[brent0saurus]

I have a powerbook g4 and am running out of space (i'm an audio major) and im looking at owc for an internal hard drive and an enclosure that i can put together.

I'd like firewire 800 because i have the port and don't use it and would love the speed.
it seems like a 250 or 300 gb hard drive would give me the best bang for my buck as there's not much of a price jump for a 160 gb hard drive (around 100 dollars) to a 250 gb hard drive (around 117 dollars) or 300 gb (around 144 dollars).

so which hard drive should i get? Seagate seems to have the best warranty but so does Kia and i know there are better japanese cars than Kia (no offense to anyone who owns one).
The other brands that i see are available at owc are maxtor, hitatchi, and western digital and i've heard bad things about western digital.

It looks like there's only one firewire 800 enclosure so i guess i'll be getting that. I would like a 2.5 inch hard drive but they're way more expensive and i don't see a 2.5 inch enclosure that has firewire 800... and i think i should be able to travel with a 3.5 inch hard drive..

Does it matter if it's IDA/ATA or SATA if i'm using it for firewire 800? It seems like the only hard drives that have 16 mb buffer are SATA drive. But what does that mean? Is 16 mb buffer way better than 8 mb?

I'm in college so money is definitely and issue, but i don't mind saving up more money for a more reliable hard drive. So i'm not just looking for the cheapest thing i can get, i just want a good deal. The hard drive also should be quiet because i'll be recording with it.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[Leia's Left Bun]

I had very bad experiences with Maxtors (4 out of 5 failed in 1 - 2 years).

So far my Seagate is the best and importantly QUITE!

[brent0saurus]

So i'm leaning towards seagate now! But does it matter between ata and sata if i'm using it for firewire 800? Also, another question i have is is the warranty still valid even though i'm putting the hard drive in an enclosure myself? I know on a lot of external hard drives i've seen they always have a seal that says if the seal is broken the warranty is void...but i'm getting the warranty without the enclosure....does anyone know how that works? that would suck if the 5 year warranty was actually a no year warranty....

[mduell]

There are a few 2.5" enclosures with FW800; they start around $125 (ouch).
16MB buffer hardly makes a difference from 8MB. SATA or ATA depends on the enclosure you buy.

200-300GB is nearly the same price per gig (250 is the best), so size just depends on your budget.
I'd buy from Newegg instead of OWC: better service, better selection, better prices.

Seagate and Hitachi are my picks for drives. Everyone has had bad experiences with different drive brands. To check on the reliability of a particular model look at storagereview.com's Drive Reliability Database.

Links:
Rosewill RX30-U2FAB FW800 (Oxford chipset) enclosure for $90

200GB Seagate for $91 (45.5c/GB)
250GB Seagate for $101 (40.4c/GB)
300GB Seagate for $127.50 (42.5c/GB)

[brent0saurus]

wow! thanks a lot! I've bought ram from newegg before and have been REALLLY happy but never thought to buy hard drives... thanks for the tip. I will definitely do that as the prices seem to be better and i know they ship insanely fast. thanks again!

[brent0saurus]

oh, also..i found a fw800 enclosure by macally for 80 dollars instead of 90 like the rosewill but is rosewill a better brand? Is it something to consider when buying an enclosure or are they all good as long as the meet the specs of your hard drive?

and i just read that the hard drive is OEM meaning it comes with NOTHING except the hard drive... so i'm going to have to buy a ribbon and such, correct? this is getting more complicated... i don't know where to buy what else i need or what even to look for....

[mduell]

Originally Posted by brent0saurus

oh, also..i found a fw800 enclosure by macally for 80 dollars instead of 90 like the rosewill but is rosewill a better brand? Is it something to consider when buying an enclosure or are they all good as long as the meet the specs of your hard drive?

and i just read that the hard drive is OEM meaning it comes with NOTHING except the hard drive... so i'm going to have to buy a ribbon and such, correct? this is getting more complicated... i don't know where to buy what else i need or what even to look for....

I picked the Rosewill for the chipset; I know Oxford 922 works with Macs. The Macally uses a Initio chipset, which may also work just fine.

The case includes the cable (it's actually permanently fixed to the board inside the case) and all the screws you need. Buy the two items and you'll be fine.

[brent0saurus]

awesome, thank you so much for your help!