STARS for best external FW recommendations!

I had posted this question a while back, but never moved on it and Gary suggested I repost now. Here is the original thread.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=458154
I've pretty much decided upon getting miniStack v2 320MB for my wife's macMini, but am still debating what to do for myself. I thought this OWC drive looked like good deal, thoughts?
http://eshop.macsales.com/Item_Specials.cfm?ID=8598&Item=OWCMA8FW7320GB8
This would be for my Graphite G4 and I'm not sure if the FW 800 is overkill. There is also this drive:
http://eshop.macsales.com/Item_Specials.cfm?ID=7965&Item=OWCNPFW7320GB
I'll check to see what FIrewire the G4 has when I go home tonight.
Can anyone make any recommendations? I want something not too expensive, reliable, lots of storage, and worry free (as possible). I'm open to suggestions, thanks. It is only a matter of time before my G4's orginal 80GB drive gives out and need to back up that data soon!
I may also want to get another drive just as a back-up back-up, but that is for another thread...
Thanks!
Dual 2GHz G5 & Graphite G4 733MHz (wife has MacMini)   Mac OS X (10.3.9)   23" Cinema Display, 19" Lacie Blue Display, Microtek 1800f & Epson 836XL scanner

I've pretty much decided upon getting miniStack v2
320MB for my wife's macMini, but am still debating
what to do for myself. I thought this OWC drive
looked like good deal, thoughts?
http://eshop.macsales.com/Item_Specials.cfm?ID=8598&It
em=OWCMA8FW7320GB8
Those aluminum cased OWC drives are quite nice (in my experience)...But note, they price out different based on what connection you get. USB2/FW400 is the cheapest, then you work your way up...so no need for 'overkill'
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/
I have a few and would buy another, no question.
b

Similar Messages

  • Recommendations for best external speakers suitable for traveling.

    I am interested in purchasing a good set of external speakers suitable for traveling with my iPhone--compact with good stereo sound. Any recommendations?

    Depending on what you mean by compact, but I like the Bose Sounddock (portable)
    http://www.bose.com/controller?event=DTCLINKS_TARGETEVENT&DTCLinkID=7475&src=SOUNDDOCK

  • Looking for best  External Blu-ray recorder working with fcpx 10.0.6

    Hi. I'm looking for a good External Blu-ray recorder that will run with FCPX 10.0.6 on my Imac 27" mi-2011 3.4 GHz i7 16 Go of RAM.
    Thanks!

    Any Mac compatable Blu Ray drive will do, they're all about the same quality these days.  Try this.
    http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MRSSBD6X/

  • Looking best external USB2/FW for Record Play: up 24bit/96-192khz (iMac G5)

    As an audiophile, I'm trying to find the best external USB 2 or firwire device for connection to my high end audio system so that I can convert a number of records, few cassettes. Also any recommendations for the best software ? I would spend up to $4-500 if it was really needed.
    I also have a number of LaserDiscs to covert to DVD and/or audio CD or audio files.
    iGriffin products seem too basic and the M-Audio products seem to have a lot bad review.
    Anyone using the Edirol FA-66 ??
    The Sound Blaster Audigy 2 NX is exactly what I want but it is not mac compatible.
    I am not sure what forum to list this in -- but any leads or help would be appreciated.
    Thanks
    AL
    iMac G5 2.1 Ghz, 20", 2.5 GB Ram, iSight, Dual Layer Superdrive   Mac OS X (10.4.2)   PowerBook G3 500 Pismo (2000), 1GB RAM; 60gb 7200rpm; eMac 1Ghz G4

    I bought an intermediate digital 8mm cancorder on eBay for $200 or so. A Sony DCR-TRV340. Sony's built-in analog-digital converter let me put my analog tapes into camera, and provided me with digital output. Once I had digital output from a camera, I had digital input for the iMovie App. I no longer needed the vastly poor stand-alone analog-digital converters in the marketplace (Dazzle, for one), that were freezing the iMovie program from the get-go. Although I received NO replies to my question, I managed to solve this one with a little catching-up technological-wise.

  • Best external drive for Air Tunes?

