" by itself, after not using it.
5. It MUST have an external power supply.
Lastly, it MUST be among the trusted and notable manufacturers: iOmega, Toshiba, Verbatim, Western Digital, Seagate, Hitachi. No-name brands are a no-no!
Notable candidates in my list include:
a. Toshiba 1TB 3.5" StorE Alu (LED light is too bright, you could put a dozen of these things in a lighthouse and a ship will stay miles away. Doesn't have a fan. It's made out of aluminium.) 3/5
b. Toshiba 1TB 3.5" Black (switches off after 5 minutes!! No fan!! No power button!!! Plastic-based!!! 0/5!!!)
c. Verbatim SmartDisk 1TB 3.5" (Aluminium body. Power button. Fan built in. Doesn't go to "sleep".) 5/5
d. iOmega Prestige Desktop 1TB 3.5" (Aluminium body. Power button. No fan. 3/5)
With all this in mind, are there any other suggestions you may have for any external hard-drive that meets my specific description? I've been Googling my brains out and can't seem to find anything. It only leads to my next question: exactly what's the world's best external hard-drive? Help. Please. Thanks!
Answer
Among what's on the market today, you won't be able to judge "world's best" for another 10 years.
Look first at the reliability of the disk itself. Hitachi and Seagate are probably the best, WD not as much. I don't think any of the others make the disk, so see what they use.
Having it spin down or even power off when idle is a plus, for energy use and for drive lifetime.
If 'external power supply' means it doesn't get all its power via USB, that's a good choice. It shouldn't matter whether the PS is built in to the case or a wall wart.
You might consider a drive 'dock'. It's a USB interface to a SATA disk, but the drive isn't married to the box. Choose a good dock, then choose a good drive. My favorite now is the 2TB Hitachi, often $150 or less. When you fill that, unplug that disk and put in another. That's also an easy way to make a backup copy. Copy everything you have onto a disk like that, then put it into a closet at a relative's house in another city or state. If your city is destroyed by a nuclear attack, you'll still have a backup. Or if your disk crashes.
Copying everything onto DVD (especially dual-layer or Blu-Ray) is cheaper, but you need to break it into smaller chunks and manage the backups.
Among what's on the market today, you won't be able to judge "world's best" for another 10 years.
Look first at the reliability of the disk itself. Hitachi and Seagate are probably the best, WD not as much. I don't think any of the others make the disk, so see what they use.
Having it spin down or even power off when idle is a plus, for energy use and for drive lifetime.
If 'external power supply' means it doesn't get all its power via USB, that's a good choice. It shouldn't matter whether the PS is built in to the case or a wall wart.
You might consider a drive 'dock'. It's a USB interface to a SATA disk, but the drive isn't married to the box. Choose a good dock, then choose a good drive. My favorite now is the 2TB Hitachi, often $150 or less. When you fill that, unplug that disk and put in another. That's also an easy way to make a backup copy. Copy everything you have onto a disk like that, then put it into a closet at a relative's house in another city or state. If your city is destroyed by a nuclear attack, you'll still have a backup. Or if your disk crashes.
Copying everything onto DVD (especially dual-layer or Blu-Ray) is cheaper, but you need to break it into smaller chunks and manage the backups.
Would this computer run Bf3 on ulta at 60fps or at least medium?
Earn
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Alienware+-+X51+Desktop+-+6GB+Memory+-+1TB+Hard+Drive/6912556.p?id=1218812711766&skuId=6912556&st=alienware&cp=1&lp=1#tab=specifications
^^ this computer
I just want 60fps on bf3 even if its medium. Would you think it can handle bf3 on ultra?
Also my screen res is 1680x1050
@ Ken, or anyone, would the i5 slow my gameplay down? Also it's 3rd gen Intel i5? Is that good as an i7 920?
Answer
The good news when you buy the GTX 660 Alienware, is that you can expect high 60's frames per second on a 720p screen on high settings, so on your 1680x1050 screen, you are around the 60fps mark on high with 16xAF. That is an average and estimate based on:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Battlefield-3.65495.0.html
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php
that a GTX 660 approximates HD 7970M and GTX 680M of laptops.
You also get casual gaming ultra settings to the limit of the screen resolution in a fluent high 30's to low 40's fps.
