The trends in external drives continue to build, with larger capacities, better performance, smaller packages, and lower cost. Unfortunately, with so many options available today, it’s all a little confusing. First there are the basic form factors: 3.5-inch drives, 2.5-inch notebook drives, flash drives, 1.8- inch mini drives, 1-inch and even .8-inch micro drives. Then there’s the alphabet soup of connection standards. Do you need IDE/ATA, PATA, SATA, SAS, SCSI, USB/USB2, FireWire 400/800? Mix in rotational speeds, buffer cache sizes, advertised seek times, enclosure cooling, warranty, brand loyalty, and on and on until your eyes glaze over.

Here’s a tip. Today’s external drives are almost always USB 2.0, FireWire 400, or FireWire 800 devices. USB2 and FW 400 (the original FireWire) move data at about the same speed, while the newest FW 800 is slightly faster … but a far cry from its advertised 30MB/s and 60MB/s speeds. Higher rotational speeds do translate into faster throughput but come at a premium. New eSATA drives (external Serial ATA) are being introduced at affordable prices and bear watching since, theoretically, SATA doubles the top speeds of the fastest FireWire drives. All those other specifications are simply not especially important. So keep it simple: Ask yourself what you want your drive to do and then get the largest capacity drive you can afford that does it. But first you should know a few things.

Know your need
Do you want increased performance, additional storage, portability, security, or data redundancy? In other words, do you want to work faster, make more room, simplify transfers, or safeguard your data?

Know your system
Do you have USB, USB2, FireWire 400, or FireWire 800 ports? Do you have an open PCI slot? What is your current operating system?

Know your budget
Do you have a spending limit? Are you willing to trade off size or speed to stay on budget?

Know your work
Are you moving large chunks of data such as digital video editing, 3D rendering, or scratch disk Photoshop filter operations? Do you archive years of music, hours of video, or large portfolios of working files? Do you have mission-critical files you can’t afford to lose? Do you work on the road or at a second location?

Choose your form factor wisely
As a drive’s physical size decreases, its cost per gigabyte increases. Additionally, drive durability translates into data survivability. The standard desktop drive with its 3.5-inch form factor is still the most reliable single-drive storage solution today; 2.5-inch portable drives are nearly as durable. But reliability decreases rapidly with 1.8-inch and smaller drives. So be sure to have an established backup policy if you decide to go with one of these mini or micro drives. Even flash drives, with no moving parts to fail, can corrupt data if improperly disconnected.

Specialized functions
Today’s drives handle specialized functions. These are mass storage, portability, backup, or data redundancy and come in various performance levels. It doesn’t make sense to buy an expensive 120GB portable FW 800 7200rpm drive for nightly backups when you can get a slower 200GB FW 400 3.5-inch drive for half the price that does the job easier. Again: Know what functions you want and select the drive that best fulfills your requirement.

Desktop mass storage (3.5-inch)—Sizes up to 1TB
Size matters and the rule of thumb still holds: Once you’ve determined the storage size you want, double it. Remember, interface options and rotational speeds both contribute to a drive’s performance and impact its price per gigabyte. Some more popular multiple-interface system options are shown at right. LaCie, with a wide range of hard drives for mass storage, trumps this category.

1. LaCie d2 Extreme sports a sleek aluminum edge-mounted enclosure with a super-quiet drive mechanism. Three-way FW400/ 800 + USB2; 7200rpm 160GB—$160 ($1.00/ GB); 300GB—$220 ($.73/GB). Includes cables for FW400/ 800, USB2, and iLink.
2. Iomega Black Series comes in a unique enclosure with heatactivated fan. Three-way FW400/ 800 + USB2; 7200rpm 250GB—$220 ($.88/ GB); 400GB—$360 ($.90/GB). Includes cables for USB2 and FW800 only.
3. LaCie’s Big Disk Extreme breaks the 1TB barrier (1 terabyte equals 1,000 GB). Three-way FW400/ 800; 7200rpm 500GB—$330 ($.66/ GB); 600GB—$380 ($.63/GB); 1TB—$729 ($.73/GB). Includes cables for FW800/ 400, USB2, and iLink.

Portable drives (2.5-inch), a.k.a. Pocket drives—Sizes up to 160GB
Perfect for moving between multiple locations or supplementing a notebook’s puny drive, portable hard drives are pocket-sized marvels of engineering. Look for a durable enclosure that will stand up to travel and pay careful attention to rotation speeds if performance is critical. You’ll pay a premium for the three-way high-speed interface, but if you need only one connection, be sure to check out the OWC Mercury On-The-Go offerings.