    My eight month old Western Digital My Book Pro just died. I had used it to backup various files but mostly to house my 260 GB iTunes music folder. I use iTunes to stream music to my living room receiver, so I'd often leave it running all day.
    While the drive itself is still good (I was able to remove the drive from the case and copy the data thanks to my local Mac tech guy), the circuit board that powers it apparently broke down. Could it have been all the heat generated by running it for such long periods?
    In any event, my question is: What is the best external hard drive to run a large iTunes library off of? I've seen references to music servers, but I don't need any special connections or capabilities. I'm just looking for a reliable external drive that can stand up to running for hours at a time without burning out its circuit board. A good warranty and near silent fan would be nice too, as would an affordable price tag.
    Any recommendations?

    I have to tell you that I have had more problems with Western Digital than Seagate or Maxtor. A long time ago, I bought a firewire external drive (ATA) from Club Mac. The Western Digital drive inside it died, but the case was still good, so I put a new drive in it. The great thing about the case is that it has a fan!! That puppy can run all day and it doesn't really seem to get very hot. I have a feeling that it would be expensive to buy a case with a fan in it now, but you could look for that specifically.
    I also have one Seagate 400 GB external drive and a 500 GB Maxtor external and both have had no problems running all day. Last, I have built three external hard drives that are always on when the computers are on and they run fine. 2 of the cases were CompUSA brand and one was something from OtherWorld Computing. All are the kind that are made of aluminum, where the case acts as a heat sink. The case gets hot, but if it is sufficiently ventilated then there should be no problems. So far so good.
    Hope this helps. If I were you, I would visit http://www.otherworldcomputing.com and just take a look at what's available. There are other great places like http://www.macgurus.com where they can give you very specific advice about hardware upgrades. If I were in your situation, I would go ahead and use the WD drive in a new enclosure and be sure to back up your music.
    Good luck!
    Jim

  • Best External Stereo Microphone for the Canon EOS D5 Mark iii

    I am looking to purchase an external stereo microphone for my Canon EOS 5D Mark iii camera. Will the Canon External Stereo Microphone, DM 100, work on the Canon  EOS D5 Mark iii? If not, do you have recommendation for an external stereo microphone?
    Thank you.
    Regards,
    Zigmund

    I don't know if it is the best, but I use one of these on my 5D III.
    http://www.rodemic.com/mics/stereovideomicpro

  • Need recommendation for bootable External HD for CCC

    Hi !  I recently came to the forums to get info on how to effectively back up my mid-2010 MBP 500 Gb because according to Disk Utility I need to reformat my HD  
    I am currently only using Time Capsule to back up with Time Machine.  I had initially decided to drag my iPhoto library, itunes, and movies (along with some other user files) to a new Seagate 500 gb GoFlex portable External HD that I had.  But since I've done that, I've also done more browsing on the boards here and learned that I probably should be making a bootable clone of my HD (using Carbon Copy Cloner).  That sounds like a logical idea, and Im embarassed  I didn't know about it sooner.  So I plan to purchase the CCC immediately and do this before it's too late.  On their website they specifically say NOT to use Western Digital drives because some of them are not bootable.  I also saw some comments that the Seagates "go to sleep" and probably should be avoided.  I'm not sure how up-to-date those forums are so I am coming here for some recommendations/suggestions. 
    Before seeing those comments I had seen a few in the local stores here I was considering (WD passport, SeaGate backup plus, Toshibo Canvio Connect)...but now I'm confused. 
    Any suggestions for an External HD that I can use?  (also, I was thinking 1 TB was a decent size to get)?
    Thanks so much for your help ! 
    Christine

