External firewire HD: any recommendations?

[freeformula]

I'm planning to get an external firewire HD, to allow me to start saving my video files once I start editing my miniDVs and to back up my iTunes files. I've been looking at the EZQuest Cobras. Probably the 120GB or 160GB models.

Does anyone use this brand? What external HDs do you guys currently use and how do you find them?

[elbert]

I'm using a Cutie dual firewire with 40Gb 2.5in. drive. I'm hoping to replace it soon with an 80GB drive. Diba Ditoy?

[bagwis]

If you want to use it as a scratch disk for your video editing projects, I recommend that you get a drive which is at least 7200 rpm. Of course, 5400 rpm drives would work but to have less of dropped frames, specially when you're digitizing long video materials, I recommend, the fastest available hard drive you could find. You might be sacrificing a little bit of portability here, but 3.5" hard drives + enclosures are not that big and thick. Of course max output/transfer of your firewire would also affect the speed of your hard drive. Based on your sig, (15" Albook 1.25GHZ) you have a firewire 400 port. Of course it would be better if you have firewire 800. But then again, that's another story.

Fastest 2.5" available in the Philippines/Villman/Ditoy etc. today is still at 5400rpm, and they're more expensive than the 3.5" 7200. You could get a .Lacie 60GB Pocket Disk and it's already 7200 rpm but you would have to get it on-line, or if you have relatives abroad, you could have them buy this cutie for you

[Edited on 7-3-2004 by bagwis]

[freeformula]

Al, in my system profile, this is what I found:
FireWire Bus:
Speed: 800 Mb/sec Speed
Does it mean I have a FW 800 port?

For now, portability is not much of a factor for me and the 1" difference is fine. What are the locally available 3.5" 7200 rpm drives + enclosures?

Elbert, what the rpm of your Cutie? Sorry, that doesn't sound right...

By the way, this is the description of the EZQuest Cobra:
EZQuest Cobra FireWire 800 + USB 2.0 External Hard Drives are the new standard in external storage! EZQuest Cobra FireWire 800 + USB 2.0 External Hard Drives have the ability to transfer data at 800 Mb/sec. The new EZQuest Cobra FireWire 800 + USB 2.0 External Hard Drives also have USB 2.0 built-in for users who do not have 1394 connectivity. These drives utilize ATA 100 technology in order to take FireWire to the limit. At 7200 RPM this new line of Cobra hard drives are perfect for video, audio, backup, and transferring large amounts of data

[Edited on 7-3-2004 by freeformula]

[ditoy_eagle]

Hey TJ your powerbook has the FW800 port, I suggest you invest in a drive for that because speed is a big difference, and better performance for video editing. I would recommend Lacie drives there's 250 and 500gb versions at Senco. I think around P24T and 45T yan. For sure there's warranty, but the Cobra are definitely cheaper in the US.

If you want the portable 2.5 drive enclosures, I haven't seen locally they sell for around $140 in the US which has a FW800, FW400 and Usb 2.0 all built-in.

You can find all these in Google.

Elbert yes your the first on the waiting list for the 80gig 4200 rpm 2.5" hard drives, madami na kayong naag-abang.

[Edited on 3-7-04 by ditoy_eagle]

[freeformula]

Thanks Ditoy! The 250 and 500GB Lacies aren't in my price range, but I'll check out the other sizes.

[bagwis]

You, indeed have firewire 800. As Ditoy suggested, you might want to maximize that by getting a fast FW 800 drive for that if you're planning to get into very serious video and music editing, and of course, if you have the extra dough for it. But then again, if it's just for home movies, a little of DVD burning here and there, then drives with FW 400 and speed of around 7200 would do.

As for 3.5", they're available in almost every PC store, everywhere. Check them out at Villman/ PC Xpress. The enclosures (3.5&quot are also widely available already. The dual ones are more expensive, of course. Got one that has an aluminum finish. Bagay sa PowerBook!

[Edited on 7-3-2004 by bagwis]

[Henjie]

Originally posted by freeformula
I'm planning to get an external firewire HD, to allow me to start saving my video files once I start editing my miniDVs and to back up my iTunes files. I've been looking at the EZQuest Cobras. Probably the 120GB or 160GB models.

Does anyone use this brand? What external HDs do you guys currently use and how do you find them?

Like most FW800 drives, the EZQuest Cobras are significantly faster than FW400 drives. Because of the doubled bandwidth, FW800 drives typically perform as fast as internal ATA drives. More than enough for DV.

Since portability is not an issue for you, and your Mac already comes with FW800 ports, just go for a FW800 drive equipped with 3.5" hard drives. 2.5" laptop drives are too slow to take advantage of FW800's bandwidth.

About the EZQuest Cobras in your link, do note that they're using 7200rpm hard drives with 2MB buffers. The more expensive EZQuest Pro Audio models have drives with 8MB buffers which gives better overall performance.

If you're looking for pre-built solutions, I recommend you look at the OWC Mercury Elite Pros. The models with 8MB cache drives come with Hitachi 7K-series hard drives, arguably the fastest 7200rpm IDE drives available right now. And you can buy them for almost the same prices as the EZQuest Cobras with 2MB cache drives. The OWC Mercury Elite enclosures used are also some of the fastest FW800 enclosures available (faster than LaCie's d2 enclosures, dunno about EZQuest). Plus you get a free copy of Dantz Retrospect Express for data backups and Intech Hard Disk Speedtools. ;-)

Check out the price comparisons (FW800/FW400/USB 2.0 combo enclosures for all):

120GB
*EZQuest Cobra (120GB 7200rpm 2MB cache) -> $229
*OWC Mercury Elite Pro (120GB 7200rpm 2MB cache) -> $220
*EZQuest Pro Audio (120GB 7200rpm 8MB cache) -> $259
*OWC Mercury Elite Pro (120GB 7200rpm 8MB cache) -> $230

160GB
*EZQuest Cobra (160GB 7200rpm 2MB cache) -> $239
*OWC Mercury Elite Pro (160GB 7200rpm 8MB cache) -> $240

200GB
*EZQuest Cobra (200GB 7200rpm 2MB cache) -> $275
*EZQuest Pro Audio (200GB 7200rpm 8MB cache) -> $305
*OWC Mercury Elite Pro (200GB 7200rpm 8MB cache) -> $280

If you think a FW400 drive is adequate for your needs (they're actually fast enough for DV), just make your own. A FW400 enclosure equipped with the Oxford 911 chipset can be had for around P2,500 from Virra Mall shops (if they have stocks). Combo FW400/USB 2.0 enclosures go for around P2,800. 160GB 7200rpm hard drives cost anywhere from P7,000 (Seagate, 2MB cache) to P7,500/P7,800 (Seagate, Maxtor, both 8MB caches) from Villman.

Hope this helps. ;-)


~Henjie

[freeformula]

Thanks Master Henjie! Bow na naman ako! Even with the secret weapon, putting all this info together is still amazing. May stock knowledge na kasama 'to!

I was thinking about the 8MB buffered EZQuests (which also are bundled with Retrospect and Speedtools as shown on their site). The EZQuests, overall, look like good products.

But, the OWC Mercury Elite Pros do look even more promising! Do they have a local distributor?

[hoho]

Re: Oxnard 911 Chipset, how do you tell if the enclosure uses that?