4. LaCie Rugged has aluminum enclosure with rubber bumpers to protect data from road shock. Three-way FW400/800 + USB2 5400rpm 80GB— $199.99 ($2.50/GB); 7200rpm 100GB— $399.99 ($4/GB); 5400rpm 120GB— $359.99 ($3/GB). Or single USB2 interface 5400rpm 80GB— $169.99 ($2.13/GB); 5400rpm 120GB— $329.99 ($2.75/GB)
5. G-Technology GDrive Mini is extremely durable. Tough and sleek in its aluminum case and big heat sink, it also has the highest price per gigabyte in its class. 100GB FW/USB2 Hybrid; 5400rpm—$239 to $279 ($2.39/GB to $2.79/GB); 7200rpm— $359 to $389 ($3.59/ GB to $3.89/GB)
6. The OWC Mercury On-The-Go’s cool seethrough design offers a model for every user and the best price per gigabyte in portable drives (available in 40–120 GB). Here’s a 100GB sampling (includes external power supply and leather case): Two-way FW800 + USB2; 7200rpm 8GB—$280 ($2.80/ GB); 5400rpm 8GB— $230 ($2.30/GB); 5400rpm 16GB— $234 ($2.34/GB); Two-way FW400 + USB2; 7200rpm 8GB— $260 ($2.60/GB); 5400rpm 8GB—$198 ($1.98/GB); 5400rpm 16GB—$200 ($2/ GB); FW400-only or USB2-only: 7200rpm 8GB—$250/$240 ($2.50/$2.40/GB); 5400rpm 8GB— $190/$188 ($1.90/ $1.88/GB); 5400rpm 16GB—$190/$186 ($190/$1.86/GB)

Portable mini drives (1.8 inch)—Sizes up to 60GB
You may already be toting around extra storage and not know it. MP3 players are really just mini storage devices. And with the popularity of Apple’s iPod, its cost per gigabyte is not prohibitively higher than other 1.8-inch dedicated storage drives.

7. The QMemory Mobile Disk Mini is a best buy in 1.8-inch drives. USB2 40GB— $154 ($3.85/GB)
8. Apple’s Gen5 iPod is comparably priced to other 1.8-inch simple storage drives but offers the added benefit of music, video, and image libraries with audio out, a sharp LCD screen, and onboard battery to enjoy on the go. USB2 (Gen1/2/3/4 iPods connect via FireWire 400); 60GB—$299 ($5/GB)

Tip: Here’s how to set up your iPod for double duty: With the iPod connected to your computer, open iTunes Preferences and select the iPod icon from the top menu bar. Check Enable Disk Use. Your iPod now appears as an external drive. One thing to remember: When the iPod is in Disk mode, you must always eject the drive manually before disconnecting, just as with other external devices.

Flash drives (a.k.a. Thumb, Pen, Key, or Jump drives)—Sizes up to 16GB
Flash drives have become a must-have for moving files painlessly from one machine to another … regardless of platform.

9. Smallest: The tiny Sandisk Cruzer Micro comes with a lanyard and quick release clasp. 1GB—$45
10. Best Buy: SuperFlash flash drives give you the most bang for your buck. USB2; 1GB—$23, 2GB—$44.
11. Dual Function Gadgets: The popularity of flash drives has generated some unusual combinations. These are only a few examples: Q-Memory Calculator USB2; 512MB—$26 (www.costco.com) DiskGo! Wristwatch USB; 1GB—$70 Swissbit Victorinox RetroALOX USB2; 1GB—$141 (www.tylertool.com)
12. Larger Capacity: Buslink with Secure Write—Expensive! Consider a mini drive if you really need this much storage. USB2; 16GB—$497.95 ($31.12/GB)

Backup drives
A number of drives perform incremental backups of one or more drives at the touch of a button. A few of the best are shown at right. With no real need for a faster FW 800 connection, each of these drives comes with a two-way USB2 + FW 400 interface. If you are looking for a simple backup solution, these drives offer the lowest price per gigabyte for a variety of capacities.

Today’s external drives offer spacious storage and peace of mind at attractive prices. With plug-andplay simplicity, massive storage in the palm of your hand, or one-touch backups, it’s never been easier to work smarter, faster, and safer.

13. Seagate External Hard Drive: Seagate’s drive mechanisms are the most durable in the industry. Two- Way USB2 + FW400; 7200rpm 200GB— $230 ($1.15/GB)
14. Maxtor OneTouch II is a popular backup drive. Two-Way USB2 + FW400; 7200rpm 300 GB—$290 ($.97/ GB); 500GB—$450 ($.90/GB) www.circuitcity.com
15. Seagate Pushbutton Backup: This model represents the lowest cost pergigabyte one-touch backup solution. Two-Way USB2 + FW400; 7200rpm 500GB—$346 ($.69/ GB)
16. Seagate Pushbutton Backup Hard Drive: This is the largest one-touch backup solution available. Two-way USB2 + FW400; 750GB—$559 ($.75/GB)

About the author
Roger Hunsicker is president of Proof Positive Design Group offering traditional advertising services, and ieAccess.com offering web development and web hosting services.