    chrstene96
    probably should be making a bootable clone of my HD
    Bootable clone is very important to have, and MUCH more useful than time machine in general.
    Forget about CCC,  Superduper does the same thing for FREE.  Download the APP SuperDuper (most use it).
    Some advantages of a cloned HD:
    In case of an internal HD crash and failure, there is absolutely nothing quicker to getting back to 100% operation than having a HD clone handy to either boot from, or within 20 mins. installing and removing the bad HD. Nothing to install software-wise, and a speedy immediate return to your computer use and productivity.
    If you do an option key startup at boot you can directly boot to your cloned drive externally and operate from same like normal.
    Sandboxing: With the help of the Cloned Drive, you can perform sandboxing, or the testing of new software, their updates and applications before they are installed on your Mac system. Moreover, if there are issues with the system, you can troubleshoot them by booting off the Clone. Many people test new APPS or experiment with a secondary clone and never worry about a failure or serious issue since the internal HD is untouched and the secondary clone can be wiped afterwards if any major issue occurs in testing. This is an invaluable tool in many instances.
    If you sell you computer for purchase of a new one, you can take the clone you have on hand and install same or clone it to the new internal drive of your new Mac.
    As it turns out one of the huge positive benefits of a clone is that people were seeing faster HD speeds; with APPS booting up from the clone than they had seen with the internal HD. The cloning applications in cloning the drive defragments the data to the clone and remove the “holes” in the cloning process.
    With a small portable HD clone you can take your ‘computer’ anywhere to most any other current Mac and boot from your HD clone and have your entire system and its data immediately there for use. In case one is across the world and their macbook gets stolen, or damaged, with another Mac you can be up and 100% in the time it takes to boot to the new or borrowed Mac!
    You can clone from your external clone to the internal HD/SSD in case of corruption.
    The best thing that can be said, ideally, when your HD crashes with all its data is “so what, I’ve got a clone right here” and you can return to normal operation within seconds (by booting from the clone) or minutes (by swapping drives).
    In separating out your system hub (OS) and your data hub, and storing them separately, is if you make only periodic clones (every month or so), and have a HD crash, the worst case outcome is that what is lost on your clone are some bookmarks and preferences since your data hub containing your vital files is constantly archived separately as it should be.
    Disadvantages of a cloned HD:
    A HD clone takes a rather long time to update since it checks all files for changes.
    Ideally you would erase and create a new clone of your updated system every 2 weeks or month, which would therefore leave a gap in data integrity and OS files and system changes.
    Autonomous constant data hub archiving fills this downside “gap” of HD clones, wherein which the worst that would be lost is a 2 week or one month window of application updates, or system changes irrelevant to your vital data.
    best options for the price, and high quality HD:
    Quality 1TB drives are $50 per TB on 3.5" or  $65 per TB on 2.5"
    Perfect 1TB for $68
    http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Portable-Hard-Drive/dp/B005J7YA3W/ref=sr_1_ 1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379452568&sr=8-1&keywords=1tb+toshiba
    Nice 500gig for $50. ultraslim and perfect
    http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Portable-External-Drive/dp/B009F1CXI2/ref=s r_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1377642728&sr=1-1&keywords=toshiba+slim+500gb
    2.5" USB portable High quality BEST FOR THE COST, Toshiba "tiny giant" 2TB drive (have several of them, LOT of storage in a SMALL package)    $117
    http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Connect-Portable-HDTC720XK3C1/dp/B00CGUMS48 /ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379182740&sr=1-4&keywords=2tb+toshiba
    *This one is the BEST portable  external HD available that money can buy:
    HGST Touro Mobile 1TB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive  
    $88
    http://www.amazon.com/HGST-Mobile-Portable-External-0S03559/dp/B009GE6JI8/ref=sr _1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383238934&sr=8-1&keywords=HGST+Touro+Mobile+Pro+1TB+USB+3.0+72 00+RPM
    Most storage experts agree on the Hitachi 2.5"
    macjack My Swamp 
    It's usually not the WD drive
    If you're handy you can "roll your own" with a bare drive and an enclosure
    Its never the WD mechanical HD itself.      None of those posts on "data corrupted .....Mavericks...HD RAID arrays"  has any issue with the mechanical HD from WD
    (that being said WD quality is the worst and I refuse to buy them).
    Ill let you know when I find a HD enclosure that is worth more than 50 cents  and/or is reliable.
    (actually this one IS reliable:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Anker-2-5-Inch-USB-3-0-eSATA-to-SATA-Hard-Drive-Disk-HDD -External-Enclosure-/321085534744?pt=US_Drive_Enclosures_Docks&hash=item4ac23072 18  )

