External (USB) drive: what to look for?

[XTF]

I'm looking for a new external USB drive, mainly for backups of a laptop (100 gb storage). The laptop is old, doesn't have USB3, but will soon probably have a SSD.
What's the recommended external drive?

 

[Chrisroman]

I have the 2TB version of this one.

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digit...1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1335962335&sr=1-1


I like it because it's plug-and-play. Doesn't force you to install special software or drivers. It's not fast... I get about 35MB/sec. Ok for archiving.

Price isn't too bad on the 2TB version either.

 

[XTF]

The 320 gb portable edition looks nice. USB3 support, no external power supply.

BTW, aren't all USB drives plug & play?

 

[westrock2000]

I have the 2TB version of this one.

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digit...1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1335962335&sr=1-1


I like it because it's plug-and-play. Doesn't force you to install special software or drivers. It's not fast... I get about 35MB/sec. Ok for archiving.

Price isn't too bad on the 2TB version either.

Your lucky. I have a 750GB Seagate that only gets about 21MB/s. System backup takes hours.

 

[XTF]

I think it depends on the USB2 controller. What's the best actual performance USB2 can deliver (as measured by for example HD Tune)?

 

[dustNbone]

35MBps is on the high end of what you can expect from USB 2.0. I don't think I've ever seen over 38.