Storage Solutions Urgent: Suggestions Needed Please!

[~HeadShot~]

Hello folks,

I am going to buy two hard drives, a 3.5" HDD enclosure and a SATA-IDE converter. I wanted your suggestions regarding which products to buy. Here's what I am thinking of getting:

1. Seagate 7200.11 ST3500320AS - 500GB, 32MB cache, SATA.
Price: Rs. 4300 - 4500.

2. Seagate 7200.10 ST380815AS - 80GB, 8MB Cache, SATA. Or,
3. Seagate 7200.10 ST3160815AS - 160GB, 8MB cache, SATA. Or,
4. Seagate 7200.10 ST3250620AS - 250GB, 16MB cache, SATA.
Prices: Dunno

5. Zippy 3.5" HDD USB 2.0 Enclosure
Price: Rs. 450

6. SATA-IDE converter cable
Price: Rs. 350

Guys, I need your inputs on the above queries.
a. Please tell me updated prices of all the above components @ Lamington Road.
b. Which one would be more economical - 80GB, 160GB or 250GB? Also, prices please.
c. What to check for in the Zippy HDD Enclosure, i.e., for fakes, etc.? Are there different variants available? If so, then which one to go in for?
d. Is there any specific brand for SATA-IDE converter? Are there any drawbacks or problems in using it with a 7200.11 500GB SATA HDD?
e. Lastly, which shop to buy the components from @ Lammy? It should be reliable, have reasonable prices and good after-sales service.

Thanks in advance.
Regards,
~HeadShot~

 

[greenhorn]

Why not an IDE drive itself ?

've heard that the converters are a bit buggy, and will reduce whatever performance gains you plan to achieve using a SATA drive. In fact , the USB interface itself will do that

Alternately, get a dedicated external HDD , since prices are comparable

OR , if you still want a SATA hdd for later, why not get a natively SATA enclosure ? might cost more , but you get better speeds , and maybe even an eSATA port

 

[Gannu]

Tel u wat...

Get a WD MyBook 500GB Home edition tat has all the 3 prominent inputs.. USB, Firewire and eSata.. Costs 5.5k.. OIffers a 3yr warranty..

Even in case u settle for a internal HDD + External Enclosure, its going to cross this amount or barely be less than tat.. Besides its not going to offer any significant performance advantages..

Check out its review I'd recently posted in the Reviews section..

 

[main_trouble]

yea man , try to avoid these jugaads(read enclosures)

they have been a constant source of problems.

try to get a decent external storage instead

 

[Anish]

OMG look whose back! Dude! Where have you been?!

 

[_pappu_]

^^yeah...get a my book or sumthing

i have 1 zippy enclosure...1 panel came off so if i plug in the wires, the hard drive comes out from the opposite end due to the force