  • What is the best external battery for iphone 4s

    what is the best external battery for iphone 4s

    I bought the Mophie juice pack™ powerstation from the Apple store for $80. It has more then enough power to quickly boost the charge on my iPhone4S to an acceptable level. It requires the standard 30pin/USB Apple cord to plug into it.
    But unless you need to charge your phone from 5-100%, this battery is overkill. It's a real hassle having the Apple cord connected to your phone whilst there's a battery in your pocket and you end up looking quite strange with your "corded" smartphone.
    I might recommend a battery case (Mophie has these), but they don't offer the protection that I need (I use a LifeProof case).  Instead I would buy a smaller Mophie juice pack™ reserve (keychain, direct plug) to get out of a bind and then charge up your iPhone in the car, wall, airplane, etc.
    My only concern with the above (direct plug batteries) is that the slightest bump and the battery becomes a lever that could break the 30 pin plug on your phone, just like that warily flimsy feeling when you put an iPhone in a dock.
    Hope that helps, at least in the Mophie department!

  • Best external hard drive for Macbook pro and Aperture

    Hi, any recomendations for an external hard drive for the macbook pro and aperture. I was looking for approx 300Gb !
    Many thanks
    macphi

    Personally I have had poor luck with LaCie Big Disk peformance and support and don't recommend LaCie. However I do recognize that my sample of one is statistically insignificant.
    The eSATA concept is interesting, but bleeding tech edge at the moment. For a solid solution that works now I recommend FW800 (forget USB) and RAID 0 technology. I have had great success with OWC and just bought their least expensive (in $ per GB) 640 GB FW800 US$370 RAID O drive setup: <http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/ME8R7640GB16/>.
    Just this week OWC introduced RAID 0 +1 drives that have RAID 0 speeds but also provide mirror backups. Perhaps the very best solution but pricey.
    EDIT: If you bought a 15" MBP instead of the 17" you forever lack FW 800. Go for a FW 800 or an eSATA Express Card solution when available. You could buy an OWC drive now and jusr run it FW 400 until you get an Express Card FW800 port. The OWC drive came with ports and cables for both FW 800 and FW 400.
    -Allen Wicks

  • What is the best external harddrive for my iMac (Intel)

    Out of storage internal hd storage space, would like to run iTunes from an external hd......any recommendations on the best hd for an iMac (Intel)?

    Before you do this, consider backing up requires that you keep at least two copies of your data at all times.  I would consider increasing the capacity of your internal before adding an external hard drive to add to capacity.   See my backup and disk full FAQs*:
    http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html
    http://www.macmaps.com/diskfull.html
    If after reading these you still desire to map to an external drive, you can, and I would recommend drives by http://www.macsales.com/ 
    They do ship to England.
    But remember that means double backing up at separate times for the external drive, and that the external drive may not always be able to daisy chain with a backup drive on the same bus.   That with an iMac frequently might mean having one USB, and one Firewire drive, or using a Time Capsule to backup both internal and external to.

  • Best external hard drive format for use with mac and windows?

    This is more of an apple operating system combined with windows operating system question, but being that my OS will upgrade an fluctuate there is not option to choose in the operating system section.
    Anyways to the question(s)
    This whole prbolem came about when my computer started having issues, I want to back it up and whether I can continue to use my laptop or not I will still be owning an apple in the future. I went to buy a hard for back up and got told that it is not as easy as one would think to transfer files from mac OS to windows OS and vice versa. I have a mac, my boyfriend has a windows computer; we share files. Mostly I just copy his files, but once in a while I give him files too. I have read up and talked to people and only found one solution so far to format the external drive to fat 32 or exfat. I think only mac has the exfat option, but works well between both OSs, correct me if I am wrong.
    What is the difference between fat 32 and exfat?
    A user posted some good info about formatting. More specifically .Drives, partitions, formatting w/Mac's + PC's
    https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3044
    If I do not want to use fat32 or exfat is there a format type that works great for mac saving that I can still at least save files to that were originally on a windows computer? Such as I copy his files from his external drive to my computer and then save them to my external drive.
    Is there a better format for file sharing between mac and windows that does not set a 4GB limit?
    And a silly question, Can you dual format a hard drive?
    Note: This format is for an external hard drive.

    I still do not know which format would be the best. That is so that I can use it easily between mac OSX and windows. Is FAT32 the only true option? How limited is it? I heard it is limited to 4GB file size for windows and 32 GB for Mac. Are there other sources I have not found with more concrete information on the limitations of this format?
    I really do still need this information and I need to back up my drive before I can take the computer in for service.

