The difference between FW 400 and USB 2 is obvious when I conducted a test on WD MyBook Essential via HDtune. USB fluctuates a lot while on FW the graph is a lot more stable... and closer to the max theoretical speed. I'll post the graph if I can find it in the PC at my office.

vnair, is your iMac equipped with a Firewire 800 port?

---

Added on July 2, 2010, 12:22 amUSB 3 > Firewire 800 > Firewire 400 > USB 2.0

Will we see a Firewire 1600 in the future?

This post has been edited by cannavaro: Jul 2 2010, 12:22 AM

It's RM169 at viewnet. (today's pricelist)

I wouldn't call it 'heavy usage' or 'performance' if you intend to use it primarily with your media player.

Between those 2 models I would pick the Buffalo because it looks nicer. Performance wise, if any, is negligible, especially if you use USB 2. Warranty wise, both offer 3 years, I think?

I would recommend any other brands except for Seagate because of the firmware fiasco with their internal 3"5 drives. Don't care if their drives are now okay or whatever, had a really bad experience with them and that's it.

Got, I bought 2 units todays.

Despite a few failures in the past I've decided to yet again take the path of the Zero.





Samsung HD103SJ x2

post your results

HDTune, Western Digital DLG tool.

Hitachi 1TB is now RM189 at viewnet...
Trying to pull a Samsung?

You can also do that with NTFS IF you have Paragon NTFS installed on your Mac.
If the disk is a macdisk, you can use MacDrive instead.
They're not freewares however...

He is NOT the seller.
The price is in fact cheaper than this "RM5 discount". It is actually "RM6 discount". - RM194 according to viewnet's latest price list. (21-7-2010)

Why so serious?

Since you don't mind the dimension get a 3.5" one, better value for money.
Samsung 1TB Spinpoint F3 (HD103SJ) = RM 181 (Jayacom)
+
Nexstar CX (NST-300S2-BK) = RM 75 (LYN traders)

Total = RM256

Edit:
Oops.. overlooked the fact that your friend wanted a 500GB external hard disk... oh well he can get a 1TB one for that budget so you might as well tell him that.

This post has been edited by cannavaro: Jul 24 2010, 05:31 AM

Heads up guys.

Wanna know why Samsung's 1TB F3 is bloody cheap at Jayacom? (RM181)

They're OEM drives. I bought 3 units today and checked the serials online, and got this:

The ones I bought at viewnet however, gives a code 100 (This product is under warranty. )

The drives come without the usual plastic housing and 4 screws. Instead you'll get a normal anti static bag. Oh and the warranty is a mere 1 year from the shop... not sure if it is possible to RMA directly to Samsung after that though. With Seagate I've managed to RMA some OEM drives... gonna ask Samsung about this.

The drives however are fine so far.

Samsung's hot 1TB F3 is now RM189 at Viewnet... and they're not the OEM version so you'll get the nice and rare plastic housing plus 4 screws for each drive you purchase.

Check here:
http://www.samsunghddvalue.com/WebRMA/WarrantyCheck/

The serial number is on the drive. Check the status of your drive and post it here.
Since you got the plastic housing and screws... yours might not be OEM.

Did they tell you anything about the warranty?

Man you are lucky. How many units did you purchase? And from which branch?

Check post 286.

That seems normal.

My earlier post:

Sorry for being random, but is your friend a teacher?

btw, you can get a 2.5" 500GB Transcend anti-shock external hdd for RM235 or thereabouts...

This post has been edited by cannavaro: Aug 2 2010, 08:46 PM

Sounds like it's dead, especially with the dreaded clicking noise. From my experience so far, when a drive makes clicking noise it's a certain death.

It depends on the capacity of the disk. Bigger disk, higher cost.