[Red Wolf]

Greetings,

I have a decision to make and I was just wanting some feedback from others. I have an iBook 500 (dual USB) with a tiny 10GB hard drive. Up until recently it was fine but I'm down to under 3GB and I know I need to expand at some point. Because of my budget (an iBook owner on a budget, huh?) I've found two workable options for myself but I'm not sure which way to go.

Option 1: Maxtor External 40GB HD (FireWire) - $176
I can get a good deal through work so the price is great.
Pros:
- 50GB total
- great connection and rpm
Cons:
- not so portable (requires AC adaptor)

Option 2: IBM Internal 40GB HD - $157
I can get a good deal at GoogleGear.com so, again, the price works for me.
Pros:
- I stay just as portable as I am now
- I get a quieter and generally better internal drive
- price is a little better (not a big issue, though)
Cons:
- only 40GB total (not a big deal)
- INSTALLATION

Basically my concerns boil down to this. I want to stay portable. I can't install the internal HD myself because I have AppleCare (and I'm not voiding a $250 package good for another 2.5 years). The extra cost of installation turns the internal HD to a cost of $237 ($70 more than the external drive). So, to those who know, is having a not so portable firewire drive worth saving the $70? For the record, I'm sure I'll make a decision by Monday on my own but input is always nice. Also, don't suggest portable firewire dirves...they are out of range right now. Thanks.

[Sander]

Do you have to carry 40GB of information around with you all the time or can you switch files from the external drive as you need it?

70$ doesn't seem that much but in terms of percentage with respect to the items in question, it is considerable.

I would get the external drive unless you are pretty sure you can sell your 10GB HD to someone for let's say, 70$.

I hope this helps.

Cheers.

[Red Wolf]

My thoughts exactly on the pricing. I can afford the $80, but that's an additional 50% charge on top of everything else. And since anyone can get a good IBM 40GB drive for $150 some odd dollars who would buy a used non-IBM 10GB drive for half that? I'd be lucky to get $30 for it and that's not worth hunting for a buyer for with my schedule.

As for lugging the extra 40GB around I'm looking into that now by seeing where my hard drive space goes too. A lot of the space I need right now is mainly for movie and DV files (playing with QuickTime Pro these days) so that can stay at home. My biggest bulk is with my MP3s which take up 1/4 of my current hard drive but I really want those to be portable since I use my iBook in the car with a stereo adaptor for tunes. As much as I rejected the idea of an external drive a few months ago when I was pondering expansion an external drive is starting to sound better (and the fact it will be faster than my internal drive doesn't hurt any).

[todrain]

If you look, you'll find portable 2.5" HD firewire cases. I picked up a 30GB IBM Travelstar for about $120 about 4 months ago, and a case was about $120.

It's a little more pricey than the one you're looking at, but the whole HD case is VERY small, and it's powered though the firewireport. (no AC adaptor ) Even if you neeed to wait another month to get a little more cash, I'd suggest you go this way. It's VERY hard to take apart the iBook (I've repaired the 100 and 500 series powerbooks, but after reading the take apart for the iBook, no thank you!) and on the other hand, what's the point of a portable computer if your files are not portable as well?

Here's a link to the case. http://www.TransIntl.com/store/morei...?Product_ID=61

I'd suggest looking at pricewatch.com for the hard drive.

Hope this helps!

-Tom

[ 04-07-2002: Message edited by: todrain ]

[Red Wolf]

Thanks for the PriceWatch link. I actually found my hard drive for $11 less. As for getting a portable firewire case, I might as well pay out the $80 for internal installation instead of the $120 for an external case. While the extra $40 is a good price for an additional 10GB (10GB internal, 40GB external instead of just 40GB internal) I'd much rather have the 10GB on the outside for backup.

I'm also remembering the old saying, "Nothing worth having is ever easy," so maybe I just need to bite one of the bullets (either pay for the install or do it myself). Thanks for the input guys, I'll let ya know what I end up doing.

[Superchicken]

I think you really need to think about everything you're saying here.
Your MP3s take up 1/4th of your HD, OK. So what takes up the rest of it?
Even if you only have 2.5 gigs to work with and store the rest on your Firewire, how on earth would you need to always have on you 7.5 gigs of Information unless you're editing movies and stuff?
I'd personally have to suggest getting the firewire external it may not be as portable as the internal, but I highly dout you'll always need to cary even 11 gigs of information on you at all times.

[Scooterboy]

When buying a larger internal HD, who installs it? If it can be installed for around $30 by a reputable and approved vendor, and doesn't void Applecare, then I'd go internal. For external, I'd plunk down for a big, AV rated, FireWire drive, at 100 GB or greater.

[anna katzner]

one thing you should really, really consider is this: data-redundancy (backups).

it's great to have a larger (internal) HD, but to me having a storage medium which is physically seperate from my iBook makes me sleep so much better....

just imagine: your internal HD is fried. or someone nicks your iBook. or you accidentially delete something important yourself...

with an (additional) external 50 GB you've got space galore, so you can also use it as a quick and convenient backup-device for your really important stuff.

just my 2�,
anna

[ 04-12-2002: Message edited by: anna katzner ]