The bad news is that while you game at full, you are stressing the external power supply to around 90% of its capacity according to calculations of a 140 watt GPU, 77 watt CPU, minimum 40 watts of fans and drives and 50 watts reserved for ram and motherboard functions, and possibly even higher on its 12V output depending on how they configure its power management. The 330 watt supply is the highest Dell sells, and is 120 watts below the recommended of a GTX 660. If you frequently run the system to its limit, check the replacement cost of the 330 watt supply after the 1 year warranty.
I wonder if they would want it back if after 6 months you call them and say it died so you have a spare. Though normally dishonest, since they violate the graphics card specification without putting it in writing, they are also quite dishonest, and that is proven by 2 prior class action lawsuits about product quality and warranty support.
I personally have little respect for any of Dell, HP, or Apple business practices.
That is reflected here:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/244419/laptop_reliability_and_satisfaction_macbooks_rule.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2020725/apple-macbooks-lead-in-laptop-features-and-reliability.html
I don't like Apple Mac at all for the price they sell and hide CPU information.
Asus, Sony, Samsung, and some Lenovo's and Toshiba's are good
http://venturebeat.com/2010/11/19/unsealed-lawsuit-reveals-dell-lied-about-millions-of-faulty-computers/
earlier, in 2008 http://www.ag.ny.gov/consumer-frauds/dell-settlement
Although the X51 is a desktop/tower of sorts, it is more like a laptop in the lack of upgradability.
Be sure you want a system like that.
I would be more inlined towards these HD 7850 systems, where the graphics is a tad lower, but they are of normal size with some decent specs and easier to maintain and upgrade or re-use parts at a later time. When the Dell breaks down, you can only repair it back to where it started and maxed out badly on the external power supply.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227453
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229381
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/549?vs=660
So, yes, it will do what you want, but nothing more than it is now, and subject to power issues.
Adding: The i5-3450 will not be an issue. It is higher than the i5-3330 in the Dell sold one.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html
For gaming, i5-3450 is better than i7 920
Upgrade to GTX 660 and it should be the same system and I hope they give you the 330 watt supply. The 240 is not nearly enough.
The good news when you buy the GTX 660 Alienware, is that you can expect high 60's frames per second on a 720p screen on high settings, so on your 1680x1050 screen, you are around the 60fps mark on high with 16xAF. That is an average and estimate based on:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Battlefield-3.65495.0.html
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php
that a GTX 660 approximates HD 7970M and GTX 680M of laptops.
You also get casual gaming ultra settings to the limit of the screen resolution in a fluent high 30's to low 40's fps.
The bad news is that while you game at full, you are stressing the external power supply to around 90% of its capacity according to calculations of a 140 watt GPU, 77 watt CPU, minimum 40 watts of fans and drives and 50 watts reserved for ram and motherboard functions, and possibly even higher on its 12V output depending on how they configure its power management. The 330 watt supply is the highest Dell sells, and is 120 watts below the recommended of a GTX 660. If you frequently run the system to its limit, check the replacement cost of the 330 watt supply after the 1 year warranty.
I wonder if they would want it back if after 6 months you call them and say it died so you have a spare. Though normally dishonest, since they violate the graphics card specification without putting it in writing, they are also quite dishonest, and that is proven by 2 prior class action lawsuits about product quality and warranty support.
I personally have little respect for any of Dell, HP, or Apple business practices.
That is reflected here:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/244419/laptop_reliability_and_satisfaction_macbooks_rule.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2020725/apple-macbooks-lead-in-laptop-features-and-reliability.html
I don't like Apple Mac at all for the price they sell and hide CPU information.
Asus, Sony, Samsung, and some Lenovo's and Toshiba's are good
http://venturebeat.com/2010/11/19/unsealed-lawsuit-reveals-dell-lied-about-millions-of-faulty-computers/
earlier, in 2008 http://www.ag.ny.gov/consumer-frauds/dell-settlement
Although the X51 is a desktop/tower of sorts, it is more like a laptop in the lack of upgradability.
Be sure you want a system like that.
I would be more inlined towards these HD 7850 systems, where the graphics is a tad lower, but they are of normal size with some decent specs and easier to maintain and upgrade or re-use parts at a later time. When the Dell breaks down, you can only repair it back to where it started and maxed out badly on the external power supply.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227453
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229381
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/549?vs=660
So, yes, it will do what you want, but nothing more than it is now, and subject to power issues.
Adding: The i5-3450 will not be an issue. It is higher than the i5-3330 in the Dell sold one.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html
For gaming, i5-3450 is better than i7 920
Upgrade to GTX 660 and it should be the same system and I hope they give you the 330 watt supply. The 240 is not nearly enough.
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