  • What format is best for an external hard drive for video editing on a mac?

    What's the best format for an external hard drive for video editing to be use with a mac only? I need to format my new hard drive and want to be sure I choose the right format.

    I concur with Kappy. His suggestion is correct.
    Allan

  • What is the best external hard drive (USB 2.0) to get for my Mac?

    Here is a question from your "average user"
    I'm looking for an external hard drive for my iMac (Mac OS X 10.7.2 - only 4 GB). I was looking at 1Tb. We have a new baby so I'd like to protect my pictures, video, and scrapbooking files in addition to using it for back up.
    * Does "backing up" mean I have exact copies on both drives? (silly question I'm sure)
    * Would storing my photos/videos on an ehd help my computer run faster?
    *Should I just store my video on DVD's? Does that make more sense?
    Now I need help on what to look for:
    *Any suggestions on size for an "average user"? Should I consider 2Tb for down the road?
    *Any suggestions on brands? or websites to look at?

    Firstly, congratulations on the new baby!
    For ease I am going to pretend that your questions were numbered!
    1. Yes, you will have two identical copies, one on your hard drive and one on your external. Of course, you should really back up your entire hard drive.
    2. No, see above!
    3. You can do, but Lion does not include iDVD so you will have to buy iLife 11 while it is still available. Consider a 2TB external drive (the cost difference is small) and keep them there as well.
    4. Yes - see above!
    5. Look here (if you are the US):  http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MAU4S7W20T64/
      Highly recommended by experienced users here, and I am about to get one, despite the additional $40 in postage!
    Feel free to post back with any additional questions!

  • What is the Best External HD for Massive iTunes Library?

    Hello,
    I recently lost my entire 140 GB iTunes library (along with hours of raw and edited video and audio recordings) when my cheap Iomega 500GB decided to start making a ticking noise and crap out on me. I had my library backed up through iTunes on 9 DVDs a year ago, but i still lost everything I had accumulated over the past year and a half.
    I am looking for the best external HD with the fastest transfer rate (USB/Firewire 400). My top priority is reliability and I need my data to be secure and safe, not necessarily disaster proof like ioSafe drives, although I would like it to be able to take a simple fall in case something were to happen while moving it. I just don't want to have to go through this again.
    I have also heard about making my own external HD but am clueless about the process. Might this be a better option?
    I am also entertaining the thought of buying an Acer One 160GB to use strictly for my iTunes Music (no video) since I would like to make my library more portable. I read an article about moding one to run Leopard, but the directions were a bit over my head. I guess I could put up with Windows (EEEK!) just for iTUnes Music purposes. Help!!!
    I have a Macbook 2GHz Intel Core Duo and 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM and use an 8GB iPod Touch. (if this makes a difference)

    i know this isn't exactly what you are looking for but it REALLY works for me & covers a few ( if not all..) of your requisites.
    i have 2 WD 2Tb My Book external drives for my iTunes library : one is the library , the other is the back up & is usually disconnected just in case....
    then i have the very same set-up for video/movies. the whole shebang connected through Logitech USB powered hubs & i NEVER have any hiccups during music/video playback. then my iMac is connected via an external USB sound card - M-Audio.. - to my stereo & via mini-DVI to HDMI to my plasma display. how well does it work ? bloody amazing, i'm done with DVD players & CD players.
    although it has faster data transfer rates, i think you don't REALLY need to go FW- a lot more expensive drives... - & if 2Tb drives are a little too much , check out WD range, they do have smaller drives although i have found that the 1Tb drives have the best capacity/price/performance ratio, at least here in Portugal
    maybe you could set up something static at home with a beefier ( capacity wise..) drive & then have a smaller , both capacity & size wise to go on the move ?
    best wishes

  • I have a 2007 macbook and I am wondering what is the best external hard drive for my Mac?

    What is the best external hard drive for a 2007 Macbook?

    The Apple USB superdrive would be a great choice for you, ( http://store.apple.com/ca/product/MD564ZM/A/apple-usb-superdrive?fnode=5f ) I am not certain but I am pretty sure that it has the same form factor as the MacMini (Not thickness but all the other dimenetions) so it fits just under and looks like an extension of your mac. 

Maybe you are looking for